The Link Between ADHD and Anxiety
Do you ever feel like your brain is always “on,” jumping from one chaotic thought to the next? Maybe you find yourself worrying you’ll forget something important, replaying conversations in your head, or feeling overwhelmed by long to-do lists that just seem to grow and grow. You lie awake at night running through everything you didn’t finish that day, and everything you need to remember for tomorrow.
You might think that what you’re experiencing is just anxiety - but beneath it all may actually be ADHD.
Many folks with ADHD also struggle with anxiety - but the connection between the two isn’t always obvious. Some people seek out therapy because they feel constantly overwhelmed, restless, or worried, only to later discover that undiagnosed ADHD is playing a huge role in feeling so mentally scattered. In fact, research shows that people with ADHD are significantly more likely to experience anxiety disorders compared to the general population - as many as 47-56% of adults with ADHD also have an anxiety disorder. When ADHD goes undiagnosed, the stress of managing everyday responsibilities can create a constant sense of pressure, worry and inadequacy.
Understanding the relationship between ADHD and anxiety can help you make sense of what you’re experiencing, so that you can find the right kind of support. At Root to Rise Therapy, we specialize in treating both ADHD and anxiety, and the ways they show up together. In this post we’ll uncover the relationship between anxiety and ADHD, and how the right kind of help can treat both conditions together.
ADHD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Although ADHD (short form for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and anxiety often occur together, they are distinctly separate conditions with different causes. Understanding the ways each of them show up can help you understand why they’re often confused for one another.
Symptoms of ADHD
ADHD is a neuro-developmental condition, meaning that it impacts how the brain develops and grows over time. It affects executive functioning - the mental skills that help you plan, organize, manage time, and direct your attention.
Common symptoms of ADHD include:
Difficulty focusing or staying on task
Struggling to manage your time
Forgetfulness, or frequently misplacing things
Feeling mentally overwhelmed by daily responsibilities
Difficulty starting or finishing tasks
Procrastination
Racing thoughts
Experiencing emotions suddenly and intensely
Feeling restless or mentally “on the go”
These symptoms can make life extra-challenging for adults with ADHD, especially with how they impact things like work, relationships and family responsibilities. They often contribute to stress, overwhelm, poor self-esteem and self-doubt.
Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) involves intense worry, fear and overthinking that just won’t quit.
Symptoms of GAD may look like:
Constant worry that is hard to control
Overthinking worst-case scenarios
Struggling to concentrate or be present
Often feeling tense, on edge or restless
Struggling to relax
Difficulty sleeping due to racing thoughts
Irritability, agitation or a “short fuse”
Physical symptoms like muscle tension, headaches, or stomach discomfort
While anxiety centers around fear and worry, ADHD is more related to struggles with attention, focus and organizing. But in practice, the day-to-day experience of ADHD and anxiety can look surprisingly similar. Next, we’ll look at how these two conditions often overlap.
How ADHD and Anxiety Can Overlap
One reason it can be hard to tell whether it’s ADHD or anxiety at play is that there is actually quite a bit of overlap in their symptoms. Check out this list of symptoms that are present in both conditions:
Racing thoughts
Difficulty concentrating
Restlessness
Trouble sleeping
Feeling overwhelmed
Procrastination or avoidance
Sudden strong emotion, including irritability
Someone with ADHD may struggle to focus because their attention drifts easily, while someone with anxiety may struggle to focus because their mind is preoccupied with worries. From the outside - and even from the inside - these experiences can look and feel almost identical.
Here’s an example that comes up all the time in my therapy practice, where I specialize in treating ADHD in women. Many women describe feeling like their brain is constantly juggling too many tabs at once. They worry about forgetting something important, falling behind at work, or not keeping up with responsibilities at home. Over time, this mental overload can start to feel like chronic anxiety. In reality, the anxiety may be partly driven by the challenges of living with untreated ADHD.
Can ADHD Present Like Anxiety?
In some cases, ADHD symptoms can look so similar to anxiety that the ADHD goes unrecognized.
For example, someone with ADHD might:
Constantly worry about forgetting deadlines
Feel anxious about starting tasks because they don’t know where to begin
Avoid projects that feel overwhelming
Double- or triple-check their work due to past mistakes
Stay up late trying to “catch up” on unfinished tasks
These patterns can easily be mistaken for being solely caused by anxiety. And the person in question may in fact be experiencing very intense anxiety that feels like a crisis. But when these symptoms are caused by difficulties with organization, planning or directing attention, ignoring the ADHD can keep the anxiety from improving.
Women with ADHD often develop coping strategies that mask their symptoms. They may rely heavily on perfectionism, overworking, or complex checking behaviors to compensate for their struggles with executive functioning. For instance, someone might think:
“I need to keep reminding myself about this so I don’t forget.”
“I need to check everything again just in case.”
“If I relax, something will slip through the cracks.”
“If I say no, they’ll think I can’t handle it.”
Over time, this constant mental monitoring can create a persistent sense of anxiety that makes it impossible to relax. Often ADHD and anxiety play off of each other, and ADHD symptoms can actually cause or worsen anxiety for many people.
Fears of the ADHD Brain
One of the ways that anxiety with ADHD is in fear. Here are some common fears that people with ADHD experience:
Fear of Social Rejection - ADHD can make it difficult to focus on social conversations when you have a constant, distracting internal narrative demanding your attention. This makes relationship-building challenging, and the fear of rejection can feel very real.
Fear of Forgetting Something Important - forgetfulness is an incredibly common struggle for folks with ADHD. This fear causes many people to develop intense checking strategies to try and prevent themselves from forgetting important deadlines, appointments or details, which sometimes looks (and feels) like anxiety.
Fear of Falling Behind - because the checking, procrastination and complex task management strategies can make things take longer for folks with ADHD, it’s common to experience a fear of falling behind. This can lead to an ever-present anxiety that makes rest or taking breaks feel like they’re not options.
Fear of Being Found Out - because we live in a world that often struggles to understand the neurodivergent brain, many people with ADHD feel the (conscious or subconscious) pressure to mask their symptoms to avoid judgment.
Fear of Not Measuring Up - being told you are “different”, judged or teased your whole life can lead to a deep-seated sense of inadequacy. Many people with ADHD struggle with self-esteem, and worry that they’ll never measure up to their peers because of their challenges.
Panic Attacks and ADHD
Although panic attacks are most commonly associated with anxiety disorders, people with ADHD can experience them as well - especially in moments of intense stress, stimulation or overwhelm.
When someone with ADHD becomes overloaded with tasks, deadlines, and competing responsibilities, their nervous system can shift into a heightened stress response.
For example, imagine a situation where:
Several work deadlines are approaching
Emails are piling up
Household responsibilities are mounting
Important tasks keep getting delayed
This level of overwhelm can trigger a cascade of anxious thoughts such as:
“I’m never going to get all of this done.”
“I’m already behind.”
“What if I mess something up?”
The stress can escalate into panic symptoms like:
Rapid heart rate
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Chest tightness
A sudden sense of fear or impending doom
Someone with ADHD many also experience panic symptoms in a moment where they are feeling overstimulated - loud noises, crowds, moments of intense emotion or high sensory stimulation can mount up to be especially overwhelming for the ADHD brain.
While panic attacks themselves are not a core symptom of ADHD, the chronic stress associated with executive functioning difficulties can sometimes trigger them.
Working with an ADHD Specialist Can Treat Your Anxiety, Too
When ADHD and anxiety occur together, it’s important to address both conditions - but sometimes treating ADHD first can significantly reduce anxiety as well.
When executive functioning improves, many of the daily challenges that trigger anxiety begin to feel more manageable. Tasks may feel less overwhelming, deadlines easier to track, and relationships less overwhelming..
ADHD-focused therapy often includes:
Learning practical systems for organization and time management
Building strategies to manage overwhelm and task paralysis
Improving emotional awareness and regulation
Developing self-compassion around ADHD-related challenges
Building the confidence to assert yourself in relationships, and communicate your needs and boundaries effectively
Many people feel a profound sense of relief once they understand how ADHD is affecting them. Instead of blaming themselves for being “disorganized” or “too anxious,” they begin to see their experiences through a more compassionate and matter-of-fact lens, rather than self-judgment.
With the right support, it becomes possible to improve both ADHD symptoms, and the anxiety that often goes hand-in-hand.
If you suspect that ADHD may be contributing to your anxiety, working with a therapist who specializes in ADHD can help you better understand your brain and develop strategies that truly work for you. At Root to Rise Therapy, Victoria specializes in treating ADHD in women and the ways in which it manifests as anxiety, perfectionism, people-pleasing and self-esteem challenges. Life doesn’t have to be so hard! Get in touch to learn more about how working with an ADHD specialist can help you tackle your anxiety and ADHD, and really get to the root of your struggles.
Related Posts:
ADHD Coaching vs. Therapy: Which is Right for Me?
Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria, ADHD and How to Heal
ADHD Therapy for Colorado Athletes: Finding Balance and Focus
Why Do I Doubt Myself So Much? (And How to Stop)
How Anxiety Therapy Can Help With People-Pleasing and Self Esteem
For more related posts, check out Root to Rise Therapy’s ADHD blog!
Other Services at Root to Rise Therapy:
Other mental health services at Root to Rise Therapy include Therapy for Anxiety, Therapy for Perfectionism, Therapy for People-Pleasing,Cultural Identity Counseling, ADHD Therapy, Counseling for Moms and Postpartum Counseling. I see clients located in Colorado, New York and New Jersey. Contact me to learn more about how I can help you tackle ADHD and reclaim your life!
