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ADHD in women: why the anxiety got diagnosed first (and what else gets missed)

Anxiety. Depression. "Just stress." If that's what you were told before anyone said ADHD, or you've been diagnosed and it still doesn't explain everything, this is for you.

ADHD rarely comes on its own. The NHS says people with ADHD often have other conditions too. In girls and women, those are often what gets noticed first, while the ADHD alongside them gets missed.

Maybe you've just been diagnosed. Maybe you're still waiting. Either way, ADHD doesn't explain everything.

This guide goes through the conditions that come up most. It isn't a checklist to diagnose yourself. It's a way to spot patterns and ask better questions.

Start here

Ask yourself:

• What did you get diagnosed with before ADHD? Does it still fit?
• What still doesn't feel explained?
• Does anything get worse before your period?

Don't stop any treatment without talking to your GP first.

Why women get missed

A UK expert group on ADHD in women and girls set out some of the reasons. See if any fit you:

• As a girl, you were more likely to struggle inside (worry, low mood) than to be disruptive. So you were less likely to be referred.
• You may have got very good at masking. Copying, complying, over-preparing, coping until you couldn't.
• You may have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression or a personality disorder first. That can delay an ADHD diagnosis for years.
• The "naughty boy" stereotype of ADHD still shapes who gets seen. You didn't fit it, so nobody looked.

The same pattern can hide the other conditions below. Everything gets put down to "stress" or "just anxiety".

The conditions

Anxiety

What it can look like: Constant worry. Over-checking. Feeling on edge in your body. Avoiding things because they feel too much. Lying awake running through tomorrow.

Why it gets missed or misread: Anxiety is often the first thing a woman with ADHD gets diagnosed with. Sometimes it's real and separate. Sometimes it's what happens when you've been forgetting, rushing and catching up all your life. Often it's both.

Depression

What it can look like: Low mood that lasts. Losing interest in things. Feeling hopeless or worthless. Exhaustion.

Why it gets missed or misread: ADHD can look like depression from the outside: no motivation, can't start things, flat. And years of feeling like you're failing can lead to real depression. The UK expert group notes that women with ADHD tend to have more mental health problems overall.

If you were told you had a personality disorder, it's fair to ask whether ADHD or trauma is part of the picture too. Don't stop treatment while you ask.

Trauma and PTSD

What it can look like: Always on guard. Big reactions to small things. Shutting down. Not trusting calm. Poor sleep and concentration.

Why it gets missed or misread: Being on guard all the time, poor concentration, sleep problems and big emotional reactions overlap heavily with ADHD. Women with ADHD are sometimes given a personality disorder diagnosis instead, which can delay the right help. And one condition can hide the other: the trauma gets seen and the ADHD doesn't, or the other way round.

PMDD

What it can look like: Severe low mood, rage, anxiety or hopelessness in the 1 to 2 weeks before your period, easing within a few days of it starting. Every cycle.

Why it gets missed or misread: It comes and goes, so by the time you see someone, you might feel fine. It's often treated as "bad PMS" or as ongoing depression.

PMDD appears to be much more common in women with ADHD. A 2025 UK survey found provisional PMDD in about 31% of women with an ADHD diagnosis, compared with about 10% without.

See our guide: ADHD and your cycle

Eating difficulties

What it can look like: Eating past full without really noticing. Binges that feel out of control. Forgetting to eat all day, then eating everything at night. For some, cycles of bingeing and then trying to make up for it (bulimia).

Why it gets missed or misread: It gets treated as a willpower problem, or a diet problem. But ADHD affects impulse control, how you notice hunger and fullness, and how you cope with big feelings.

A large review found people with ADHD had nearly four times the odds of an eating disorder. The raised risk applied across anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, in men and women.

Beat (eating disorder charity): 0808 801 0677

Read more: The eating you can't stop

If night eating is your one: the 10pm Kitchen Kit (£3).

Autism

What it can look like: Finding social situations draining or confusing. Needing routines. Strong reactions to noise, light, textures or crowds. Deep, focused interests. Needing lots of time alone to recover.

Why it gets missed or misread: The NHS says autism can be harder to spot in women, because they're more likely to mask: copying others, hiding their feelings, and seeming to cope. ADHD and autism can also cover for each other, so one gets diagnosed and the other doesn't.

Many people with ADHD are also autistic, and the other way round.

Sleep problems

What it can look like: Can't switch off at night. Your best ideas arrive at midnight. You fall asleep at 2am and can't wake at 7. Restless legs. Waking tired.

Why it gets missed or misread: It gets called "bad habits" or "too much screen time". But a large Dutch study of 3,691 adults with ADHD found about 60% screened positive for at least one sleep disorder on a questionnaire. The most common were a delayed body clock (36%), insomnia (31%) and restless legs or limb movements (29%). Women reported slightly more than men.

Poor sleep also makes ADHD, mood and anxiety worse. So it's worth treating on its own.

Migraine

What it can look like: Throbbing headaches, often on one side. Sensitivity to light and sound. Nausea. Sometimes visual changes before the pain (aura).

Why it gets missed or misread: Headaches get treated as a separate thing, or as stress. Headaches can also be a side effect of some ADHD medications, which makes it harder to untangle.

A Norwegian study found migraine in 34% of women with ADHD, compared with 25% of women without it.

Joint hypermobility

What it can look like: Very flexible joints ("double-jointed"). Joint pain. Frequent sprains. Clumsiness. Tiredness that rest doesn't fix. Feeling dizzy or faint when you stand up (sometimes linked to a condition called PoTS).

Why it gets missed or misread: Pain and fatigue in women are often dismissed. And nobody thinks to link bendy joints to ADHD.

A UK study found that just over half of neurodivergent adults (with ADHD, autism or Tourette's) had generalised joint hypermobility, compared with about 18% in a comparison group. In the women, the figure was 69%. It was a small study (109 neurodivergent adults), so treat it as an early signal.

The NHS describes joint hypermobility as part of a spectrum that includes Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS). Being hypermobile isn't the same as having EDS. Most hypermobile people don't have EDS, and only a specialist can diagnose it.

Alcohol and drug use

What it can look like: Using alcohol, cannabis or other substances to calm down, slow your brain, sleep, or feel normal in social situations.

Why it gets missed or misread: It's often seen as a choice or a moral failing, instead of a way of coping with something untreated. A large Danish study found ADHD raised the risk of substance use problems in both men and women.

If you're under 18, your GP will usually keep this confidential.

Self-harm and suicidal thoughts

This one is hard to read. The help numbers are at the bottom of this section if you need them now.

What it can look like: Hurting yourself to cope with feelings. Thoughts that people would be better off without you. Feeling trapped.

Why it gets missed or misread: Girls and women often hide it well, sometimes for years. And it can be put down to "attention-seeking", which it isn't.

What follows isn't a prediction about you. It's a reason to take these feelings seriously and to ask for help early.

Research suggests the risk is higher in women with ADHD. A US study followed girls with ADHD for ten years into young adulthood. They were more likely to have self-harmed and to have attempted suicide than girls without ADHD. The NHS also notes a higher risk of suicide in people with ADHD.

GPs hear this often. Telling them usually leads to support, not to being sectioned.

If you're under 18, telling a trusted adult, your school nurse or Childline is a good first step. Childline is free and confidential.

Putting it together

You don't have to work all this out yourself. But you can notice patterns and bring them with you.

Write down what you notice. Our GP checklist helps you take it to your GP.

General information from lived experience and published research. Not medical advice.

Next step: Pick the one section that made you stop and think "that's me". Write down one line about it. Take that line to your next appointment.

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