There’s a question that keeps popping up:
“Is ADHD overdiagnosed now?”
No! We still under-diagnose. Especially in the UK.
🎗️Many people who were previously missed are finally being recognised, especially women and girls.
This doesn’t mean ADHD is being overdiagnosed.
Often it means ADHD was historically under-recognised in people who weren’t “causing problems.”
Who Gets Noticed for ADHD — and Who Slips Through the Net?
For decades, ADHD has been most visible when it shows up as outward behaviour such as impulsivity, disruption or restlessness. Children who fit that picture, often boys, were more likely to be flagged and referred.
But ADHD doesn’t always look loud.
ADHD in girls and women is often internal
Many girls and women experience ADHD as:
- masking and over-compensating
- people pleasing
- invisible exhaustion
- perfectionism
- chronic self-doubt
- emotional overwhelm
So from the outside, they may appear fine.
On the inside, they are constantly firefighting.
When support is based on whether you’re causing a problem for others, the people who internalise their struggle get overlooked.
The Mental Health Toll of “Quiet” ADHD
Internalised ADHD often leads to:
- anxiety
- depression
- burnout
- emotional exhaustion
- shame-based thinking
- feeling “behind” or “not enough”
So when someone says:
“She’s doing well. There can’t be a problem,”
what they may really be saying is:
“She isn’t causing a problem for anyone else.”
But not being disruptive is not the same as not needing support.
Is ADHD Really Overdiagnosed?
As more women, girls —and anyone who masks — begin to understand their ADHD, diagnosis numbers rise.
That doesn’t automatically mean overdiagnosis.
Often it means:
🎗️we are finally identifying people who were coping quietly at huge personal cost.
Adults are also increasingly realising their struggles weren’t personal failings — they were unmet neurodivergent needs.
A Gender Pattern — But Not a Gender Rule
Gender expectations play a role. Many girls and women are socialised to be agreeable, compliant and emotionally responsible — so they mask.
But masking crosses gender, and many people learn to hide their difficulties to stay safe or accepted.
This is not about blame.
It’s about understanding how social expectations influence who gets recognised, and who doesn’t.
A Better Question to Ask
Instead of:
“Is ADHD overdiagnosed?”
A better question is:
“Who has been struggling quietly all this time, and what has it cost them?”
When services only respond to disruption, we are not measuring need.
We are measuring impact on other people.
And that is not the same thing.
Moving Forward
If diagnosis numbers rise because more people are finally being seen, that isn’t a crisis.
It’s progress.
You should not have to cause disruption to deserve support.
You should not have to reach breaking point to be taken seriously.
Being quietly overwhelmed still matters.
And you deserve understanding, recognition, support – and Change!
