If it feels like you’re hearing about more women being diagnosed with ADHD in their 30s, 40s, or even later, you’re not alone. It’s actually part of a bigger shift that’s helping us understand how ADHD looks beyond the typical “hyperactive kid” stereotype. There is a study from ADD Magazine that showed around 80 plus % of women were being diagnosed between the age of 41-49 which also importantly correlates with the perimenopausal period women struggle to navigate. It’s now being recognised that the impact of hormones on our ADHD is shown to worsen to such a high pitch this is the trigger for more women finding a diagnosis and understand the influence that hormones play on many of our brain receptors and how we can help regain balance. {can you find the stat}. 

For years, ADHD in women went largely undiagnosed. This is primarily because girls were excluded from all ADHD studies as it was believed to only affect boys. Adult ADHD wasn’t even recognised as a valid diagnosis by NICE (NHS) until 2008. Yep, 2008. It was just assumed that boys ‘grew out of ADHD’ as they got older. It was even removed from medical records upon patients' 18th birthdays, which is wild to think about now. 

So, as women, we did what we do best. We learned to cope, to mask, and consistently blamed ourselves for not keeping up. We felt like we were ‘lazy’ or not ‘good enough’, and never realised there was an explanation for why life often felt harder than it seemed for others.

The truth is, ADHD in women can look very different from the stereotypes we’ve been fed throughout history. The typical picture of a young boy in a classroom bouncing off the walls or struggling with homework, just doesn’t resonate with many women when we reflect upon our own childhoods. Instead, we grow up managing an internal restlessness, overthinking, or a constant mental juggling act. For some of us, that means feeling scattered, overwhelmed, or extra sensitive to our surroundings. We learn to compensate, to become “high achievers”, “people pleasers” or “over-helpers,” all the while feeling exhausted and wondering why we can’t just keep up in the same ways our peers can.

All of those coping mechanisms & strategies we’ve spent years developing and relying on, can get thrown out of the window when motherhood comes along. There’s nothing less predictable than raising children, and nothing more consuming. Stripping us of the space to rely on masking, we lose the breathing room we once had that allowed us time to recharge, we lose the extra brain space required to complete basic tasks. While children are of course a blessing, motherhood can really highlight all of those symptoms we’ve spent so long hiding, without any reprieve to recuperate.

It’s only now that more awareness around ADHD in adults, and particularly in women, is coming to light. Many women, especially mums, are discovering that there’s a name for what they’ve been dealing with for years.

Sometimes, the diagnosis comes as a relief, helping us reframe years of self-doubt and self-criticism. For others, it might mean finally learning how to thrive, to embrace our minds rather than trying to force them into a mould that doesn’t fit.

This wave of adult ADHD diagnoses in women is empowering. It means that more of us are learning to ask for support, to recognise our strengths, and to put aside the shame of “not being enough.” Learning more about you, and how your brain works, can be incredibly cathartic. It can also help you develop new coping strategies that work with your newly understood brain, instead of against it. 

So, if you or someone you know is on this journey, know that it’s perfectly valid. Sometimes, finding the missing pieces to your puzzle, whether at 18 or 58, is the most freeing, life-changing thing you can do. 

If any of this resonates with you, or if you’re simply curious about how to better understand your own mind, I’d love for you to join our community at Unwind the Mind Wellness. You’re not alone in this journey, and together, we can create a more supportive, empowering space to thrive.