ADHD vs Anxiety: Differences, Overlap, and How to Tell
6 min read
ADHD and anxiety disorder are two of the most commonly confused and co-occurring conditions in both children and adults. Up to 50% of people with ADHD also have an anxiety disorder — which means both conditions can be present simultaneously, not in competition.
Shared symptoms
Both ADHD and anxiety can cause: difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbance, restlessness, irritability, and avoidance of challenging tasks. This overlap is why misdiagnosis is common, and why a thorough evaluation by a clinician familiar with both conditions is essential.
Key distinguishing features
In anxiety, attention difficulties arise because the mind is occupied with worry — what-if thoughts, catastrophising, hypervigilance to threat. In ADHD, attention difficulties arise from a dysregulated attention system that fails to filter, prioritise, and sustain focus regardless of whether worry is present. ADHD also causes attention difficulties on pleasant non-threatening tasks; anxiety typically does not.
When both are present
Anxiety frequently develops as a secondary condition in people with ADHD — a natural response to years of underperformance, social difficulties, and repeated failure. Treating only the anxiety without addressing the underlying ADHD is often insufficient. A comprehensive evaluation assessing both conditions is the most effective starting point.