Impulsive behaviour in women with ADHD?
Impulsive behaviour in people with ADHD is characterised by a difficulty in regulating their impulses and immediate reactions or actions. Impulsive behaviour in women with ADHD may manifest in different ways.
Women with ADHD may exhibit more socially acceptable forms of impulsivity, such as excessive talking or interrupting conversations. This can be attributed to their desire to maintain relationships and connections. Moreover, women with ADHD may become excited or enthusiastic about a topic and find it challenging to contain their thoughts and wait for their turn to speak.
Emotional regulation in women with ADHD
Women with ADHD may struggle more with emotional regulation, leading to impulsive emotional outbursts or mood swings. Women may experience quick and intense emotional reactions, leading to outbursts of anger or frustration. There is shame and humiliation which follows this, which can be extremely frustrating and upsetting to deal with.
Impulsivity and forgetfulness in women with ADHD
Impulsivity and forgetfulness in women with ADHD can be interconnected and often co-occur due to underlying cognitive challenges associated with the condition. ADHD can affect an individual's working memory, which is the ability to hold information. Impulsivity can lead to quick decisions and actions without fully processing or storing relevant details. This can result in forgetfulness because important information isn't properly encoded in memory. Also, impulsivity can lead to starting multiple tasks without finishing them. When someone with ADHD impulsively moves from one task to another, they may forget to return to and complete the initial task, resulting in forgetfulness.
Procrastination in women with ADHD
Procrastination goes hand in hand with impulsive behaviour for women with ADHD. When individuals impulsively put off tasks, they may forget about them until the last minute or miss deadlines altogether. Furthermore, ADHD impairs the ability to control impulses effectively. This means that when a task feels daunting or less interesting, individuals with ADHD may impulsively go for a more engaging or easier activity, putting off the challenging tasks until later.