ADHD or Anxiety: Untangling the Threads of the Mind

When you’ve lived your whole life with anxiety, the chaos can feel familiar—like the static hum of a radio station you’ve been tuned into for years. It wasn’t until I was 27, perched nervously on the edge of a chair in my psych’s office, that I first heard the letters "A-D-H-D" spoken about me. At first, I brushed it off. ADHD? That’s the thing kids have when they can’t sit still, right? But as we unraveled my life’s tapestry, stitch by anxious stitch, I realized how often ADHD and anxiety masquerade as one another, creating a patchwork of symptoms that are easy to confuse.

How ADHD and Anxiety Overlap

Both ADHD and anxiety love to meddle in your focus, your energy, and your emotions. But where anxiety spins endless loops of worry—like a broken record stuck on “what if?”—ADHD scatters your thoughts like confetti, making it hard to stick to one thing long enough to finish it.

Anxiety might have you triple-checking your email, while ADHD has you forgetting to send it in the first place. Both can make you feel restless, but the reasons are different: anxiety feeds off fear, while ADHD thrives in novelty and distraction.

The ADHD Mask: Living in Anxious Camouflage

For years, my anxiety looked like over-preparation. I’d show up to meetings armed with color-coded notes and a backup plan for my backup plan. But deep down, it wasn’t just fear driving me—it was an inability to organize my thoughts without turning everything into a high-stakes production. My psych explained that ADHD often hides behind coping mechanisms like this. The constant sense of overwhelm from ADHD can trigger anxiety, creating a vicious cycle.

Differentiating the Two: Key Questions to Ask

If you’re wondering whether ADHD might be hiding behind your anxiety, consider these questions:

Do you struggle to maintain focus, even when you’re not worried about something? Anxiety is situational, but ADHD often creates a persistent fog of distraction.
Do you procrastinate, not out of fear, but because you simply lose track of time or forget tasks altogether?
Do you find yourself jumping from one task to another, not finishing either? ADHD’s hallmark is impulsivity, while anxiety tends to freeze you in place.

The Right Diagnosis Brings Freedom

Getting the right diagnosis isn’t just about labels; it’s about self-compassion and effective tools. For me, realizing I had ADHD alongside anxiety was like finally switching on a light in a room I’d been stumbling through for years. Treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helped address the anxiety, while ADHD strategies—like breaking tasks into bite-sized chunks and using reminders religiously—helped me untangle the web of forgetfulness and overwhelm.