It is easy to see why ADHD and anxiety can look alike. Both can make it hard to focus, sit still, or switch off your thoughts. Both can leave you feeling restless or easily overwhelmed. Yet they come from very different places in the brain and need different kinds of support.
Many people spend years thinking they have one when they actually have both. Understanding the difference can help you get the right help and stop blaming yourself for symptoms that are not about effort or discipline at all.
Why They Feel Similar
When your brain is under stress, attention and regulation take a hit.
Someone with anxiety might have racing thoughts because their mind is scanning for danger. Someone with ADHD might have racing thoughts because their attention moves quickly and struggles to filter what is important.
Both brains can feel busy and tired, but for different reasons.
Anxiety is driven by fear. ADHD is driven by difficulty managing attention and impulses.
How Anxiety Shows Up
Anxiety often feels like being on high alert. The brain expects something to go wrong and keeps checking for it.
Common signs include:
- Constant worry or rumination
- Tightness in the chest or racing heart
- Restlessness or muscle tension
- Overthinking and replaying events
- Needing reassurance or control
People with anxiety usually notice that their thoughts centre on potential problems. The body feels tense, and the goal is often to prevent something bad from happening.
How ADHD Shows Up
ADHD is not about being unfocused all the time. It is about an inconsistent ability to regulate attention and impulses. Some things grab your focus completely, while others feel impossible to start.
Common signs include:
- Forgetting details or losing track of tasks
- Struggling to start or finish things
- Feeling easily distracted or bored
- Interrupting or speaking quickly
- Difficulty managing time
- Feeling mentally scattered or overstimulated
People with ADHD often describe feeling like their brain is running too many tabs at once. It is not fear that drives it. It is the challenge of keeping attention steady.
When They Overlap
ADHD and anxiety frequently show up together. The uncertainty, missed deadlines, or social friction that come with untreated ADHD can trigger chronic worry and stress.
Likewise, long-term anxiety can make focusing harder, which mimics ADHD symptoms.
When both conditions are present, they can amplify each other. Anxiety can make ADHD feel more chaotic. ADHD can make anxiety feel unmanageable. This overlap is one of the main reasons proper assessment is so important.
How Assessment Helps
A professional assessment looks beyond surface symptoms. It explores attention patterns, emotional regulation, life history, and physical responses to stress. This helps separate what is caused by anxiety from what stems from ADHD.
An accurate diagnosis means treatment can target the right problem. Therapy for anxiety often focuses on calming the body and challenging worry-based thinking. Support for ADHD focuses on practical strategies, structure, and sometimes medication to help with attention regulation.
You can read more about our ADHD Assessments and broader Assessment Services to see how we approach this process in a clear, supportive way.
If you have ever wondered whether you have ADHD, anxiety, or both, you are not alone. These conditions are often mistaken for each other, and that confusion can lead to years of self-blame or missed support.
Getting clarity is not about putting a label on yourself. It is about understanding how your brain works so you can care for it properly. When you know what you are dealing with, real progress becomes possible.
