ADHD in women: Symptoms, self-tests and why it’s often missed
This collection of resources is designed to be read after my blog “Neurodiversity: The plot twist that rewrote my life story.”
Inside, you’ll find a curated list of ADHD resources, neurodivergence self-tests, books, and articles that supported me in understanding my own mind. These helped me connect the dots and identify with a neurodivergent profile—ADHD (en español: TDAH: Transtorno por Déficit de Atención e Hiperactividad, Sinestesia y SPS: Sensibilidad de Procesamiento Sensorial).
As I shared in my previous blog, I don’t have a formal ADHD diagnosis but through deep self-enquiry, introspection, and reflecting on my life experiences, everything started to make sense in a new way.
This has been my personal journey into understanding neurodiversity, what feels like a neurodivergence awakening. It has honestly been emotional, expansive, confronting, and deeply validating… and it’s still unfolding ♡
For the first time, it feels like I am truly meeting myself and consciously rewriting my life story and rewiring my brain.
I hope this serves you.
Books
Divergent Mind, Thriving in a World that wasn’t Designed for You
by Jenara NerenberThe Year I met my Brain
by Matilda BoseleyThe ADHD Women’s Wellbeing Toolkit
by Kate MoryoussefThe Brain that Changes Itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science
by Norman Doidge, MD
The links here are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). It’s a way of supporting my work if you choose to use them.
ADHD self-tests
Neurodivergence in science and history
Other interesting and complementary reads
Women, ADHD and underdiagnosis
Supportive tools for work and life
A workspace for creative professionals, or anyone looking for a simple way to organise projects and tasks.
This app has been a game changer for me. I used to force myself to use Google Docs or Notion—which is an amazing tool—but it made me feel completely overwhelmed. There are just too many options, functionalities, and layers.
Monodesk feels clean, simple, and intuitive. It gives my brain structure without overstimulation. I even have a folder just for ideas, so every time a thought comes to mind, I drop it there.
It creates relief and peace of mind instead of stopping everything to write something down, or forgetting where I saved that idea.
Listening to binaural beats to improve focus actually works… I was surprised.
I wasn’t sure at first, because I can’t listen to music while I work unless it’s very subtle and instrumental. But this is different, the sound is almost neutral, and it actually helps me stay focused.
Binaural beats work by playing two slightly different frequencies in each ear. Your brain then processes the difference between those frequencies and creates a third “phantom” frequency. This can help guide your brain into specific states, like focus, relaxation, or deep concentration. I actually just play them in the background, no earphones.
For focus, most binaural beats are designed to bring your brain into what’s called a “beta” or “low gamma” state, which is associated with alertness, problem-solving, and sustained attention.
Natural environments
This makes total sense and also explains why I always crave nature and spending time in solitude. Make it part of your everyday life—this helps regulate our nervous system. So visiting parks, gardens, the beach, having big light-filled windows… is essential to make sure our creativity keeps flowing and creative thinking doesn’t feel limited.
Self-awareness
Pay attention to what makes you feel good, and what you do even though you know you don’t love it. A good indication that you are not listening to your body is when you are at a place and after an hour or so you feel like you’ve had enough and want to leave.
This usually happens when your nervous system is getting close to being overwhelmed and starts to feel uncomfortable. Of course, everyone can be their own judge and choose what feels good in any specific moment. Maybe one day you love socialising, and the next time you don’t even want to say yes to a gathering, so self-awareness is key.
In your office space, see if you enjoy being in an open space or prefer quiet, private rooms. Again, pay attention.
Disclaimer:
I don’t have a formal medical diagnosis.
What I have is awareness, information… and my lived experience.
These tools are here for reflection and support, not diagnosis. Only a qualified clinician can give a diagnosis after a proper assessment and understanding your full developmental history.
