But there’s a fine line between writing from experience and reporting from the trenches while trying to make sense of your own thoughts. This, I must admit, is an example of the latter. One thing I do know: my brain has a mind of its own.
I was 48 years old when I discovered this is because I have ADHD. I also know that I am “a bit hormonal” – words that I would find offensive coming from someone else, but which I nonetheless use to describe the shifts from happy-go-lucky to angry, tearful and overwhelmed that have been a part of my life since puberty. Yet somehow, despite knowing both of these things about myself, it had never occurred to me that they might be connected.
But connected they almost certainly are. Over the past few years, evidence has accumulated to suggest that fluctuations in female reproductive hormones not only have measurable effects on brain function and mental health, but that women with ADHD can be unusually sensitive to their effects. Major hormonal shifts aligned with puberty, menstrual cycles, post-pregnancy and perimenopause are increasingly identified as periods that exacerbate ADHD symptoms, leaving a trail of chaos in their wake.
There is still much to learn, but as researchers begin to unravel how the hormonal rollercoaster affects both body and brain, it is bringing hope for better ADHD treatments that target hormones, brain chemistry or both. There are many reasons why the connection between hormones and ADHD was overlooked for so long. Women have long been underrepresented in scientific and medical studies, partly to avoid the complications of hormones, which can make it tricky to interpret results.
Another major factor is that, until the mid-1990s, ADHD was considered a condition that primarily affects boys. Young boys are more likely to exhibit hyperactive and impulsive symptoms than girls, and the diagnostic criteria were written to reflect these male-specific traits and symptoms. By the early 2000s, research started to reveal that girls were, in fact, just as likely to have ADHD as boys.
But while their symptoms were as problematic for their education and wellbeing as those of their male classmates, their struggles were more likely to be experienced internally, manifesting as anxiety or inattention rather than outward hyperactivity and impulsiveness. It can be difficult to disentangle these apparent sex differences from cultural expectation. Girls may face stronger pressure to suppress outward signs of hyperactivity and impulsivity, to avoid being labelled as “bossy” or “difficult.” Or, as one of my middle-school teachers once described me: “an itch with a capital B”.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
