Do you have trouble concentrating, constantly feel overwhelmed, or find your thoughts racing from one thing to another? You might wonder whether you’re experiencing anxiety, ADHD, or perhaps both.
ADHD and anxiety can look surprisingly similar. Both can make it difficult to focus, interfere with sleep, cause restlessness, and leave you feeling mentally exhausted. Because of these similarities, it isn’t always easy to tell which one may be contributing to what you’re experiencing.
Understanding some of the differences can be a helpful first step.
What Does ADHD Look Like in Adults?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that can affect attention, organization, impulse control, motivation, and executive functioning.
While ADHD is often associated with being hyperactive or unable to sit still, many adults—particularly those with predominantly inattentive symptoms—may not appear hyperactive at all.
Common signs of adult ADHD can include:
- Difficulty staying focused, especially on tasks that aren’t particularly interesting
- Frequently losing or misplacing things
- Forgetting appointments, deadlines, or everyday tasks
- Procrastinating even when you know something is important
- Difficulty getting started on tasks
- Becoming easily distracted
- Struggling with organization and time management
- Frequently interrupting or speaking before someone has finished
- Feeling restless or needing constant stimulation
- Hyperfocusing on activities that are especially interesting
- Having difficulty transitioning from one task to another
- Feeling overwhelmed by everyday responsibilities
One important characteristic of ADHD is that these difficulties tend to be long-standing. ADHD symptoms generally begin during childhood, even though they may not have been recognized or diagnosed at the time.
What Does Anxiety Look Like?
Anxiety is a normal human response to stress or perceived danger. However, when anxiety becomes persistent, excessive, or begins interfering with everyday life, it may be a sign of an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety often involves a sense of worry, fear, or apprehension.
Common symptoms can include:
- Excessive worrying
- Racing or intrusive thoughts
- Constantly anticipating that something will go wrong
- Difficulty relaxing
- Feeling restless or on edge
- Muscle tension
- Irritability
- Difficulty sleeping
- Physical symptoms such as a racing heart, stomach upset, sweating, or shortness of breath
- Avoiding situations because they cause fear or worry
- Repeatedly seeking reassurance
Unlike ADHD, anxiety is often driven by fear, uncertainty, or perceived threat.
For example, someone with anxiety may struggle to concentrate because they’re thinking about everything that could go wrong. Someone with ADHD may struggle to concentrate because their attention is being pulled toward multiple thoughts, distractions, or competing sources of stimulation.
ADHD vs. Anxiety: What’s the Difference?
One of the simplest ways to think about the difference is to ask:
What’s getting in the way of your concentration?
With ADHD, difficulty focusing may happen because your brain has trouble regulating attention. You might become distracted by something interesting, forget what you were doing, or struggle to begin a task that feels boring or overwhelming.
With anxiety, concentration may be difficult because your mind is occupied with worry.
For example:
ADHD:
“I sat down to pay my bills, noticed an email, started responding to it, remembered I needed to make a phone call, and suddenly an hour has passed.”
Anxiety:
“I sat down to pay my bills, but I keep worrying that I’ve made a mistake, that I won’t have enough money, or that something bad is going to happen.”
Of course, real life isn’t always this clear-cut. A person can experience both.
Can You Have Both ADHD and Anxiety?
Yes.
ADHD and anxiety can occur together, and sometimes one condition can make the other more difficult to manage.
For example, someone with ADHD may frequently miss deadlines or forget appointments. Over time, this can lead to worry about making mistakes, disappointing others, or falling behind.
Likewise, someone with significant anxiety may have difficulty concentrating, sleeping, or completing tasks, which can sometimes resemble ADHD.
This is one reason why trying to diagnose yourself based on a checklist of symptoms can be difficult.
How Can You Tell What’s Really Going On?
Consider the pattern and history of your symptoms.
Ask yourself:
- Have these difficulties been present since childhood or adolescence?
- Do I struggle with attention even when I’m not particularly worried?
- Do my concentration problems become worse when I’m stressed?
- Do I tend to avoid things because I’m afraid of what might happen?
- Do I frequently lose track of time or underestimate how long things will take?
- Is my mind primarily distracted by other thoughts, or consumed by worry?
- Do my symptoms interfere with work, school, relationships, or everyday responsibilities?
- Have these difficulties changed significantly during particularly stressful periods of my life?
These questions can provide useful clues, but they can’t determine a diagnosis on their own.
A qualified healthcare or mental-health professional can help explore your symptoms, history, functioning, and other possible explanations.
What If It’s Both ADHD and Anxiety?
If you’re experiencing symptoms of both, you don’t necessarily have to figure out which one is “the real problem.”
Sometimes the more useful question is:
What is making life difficult right now, and what support would help?
Counselling can help you understand patterns in your thoughts, emotions, and behaviour and develop practical strategies for managing stress, organization, emotional regulation, worry, and relationships.
If ADHD is suspected, a professional can also help you determine whether an ADHD assessment may be appropriate.
You Don’t Have to Figure It Out Alone
ADHD and anxiety can both affect concentration, sleep, relationships, work, and your overall sense of well-being. And because they can overlap, it can be frustrating when you know something isn’t working but aren’t sure why.
If you’re constantly thinking, “Why can’t I just get it together?”, it may be worth looking beyond self-criticism and exploring what’s actually happening.
Understanding the reason behind your struggles can be the first step toward finding strategies that work for you.
If you’re experiencing persistent difficulties with attention, anxiety, overwhelm, or emotional regulation, a counsellor can help you explore what’s happening and determine what kind of support may be helpful. We have therapists on our team who have immediate availability, to fit all budgets, and all schedules, in our cozy and convenient office in Bedford or in the comfort of your own home through a virtual session. Reach out today to book a FREE 15 minute consultation with one of our therapists.