It's common for ADHD and anxiety to show up together. Understanding how they overlap can help you get the right treatment for both.
ADHD Irritability:
Frustration from executive dysfunction, sensory overload, and task difficulty
Anxiety Irritability:
Tension from constant worry, feeling on edge, and overwhelm
About 40–60% of adults with ADHD have at least one anxiety disorder at
some point in their lives.
The two conditions share overlapping symptoms, which can make
diagnosis tricky. You might have trouble focusing because of ADHD
distractibility, or because anxiety is filling your mind with worried
thoughts. Restlessness could be ADHD hyperactivity or anxious tension.
Sometimes ADHD itself can cause anxiety. When you constantly forget things, miss deadlines, or struggle to stay organized, it's natural to feel anxious about what might go wrong next. This is called "secondary anxiety"—anxiety that develops as a result of living with untreated or poorly managed ADHD.
Both conditions involve dysregulation of neurotransmitters that affect attention, mood, and stress response.
ADHD symptoms lead to mistakes and missed deadlines → This creates stress and worry → Anxiety makes it harder to focus → ADHD symptoms get worse → The cycle repeats.
Many people with ADHD spend years feeling "different" or inadequate before getting diagnosed. This chronic stress and self-doubt can develop into anxiety disorders over time.
Good news: when ADHD is managed effectively, anxiety may improve too.
Assess which symptoms belong to ADHD, anxiety, or both.
Start with ADHD treatment, which may reduce secondary anxiety.
If anxiety persists, add therapy or medications.
Exercise, sleep, time management, and stress reduction help both.
Some people worry that ADHD stimulant medications will make anxiety worse. While this can happen, it's not as common as you might think. In fact, many people find their anxiety improves when ADHD is treated effectively.
If stimulants do increase anxiety, we have other options: non-stimulant ADHD medications (Strattera, Intuniv, Qelbree), combination therapy, or adjusting doses. Finding the right treatment is a collaborative process.
If you're struggling with symptoms of both ADHD and anxiety, I can help you understand what's happening and create a treatment plan that addresses both.
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