A Hebrew feature explains how some women with ADHD may answer bosses, clients or partners with statements that are not fully true, not out of malice but as a stress response. The article uses examples such as promising a presentation will be sent soon, even when no slides have been started, and says this behavior can be driven by pressure, overwhelm, shame and fear of disappointing others.
Inbal Green, an organizational consultant and business coach who works with women with ADHD, says she does not see this as ordinary lying. “In the world of ADHD I do not call it a lie,” she says. “It is a survival response.” She argues that many consultants misunderstand ADHD, especially in women, because the condition often shows up as emotional flooding, poor regulation, distraction and internal chaos rather than obvious hyperactivity.
The article cites research from 2021 estimating that about 2.58% of adults worldwide have persistent ADHD, and that adult symptoms may affect as many as 6.76%, meaning hundreds of millions of people. It also notes that boys are diagnosed about three times more often than girls in childhood, while the adult diagnosis ratio approaches 1:1, suggesting significant underdiagnosis among girls. Green says girls are often missed because they appear quiet and attentive.
Green, 42, married and the mother of one child, says ADHD creates a painful gap between what women know they can do and what they can actually finish on time. She points to “time blindness,” where only “now” and “not now” feel real, and says a deadline can prompt an overly confident promise that later proves unrealistic. Fibbing can also come from impulsivity, from the brain filling in missing details, or from fear of rejection. She says repeated episodes make women and others see them as unreliable, and relationships can suffer as compassion wears thin.
Green says the way forward is to stop fighting the brain and start working with it, using practical tools such as timing tasks honestly, breaking work into tiny steps, staying in motion when stuck, and taking short walks or time in nature. She concludes that many women discover in their 30s, 40s or 50s that “nothing is wrong with me,” only that they have a differently wired brain.
