When ADHD and Anxiety Intertwine: Understanding the Cycle

Many clients with ADHD come into therapy describing the same experience, they are burnout, overwhelmed, and they can’t stop their racing thoughts. Over time, many begin to see this as simply part of having ADHD and don’t realize how anxiety is woven into their experience.

For women who already identify as anxious it is a similar story. They may be in therapy, taking medication, or actively working on their anxiety, yet still feel stuck with racing thoughts or struggle to follow through on everyday tasks. They’re working hard but they feel stuck, and this can lead to feelings of guilt and shame.

What’s missing is what is happening between ADHD and anxiety. It’s more than just similar symptoms, it is made more intense by how they interact with each other. When you have ADHD you may be stuck in a cycle of inconsistency, inattention, and overwhelm; at the same time your anxiety wants to focus on planning, controlling, things that do not lend themselves well to ADHD. This can send the nervous system into overdrive, leaving you feeling burned out, stressed, and with a racing mind.

Understanding this relationship between ADHD and anxiety is essential. Treating anxiety alone may ease worry but leave executive functioning struggles untouched. Focusing only on ADHD can improve structure and skills, but still leave underlying fear and avoidance in place. When both aren’t addressed, it’s common to feel like you’re doing everything “right” and still not getting relief.

The Overlap between ADHD and Anxiety Symptoms

ADHD and anxiety can look very similar on the surface, but the underlying drivers are different. Understanding what’s happening beneath those shared symptoms is key to knowing what actually needs attention—and how to move forward more effectively.

Overlapping Symptoms of ADHD and Anxiety

• Avoiding tasks

  • ADHD: Something feels overwhelming or boring to do

    • Not starting the laundry when you have no clean clothes because your desire to go take the dog for a walk is much stronger

  • Anxiety: Tasks feel really high steak or threatening

    • Not sending an email because what if you didn’t word it right and people misunderstand what you’re saying

• Struggling to concentration

  • ADHD: attention moves to things that are more exciting or more fun, boring tasks can’t compete with more stimulating tasks

    • Stopping midway through writing email because I remembered that my new book came in the mail and I want to go get it

  • Anxiety: attention is taken over by worry or unrelated tasks

    • Not making a doctor’s appointment because you’re worried that someone might want to schedule a meeting at work that day

• Emotional Dysregulation

  • ADHD: a low tolerance for frustration

    • Getting upset because you’re trying to put together a bookcase and it’s taking a long time and the instructions are confusing

  • Anxiety: A heightened experience of stress

    • Getting upset because you can’t find your keys and you’re worried someone took them

• Restlessness

  • ADHD: A need to do something stimulating

    • Logging out of a webinar for work because it’s so hard to sit still when someone is presenting online

  • Anxiety: Nervous system is activated

    • Having to get up and walk out of a meeting because you’re heart is racing and you’re starting to feel nauseous thinking about an event coming up

• Struggles sleeping

  • ADHD: Struggling to wind down or commit to a routine that is regulating

    • Laying in bed on your phone until midnight because you’re scrolling on social media even though you know you should go to sleep

  • Anxiety: Racing thoughts, concerned about worry or the next day

    • Laying in bed running through all the things you did during the day, making sure you didn’t forget to do something

How to Address Co-Occuring ADHD and Anxiety

Though it may be less straightforward, it is possible to treat co-occurring ADHD and anxiety and feel free of the cycle that you’re stuck in. Treatment should combine practical support and executive functioning skills with nervous system regulation. A combination of therapy and medication can often be the key to seeing real improvement. Make sure that you look for a therapist who has experience working with both approaches and understands the relationship between the two. Look for a psychiatrist who is willing to take the time to explore the overlap in symptoms and find a medication routine that will be supportive of both your anxiety and ADHD.

And treat yourself with grace and kindness. The symptoms you are experiencing are not because you are not enough, you’re working with a brain that is diverse and in need of the right support. It is important to talk to your therapist about the cycle of self-blame and shame that you may feel when you have ADHD and anxiety. Learning how to work with and love the brain you have is key to moving forward and creating change.