Starting college can bring real anxiety for daughters and the parents watching them go. Here's why women feel this transition especially hard, what normal adjustment looks like versus something more serious, and how students and parents can support each other through the first weeks — grounded in current research on anxiety, ADHD, and the college transition.

Many women don’t hear the words “ADHD” until adulthood—after years of anxiety, perfectionism, and being told to “just try harder.” This post explores why adult ADHD in women is so often missed, how masking and overachieving hide the struggle, and what a later diagnosis can offer in terms of compassion, context, and new options for support.

Doing “all the right things” doesn’t guarantee relief from anxiety. Many high-functioning, perfectionistic women I see already meditate, exercise, use coping skills, and still feel exhausted and on edge. The problem often isn’t effort; it’s the harsh standards they’re holding themselves to—and the way they turn every flare of anxiety into proof that they’re failing.