Change Your Brain Every Day ADHD & The Female Brain (The Answers!)
Dec 12, 2025
Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen explore how ADHD manifests differently in females compared to males, often leading to underdiagnosis. Anxiety can mask hyperactivity in girls, complicating recognition. They discuss female strengths, like empathy, alongside vulnerabilities to anxiety and mood disorders. Practical tips include exercising for focus, nutrition advice for better dopamine levels, and a caution against simply telling someone to 'try harder.' With the right diagnosis and treatment, women can unlock their potential and enhance their quality of life.
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Female ADHD Often Hides In Plain Sight
- Girls with ADHD often go undiagnosed because they are less hyperactive and draw less negative attention.
- Tana Amen and Daniel G Amen emphasize that female ADHD frequently shows as distractibility, disorganization, and underachievement.
Female Frontal Strengths And Vulnerabilities
- The female brain has stronger frontal-lobe wiring for empathy, planning, and impulse control compared with males.
- This frontal strength creates both advantages and vulnerabilities like anxiety and over-empathy.
Personal Family Discovery Of ADHD
- Daniel G Amen describes discovering ADHD on his wife's side of the family after treating hyperactive boys.
- Tana Amen learned she had ADHD later and felt devastated imagining what earlier treatment might have changed.
