Miss Diagnosis: Anxiety, ADHD, & Women

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Sometimes conditions present differently in men and women—sometimes, they’re just seen differently

  • Today’s main feature answers the question of why ADHD is often misdiagnosed as anxiety in women

  • The reasons range from medical misogyny, to clinical imprecision, to sociological considerations, many of which have wide-reaching implications well beyond ADHD

• How’s your hydration looking? For most people, at any given time, it’s not great. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

  • Today's sponsor NativePath is offering a 365-day money-back guarantee on their range of electrolyte and amino acid drink mixes, which are great for your kidneys, bladder, and pelvic floor muscles.

Read on to learn more about these things, or click here to visit our archive

🤫 A WORD TO THE WISE

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Slow The Progression Of Cataracts (Five Interventions)

Prefer text? The above video will take you to a 10almonds page with a text-overview, as well as the video!

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

• An Apple (Cider Vinegar) A Day…

• The 7 Approaches To Pain Management

❓️ THIS OR THAT?

Vote on Which is Healthier

Yesterday we asked you to choose between drinkable vitamin C and chewable—we picked the drinkable (click here to read about why), as did 45% of you!

Now for today’s choice:

Click on whichever you think is better for you!

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

• Healthy Sleep Begins Before Breakfast

• The Circadian Rhythm Involves Far More Than Most People Know

❓ MAIN FEATURE

It’s Q&A Day at 10almonds!

Have a question or a request? We love to hear from you!

In cases where we’ve already covered something, we might link to what we wrote before, but will always be happy to revisit any of our topics again in the future too—there’s always more to say!

As ever: if the question/request can be answered briefly, we’ll do it here in our Q&A Thursday edition. If not, we’ll make a main feature of it shortly afterwards!

So, no question/request too big or small 😎

❝Why is ADHD so often misdiagnosed as anxiety in women?❞

A great question! A short and slightly flippant answer could be “it’s the medical misogyny”:

Women and Minorities Bear the Brunt of Medical Misdiagnosis

…and if you’d like to learn more in-depth about this, we recommend this excellent book:

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World – by Dr. Elinor Cleghorn ← _{^{you can read our review here}}

However, in this case there is more going on too!

Part of this is because ADHD is, like many psychiatric issues, a collection of symptoms that may or may not all always be present. Since clinical definitions are decided by clinicians, rather than some special natural law of the universe, sometimes this results in “several small conditions in a trenchcoat”, and if one symptom is or isn’t present, it can make things look quite different:

What’s The Difference Between ADD and ADHD?

There are two things at hand here: as in the above example, there’s the presence or absence of hyperactivity, but also, that “attention deficit”?

It’s often not really a deficit of attention, so much as the attention is going somewhere else—an example of naming psychiatric disorders for how they affect other people, rather than the person in question.

In the case of ADHD and anxiety and women, a lot of this comes down to how the redirection of focus is perceived:

Source: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and its comorbidities in women and girls: An evolving picture

This internalization of symptoms, vs the externalization more generally perceived in boys and men, is more likely to be seen as anxiety.

Double standards also abound for social reasons, e.g:

• He is someone who thinks ten steps ahead and covers all bases

• She is anxious and indecisive and unable to settle on one outcome

Here’s a very good overview of how this double-standard makes its way into diagnostic processes, along with other built-in biases:

Miss. Diagnosis: A Systematic Review of ADHD in Adult Women

Want to learn more?

We’ve reviewed quite a few books about ADHD, but if we had to pick one to spotlight, we’d recommend this one:

The Silent Struggle: Taking Charge of ADHD in Adults – by L. William Ross-Child, MLC

Enjoy! And while we have your attention… Would you like this section to be bigger? If so, send us more questions!

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

• The Energy Plan: Eat Smart, Feel Strong, Perform at Your Peak (book)

• Radiant Rebellion: Reclaim Aging, Practice Joy, and Raise a Little Hell (book)

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Beat the summer heat with NativePath Hydrate

Don't let the summer heat drain your natural energy. Stay cool, hydrated, and vibrant with NativePath Hydrate - a powerful powdered electrolyte drink mix designed to keep you hydrated as nature intended.

Unlike most hydration supplements, Native Hydrate contains high-quality amino acids and electrolytes, providing optimal hydration without excessive sodium or added sugars. Simply mix one scoop of our refreshing powder into water or your favorite beverage to enjoy increased energy levels, improved muscle strength and bladder function.

And here's the best part: Stock up now and enjoy up to 44% off your purchase, plus receive a free gift and free shipping with every order.

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

Browse By Category

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life – by Dr. Arthur Brooks

For most professions, there are ways in which performance can be measured, and the average professional peak varies by profession, but averages are usually somewhere in the 30–45 range, with a pressure to peak between 25–35.

With a peak by age 45 or perhaps 50 at the latest (aside from some statistical outliers, of course), what then to expect at age 50+? Not long after that, there's a reason for mandatory retirement ages in some professions.

Dr. Brooks examines the case for accepting that rather than fighting it, and/but making our weaknesses into our strengths as we go. If our fluid intelligence slows, our accumulated crystal intelligence (some might call it "wisdom") can make up for it, for example.

But he also champions the idea of looking outside of ourselves; of the importance of growing and fostering connections; giving to those around us and receiving support in turn; not transactionally, but just as a matter of mutualism of the kind found in many other species besides our own. Indeed, Dr. Brooks gives the example of a grove of aspen trees (hence the cover art of this book) that do exactly that.

The style is very accessible in terms of language but with frequent scientific references, so very much a "best of both worlds" in terms of readability and information-density.

Bottom line: if ever you've wondered at what age you might outlive your usefulness, this book will do as the subtitle suggests, and help you carve out your new place.

Click here to check out From Strength To Strength, and find yours!

Wishing you a delightfully healthy day whatever your gender,

The 10almonds Team