Women are more likely to experience a misdiagnosis of ADHD: Here are the symptoms to look out for

Here's the thing: we all misplace our keys or phone. We don't always finish what we start. We might fidget or zone out in meetings, miss appointments, make impulse purchases, fall down the rabbit hole of social media when procrastinating, and sometimes feel overwhelmed by the juggle that is modern parenting. But that doesn't mean we have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). We're humans, not bots (and even they don't function glitch-free). 

For most of us, these symptoms are a momentary nuisance, but for 1 in 20 Australians, they become a major stumbling block for managing the 'big' stuff: getting a degree, managing a mortgage, parenting effectively or holding a job.

"Women are more likely to experience both 'missed' diagnosis of ADHD or misdiagnosis of ADHD," says Dani Bultitude, Founder, CEO and Principal Therapeutic Coach at The Divergent Edge, an Australian telehealth service supporting adults with ADHD. "Women are commonly diagnosed with stress - which is assumed as normal for mothers of young children - anxiety, depression, postnatal depression, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, cluster B personality disorder traits or bipolar disorder. At times, some of these conditions may exist in addition to undiagnosed ADHD, but for many, it is simply a misinterpretation of ADHD symptoms."