Anxiety and ADHD: how they overlap

Short answer

Anxiety and ADHD can look alike from the inside. Both can make it hard to concentrate, settle, or finish things, and health agencies list anxiety among the conditions that can cause ADHD-like symptoms. They also frequently occur together. Telling them apart, or recognizing both, is a job for a clinician who can look at your history and the full picture.

Start the free screener

Worry takes up mental space. When your mind keeps returning to a deadline, a conversation, or a vague sense that something is wrong, there is less room for the task in front of you. That experience can feel a lot like the distractibility people describe with ADHD, which is why the two are easy to confuse.

Where the overlap comes from

Things worth noticing before an appointment

You cannot sort this out alone, and you do not need to. What you can do is notice a few patterns that help a clinician see the shape of your experience. These are observations to bring, not tests to pass.

Timing

Think about when your concentration problems began. Were they there in childhood, before any period of significant worry? Or did they start around a stressful event or a time when anxiety grew? Either answer is useful information, and many people find the honest answer is unclear.

What pulls your attention away

For example, one person might notice that their mind drifts to worries and what-ifs. Another might notice it drifts to anything at all: a noise, a new idea, a tab they forgot to close. A third might notice both. Describing what actually happens in your head, in your own words, is more helpful than choosing a label.

When things ease

If you have had calmer stretches, did your focus and organization change during them? A clinician will be interested either way.

How the two may feed each other

Some people describe a loop: they forget things or run late, then worry about forgetting, and the worry makes it even harder to concentrate. Others notice that worry came first and slowly crowded out their focus. You do not need to know which way the loop runs. Describing it honestly is enough for a clinician to start with.

How a clinician sorts it out

Taken together, that history can help a clinician see whether attention problems go back further than the worry. Expect questions about worry, sleep, and mood alongside questions about focus. They are not a sign the clinician has dismissed ADHD. They are how a careful evaluation works.

Why a positive screen still needs context

The ASRS screener asks about how often certain experiences occurred, not about worry, mood, or what caused them. Someone going through a period of strong anxiety could answer in a way that leads to a positive screen. That is one of the reasons the developers describe the screener as a tool to help clinicians, not as a diagnosis.

Questions to reflect on

When I lose focus, what is usually on my mind?
Was I a distractible or restless kid, a worried kid, both, or neither?
Have my worries grown out of repeated slip-ups, such as missed deadlines or forgotten plans, or did the worry come first?
What would I most like a clinician to understand about how this feels day to day?

Support while you wait

General steps many people find steadying include regular movement, regular meals, protecting sleep, and talking to someone you trust. These are general wellbeing ideas, not treatment for anxiety or ADHD.

If anxiety is severe, getting worse, or making daily life very hard, contact a health care provider sooner rather than waiting for an ADHD assessment. In the US, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text at 988 if you are having thoughts of suicide.

A starting point for your next step.

You can still take the free screener. If anxiety has been high lately, note that next to your outcome.

Frequently asked questions

Can anxiety be mistaken for ADHD?

Health agencies say anxiety can cause symptoms similar to ADHD, which is why evaluations look for other explanations. NICE also cautions that ADHD in girls and women may be mistaken for another mental health or neurodevelopmental condition.

Can you have both ADHD and anxiety?

Yes. The NHS says people with ADHD may often have other conditions, including anxiety, and that anxiety can make ADHD symptoms worse.

Should I be evaluated for anxiety or ADHD first?

You do not have to choose. Describe everything you are experiencing to a health care provider, and they can decide what to look at and in what order.

Sources

Source check: 2026-10-28. No medical review has occurred.

Published 2026-10-28. Factual source check: ADHDFalcon editorial team, factual source check, 2026-10-28. No medical review has occurred.