People with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often experience feelings of anxiety alongside their symptoms of ADHD.
In fact, there are 3 million people in the UK living with ADHD, according to ADHD UK. Of those, around 40% of adults and 30% of children have a co-occurring anxiety disorder, says the NHS. But why does ADHD cause anxiety? Knowing the answer can help you manage the symptoms.
So, to help support you, we’ll explore why ADHD causes anxiety, as well as what can be done to improve the symptoms.
Does ADHD Cause Anxiety?
Yes – ADHD can cause anxiety or contribute to the symptoms of it for some people.
Both conditions can play into each other, causing a cycle of symptoms. For example, ADHD can cause difficulty concentrating, making it a struggle to complete tasks at work. When tasks don’t get completed, you may find that you stress more and experience more anxiety as a result.
While ADHD may not always cause anxiety directly, the challenges of it can certainly trigger the symptoms of anxiety in some cases.
What Is ADHD?
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition, affecting how the brain functions and develops.
People with ADHD may experience difficulties when it comes to executive functions – planning, focusing, organising, or regulating emotions. As such, it’s quite common for daily tasks in both personal and business settings to come with challenges, including:
- Finishing tasks on time
- Controlling impulsivity
- Staying still for long periods of time
- Organising workload
- Remembering information
- Low tolerance to frustration
- Trouble sleeping
How ADHD presents is different from person to person. In fact, how one person experiences ADHD can change over time as well, shifting between inattentive, hyperactive, and combined types.
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety as a feeling is a sense of worry, fear, or unease as a response to a particularly stressful or triggering situation.
Almost everyone will experience anxiety at some point in their lives, whether before a job interview or on the first day of school. Anxiety may feel horrible at the time, but it’s actually a survival instinct, designed to warn and prepare you to stay safe during difficult times.
However, anxiety disorder is different. Though symptoms may feel similar, anxiety disorder is a persistent sense of dread, fear, or worry, even when we’re in spaces of complete safety. Living with an anxiety disorder can make day-to-day life feel impossible due to the constant stress.
Why does ADHD Cause Anxiety?
While ADHD causes anxiety in various ways, the most common reason is that the symptoms of ADHD often create an environment where anxiety thrives.
To help make this simple to understand, we’ve broken it down into three parts: the symptom of ADHD, the result of the symptom, and how that affects anxiety. Check out our handy table below.
How ADHD Causes Anxiety | ||
Symptoms of ADHD | Result of Symptom | Affect on Anxiety |
Difficulty planning, organising, and managing time. | Frequently missing deadlines, regularly not finishing tasks, and forgetting to show up for meetings or appointments. | Triggers elevated levels of stress, which can cause a spike in anxiety. |
Struggling with consistency or attention to detail. | Fear of messing up tasks in school or failing to meet expectations at work. | Increased self-doubt leans into anxious thoughts and feelings. |
Sensitivity to loud, busy environments. | Difficulty concentrating in loud spaces or struggling to multitask in busy periods at work. | A sense of panic while trying to complete tasks, which can feel a lot like anxiety. |
Finding it hard to self-regulate emotions. | Finding it hard to calm down after a particularly stressful experience. | Prolonged nerves spiral into unease, worry, or nervousness. |
Misunderstanding social situations. | Paying close attention to how you act around others, which causes self-doubt. | A deep sense of worry and social anxiety. |
Symptoms of ADHD can often mimic those of anxiety as well. For example, racing thoughts, restlessness, and difficulty sleeping are all common signs of both ADHD and anxiety.
How ADHD Diagnosis Helps Reduce Anxiety
When you’re experiencing symptoms of ADHD, not knowing what’s going on can only make the anxiety feel worse – that’s where it’s important to receive a diagnosis.
Once you have that crucial ADHD diagnosis, it can alleviate the pressure of not knowing why you feel this way. A diagnosis means you can begin switching the narrative from feelings of self-doubt about perceived ‘failures’ to an understanding of why you feel the way you do.
Not only that, but a diagnosis means you can start receiving additional support to help make day-to-day tasks easier. Whether it’s medication, therapy, or adjustments in school or work, there are plenty of methods available to help you manage the symptoms.
Will ADHD Medication Help with Anxiety?
Yes, ADHD medication can help with anxiety, indirectly by improving aspects of ADHD that can typically trigger anxiety.
Medication treatments for ADHD primarily include stimulants, such as Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and Lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse). Stimulants improve focus, organisation, and attention, making it easier to complete tasks on time. All of this helps reduce stress levels, lessening the feelings of anxiety.
As the medication helps to manage ADHD symptoms, you’ll likely find regulating emotions easier as well, which will help keep anxiety levels low even during times of stress.
Neuro Affinity Supports Your Journey to ADHD Diagnosis
Here at Neuro Affinity, we believe everyone should have access to simple, straightforward ADHD assessments.
At our specialised clinic, you’ll find exactly that – a team dedicated to the assessment and treatment of ADHD. With us, long wait times are a thing of the past, as registered professionals provide expert diagnosis and exceptional care for neurodevelopmental disorders.
Get in touch with us today on 0776 856 5162 or book an appointment online to get started. Want to learn more about ADHD? You can discover how untreated ADHD is linked to depression, as well as how to parent a child with ADHD, over on our blog.
Talhah Malik
Dr Talhah Malik is a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist specialising in ADHD and autism. He leads secure inpatient services, provides medico-legal assessments, and is passionate about evidence-based, person-centred care.
