Adult ADHD

ADHD is typically pictured as a boy who can't sit still in class — a picture that leaves out how differently it presents in adults, and in women specifically. In adults, hyperactivity often looks less like visible restlessness and more like an internal, hard-to-describe restlessness, alongside chronic difficulty with organisation and follow-through — problems often written off as poor discipline rather than a treatable condition.

Assessment uses structured tools like the ASRS (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale), alongside a careful look back at childhood — since ADHD, by definition, has roots there even when it was never identified at the time.

Women & the Missed Diagnosis

ADHD diagnostic criteria were historically developed and validated primarily on male presentations — women with ADHD are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety, depression, or a personality disorder instead. Many develop sophisticated compensatory strategies — over-preparation, perfectionism, masking — that hide symptoms until they stop being sustainable, often in early adulthood.

ADHD & Substance Use

Undiagnosed ADHD is strongly linked to substance use — consistent with self-medication, where substances temporarily improve focus or reduce internal restlessness. Treating the substance use alone while missing the underlying ADHD often leaves the original pull toward the substance unaddressed — ADHD assessment is a standard part of a thorough addiction evaluation here, not an afterthought. See also: Addiction Psychiatry →

Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, NIIMS, Greater Noida, and consultant psychiatrist at Sowaka Care. MD Psychiatry, People's University, with residency training at AIIMS Raipur.