Why more women than ever are being diagnosed with ADHD

The condition was always harder to spot in women - until now, says Amy Francombe

- Amy Francombe

EVER since Harriet can remember, her head has "always felt busy". In school it would take her longer to complete tasks, which led to overthinking as she tried to keep up with her peers. At 15, she went to her GP, who told her that she was suffering with anxiety and prescribed her beta blockers. They helped slightly, but for the last seven years Harriet has simply accepted that she is a "perpetual worrier".

Or so she thought. Earlier this year she saw a TikTok about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in women. "I was scrolling and saw someone talking about how women with anxious and depressive dispositions may actually have ADHD. At first I didn't think much of it - I'd always associated ADHD with fidgety boys in school," says Harriet. "But then the video explained how ADHD presents differently in women, and I had every symptom." The 23-year-old has now been diagnosed with ADHD. She is part of the 20 per cent increase in the number of identified patients - mostly women compared to the same quarter last year, according to an NHS report.