Bitesize Moment: "She Wasn't Lazy. She Was Drowning." — Dr Sarah Carty on ADHD in girls

About this episode

Dr Sarah Carty discusses the unique presentation of ADHD in girls and its long-term effects.

In this bitesize moment pulled from the Laura Dowling Experience back catalogue, GP Dr Sarah Carty explains why ADHD looks so different in girls and women — and why so many only recognise it years, sometimes decades, after it first showed up. She tells Laura how the "quiet" presentation — daydreaming, internal restlessness, working twice as hard to look fine — slowly turns into anxiety, perfectionism, and a quiet erosion of confidence. It's a clip that gives language to something a lot of women have silently carried for years. 🔑 Key Points Why girls are diagnosed much later than boys — and what gets missed Masking, and how it shows up as perfectionism, daydreaming, or "just being quiet" The link between unrecognised ADHD and anxiety, panic and exhaustion How girls end up labelling themselves as "stupid", "lazy" or "not academic" — and why that's so far from the truth Why the right diagnosis can change a person's whole self-story 🎧 Listen to the full episode here. Thanks for listening! You can watch the full episode on YouTube  here . Don’t forget to follow  The Laura Dowling Experience  podcast on Instagram  @lauradowlingexperience  for updates and more…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Dowling

Guest: Dr Sarah Carty

Topics covered

• ADHD
• girls
• mental health
• anxiety
• perfectionism

Keywords

• ADHD
• girls
• mental health
• anxiety
• perfectionism
• diagnosis
• self-esteem

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