women with ADHD: recent publications

April 14, 2023ADHD increases the likelihood of postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum anxiety in more significant and impactful ways than do other well-established risks like comorbid psychiatric disorders or sociodemographic factors in women, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. 1The research found that 25% of women with ADHD had postpartum anxiety, compared to 4.61% of women without ADHD.

Not available December 19? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.“Now why did I walk in here? I can’t remember.”“Brain fog,” short-term memory lapses, and poor time management are proverbial complaints among women living through perimenopause and menopause, but could these cognitive problems — and others with mood regulation and overwhelm — point to something more?As of now, no clear links have been established between ADHD and mental changes during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.

Not available December 13? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.Burnout, anxiety, and exhaustion are common byproducts of ADHD in women. Juggling busy work and family schedules alongside an (often undiagnosed) neurological condition leaves many women desperate for support and validation.

ADHD has historically been viewed as a predominantly male disorder, and that bias continues to this day. The underdiagnosis of ADHD in adult women, and the lack of awareness that they may need different treatment approaches, is an ongoing medical equity issue with serious consequences.

The days of the Diagnostical and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) are probably numbered.For one, the rest of the world already defines the criteria for conditions using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM), which became the official health classification of the U.S. government in 2014.

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August 12, 2023The first oral treatment for postpartum depression (PPD), zuranolone, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is expected to launch later this year. The medication, brand name Zurzuvae, is taken in pill form once daily for 14 days, and improvement of symptoms may be noticed as soon as three days after beginning treatment, researchers found.The only other FDA-approved medication for PPD, brexanolone (brand name Zulresso), must be administered as a single, 60-hour IV drip in a healthcare facility.

Not available September 7? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.Pregnancy and childbirth are life-altering events, and it is not uncommon for postpartum mood disturbances to impact the mental health of new mothers.

The list of gender gaps is sufficiently long and distressing. Disparities in pay, employment, and housework are well-documented — but did you know that women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression?According to the CDC, Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) affects 11% of women as opposed to 6% of men.

May 30, 2023Growing up with undiagnosed ADHD negatively impacts women’s self-esteem, mental health, well-being, and relationships, while diagnosis and treatment for ADHD increase feelings of self-acceptance and self-worth, according to new research published in the Journal of Attention Disorders.1Women with undiagnosed ADHD are most likely to experience impairment in the areas of social-emotional well-being, relationships, and life control, according to the research — the first of its kind to examine how under-diagnosis impacts the mental, emotional, and physical health of women.Studies have consistently shown that females are underdiagnosed with ADHD in childhood2, 3,4; to better understand adult women’s experiences living with undiagnosed ADHD and receiving a late diagnosis, researchers conducted a systematic review of three databases that revealed the following themes.Undiagnosed ADHD can profoundly impact self-esteem and self-worth. Findings indicated that girls with undiagnosed ADHD often endured childhood misunderstanding, self-blame, and rejection.“Low self-esteem might result from difficulties endured growing up with an undiagnosed disorder that neither they nor those around them understood,” researchers wrote.

Alex Taylor* decided early on not to have children—even before she was diagnosed with ADHD at age 27. The licensed mental health therapist says she spent years masking, which sapped “every ounce of energy,” and still felt like she was treading water. “I spent many years acting a part for others, and now I want the rest of my years to be about me,” she says.

Not available May 11? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.Pregnancy is magical and excruciating.

When it comes to women, work, and ADHD, it’s impossible to really dig deep without understanding the lingering biases that women and other underrepresented groups face. These biases, combined with the experience of being neurodivergent in a working world not made for them, create a perfect storm for masking, exhaustion, and burnout.Masking, specifically ADHD masking, is a burden for people with ADHD.

March 27, 2023The use of ADHD medication during pregnancy causes no impairment of a child’s neurodevelopment or physical growth, according to research published in Molecular Psychiatry.1 A large population-based register study found in-utero exposure to medication for ADHD, including stimulants, did not impair a child’s neurodevelopment or growth compared to children whose mothers stopped taking ADHD medication prior to conception.Research was conducted using data from Danish nationwide registers, including more than one million children born between 1998 and 2015. Of those, 898 children were delivered by mothers who started or continued taking ADHD medication during pregnancy; this became the study’s “exposed” group.

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If you received an adult ADHD diagnosis, there’s a good chance you lived too long being called one or all of these things: Procrastinator. Drama Queen. Clutz.

A rush of energy, frenetic action, and then a crash — the hyperactive ADHD cycle. Though more commonly associated with the inattentive subtype, women do experience ADHD hyperactivity — as well as related stereotypes and sexism. Here, ADDitude readers tell us their stories as women with ADHD hyperactivity, from rush to crash.“Growing up, being undiagnosed in the ‘70s meant I learned to fidget in place.

fast.But I had $20 to my name. I had no ride to an abortion clinic — and even if I had, in that time and place, abortions cost money I didn’t have. Then (as now), pregnant girls were on their own.

gender role observations or judgements have, intentionally or otherwise, harmed and haunted them on their journeys with ADHD.“I was told by a high school math teacher that it ‘wasn’t worth her time’ to stay after school to give me extra help to understand the lessons she taught. I will never forget how worthless this teacher made me feel.” — Rebecca, Rhode Island“‘You’re sabotaging yourself.’ I’ve spent my life being told I am to blame for my chaos. These words are familiar to so many with ADHD, but this one sticks in my mind because it was a comment from someone working specifically to help me with my ADHD! It’s devastating to be told, time and time again, that my struggles are my fault when I’m working so hard.” — An ADDitude Reader“Every report card I ever got talked about unrealized potential.

moms with ADHD, and how they’re managing the relationship today. Share your story in the Comments section below.“Life was exciting and still is. I consciously choose to embrace her love of life, novelty, and love of learning.

Not available March 15? Don’t worry. Register now and we’ll send you the replay link to watch at your convenience.Middle-aged women with ADHD face all of the typical challenges of aging — declining health, family concerns, career stresses, tough decisions about moving or downsizing — plus a wide range of ADHD-related complications.In this webinar, Dr.

adult ADHD diagnosis that many aspects and difficulties of my life, motherhood, and beyond began to “click.” I suddenly had a greater understanding of my thought patterns, lifestyle choices and, most importantly, my brain.After my diagnosis, I joined several Facebook groups for women with ADHD, and started to notice a pattern: a disproportionate number of women with large families like mine. Every day, I’d read posts by exhausted mothers about the daily battle of caring for four, five, six, even seven children.

January 5, 2021Nearly one in four women with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD or ADD) has attempted suicide, according to Canada’s Archives of Suicide Research study1, which found that adults with ADHD in general are five times more likely to attempt suicide than are their neurotypical peers (14% vs. 2.7%).

ADHD — but then another layer was showing. I was the side of the slice of lasagne — newly cut and oozing.It caught me off guard because I had, at least on the outside, stopped questioning every behavior, every emotion, every mistake as a sign of ADHD or something else.

thinking I was simply a bad person. I couldn’t understand why time management was so elusive to me, why I’d get so easily distracted, and why I couldn’t keep my things in order.

The country is still largely frozen — or slowing thawing — but, ironically, we’re seeing more messaging around productivity and more people measuring their worth based on achievement during the time of nothingness.

Against a backdrop of crisis and tragedy, this pandemic has afforded us a remarkable opportunity to take a gigantic pause. The world has stopped in a way it’s never stopped before, and the time is now ripe to think about how we emerge from this situation with our “normal” redefined. In other words, with almost everything about our past lives taken from us, what elements do we want to include and exclude, post-pandemic?

Two months ago, my doctor told me I had a respiratory infection (which my anxiety told me was definitely COVID-19), and I haven’t left my house since. I spent the first three weeks lazily in bed. Then my state locked down, and the panic followed shortly thereafter. Though I had nowhere to be, just the thought of being trapped with no choices, no options freaked me out. My instincts told me to get the hell out of there, but alas ‘flight’ was not an option.

When I went to the Central Park Zoo this winter, the best part was seeing the sea lions speed around their glass-enclosed pool. Watching them was like looking through a window into my brain, where my thoughts race in concentric circles, barely missing collisions. Some of them climb to the top of the rocks and bark, but others are tame, rolling around and asking for treats. All these thoughts — the speed racers, the barking attention-seekers, and the belly-up docile ones — coexist simultaneously. I never know which one to pay attention to. I stared at the sea lions long after the other spectators left.

Our boundaries are obliterated. We are employees, parents, teachers, house cleaners, personal assistants, and playmates to our children — all at the same time. Each day feels like ‘some’ day; the labels ‘Tuesday’ and ‘Friday’ are just quaint reminders of the schedules we used to keep.

ADHD brains rely too much on magical thinking.

When the stay-at-home orders hit, and people all over the country began hunkering down to wait out the worst of the crisis, I found myself alone in a way I had never expected. My roommate unexpectedly moved out in February, and for the first time in my life, I was living completely alone. Since I’m a homebody by nature, you’d think I’d relish having an apartment to myself. That might be the case under normal circumstances, but I wasn’t prepared for the loneliness of living alone during a pandemic.