14 Oct ADHD or Anxiety? How to Tell the Difference, or Whether It’s Both

Wondering whether it’s ADHD or anxiety? The two can look very similar, because both affect focus, sleep and how settled you feel. The key difference is usually why it happens: ADHD makes it hard to regulate attention, while anxiety pulls attention towards worry. Many adults also have both.

If you’ve spent years feeling scattered, on edge or overwhelmed, it makes sense to want a clear answer. Getting the right one matters, because the support that helps ADHD isn’t always the same as the support that helps anxiety. An ADHD assessment for adults looks at the whole picture, so you’re not left guessing.

What’s the Difference Between ADHD and Anxiety?

ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition that begins in childhood and affects attention, activity and impulse control across most areas of life. Anxiety is a response to perceived threat that involves persistent worry, tension and physical symptoms. It can develop at any age and often changes with stress.

In this post, we compare the overlapping symptoms side by side, explain why the two so often occur together, and outline how a psychologist tells them apart.

ADHD Vs Anxiety in Adults: the Key Differences

On the surface, ADHD and anxiety can produce the same complaints. Looking at what sits underneath each symptom is what separates them.

A few other clues can help:

• Calm moments. If focus problems remain when life is relaxed and nothing is worrying you, ADHD is more likely to be part of the picture.
• Interest. People with ADHD can often focus intensely on things they find engaging. Anxiety tends to interfere with focus regardless of interest.
• Avoidance. Anxiety often leads to avoiding feared situations. With ADHD, avoidance is more often about tasks that feel boring or hard to start.

For more on how ADHD shows up in grown-ups, read our blog on the signs of ADHD that often go unnoticed in adults.

Anxiety Symptoms That Overlap with ADHD

The anxiety condition most often confused with ADHD is generalised anxiety disorder (GAD). GAD involves excessive, hard-to-control worry about many everyday things, most days, for at least six months.

Several of its core symptoms also appear in ADHD:

• Feeling restless or keyed up
• Difficulty concentrating, or your mind “going blank”
• Irritability
• Trouble falling or staying asleep
• Tiredness that doesn’t match how much you’ve done

The overlap is why a symptom checklist alone can mislead. Two people can both say “I can’t concentrate and I can’t sleep” for very different reasons.

The worry itself is the main thing to look at. In GAD, worry is the engine: it comes first and drives the other symptoms. In ADHD, people may worry too, but the worry is often a result of the ADHD, such as stress about missed deadlines, forgotten tasks or being late.

When It’s Both ADHD and Anxiety

For many adults, the answer isn’t ADHD or anxiety. It’s both. A large US study found that around 47% of adults with ADHD also met criteria for an anxiety disorder (Kessler et al., 2006).

There are a few reasons the two so often occur together:

• Living with unrecognised ADHD is stressful. Years of forgetting things, running late or feeling “behind” can lead to ongoing worry about mistakes.
• Coping through vigilance. Some adults manage ADHD by checking, over-preparing and worrying. This can work for a while, but it often turns into chronic anxiety.
• Shared risk factors. Genetics and early life experiences can make both conditions more likely.

When both are present, each can make the other harder to see. Anxiety can mask ADHD, and ADHD can be mistaken for “just stress”. This is one reason ADHD is often missed in adults, especially women, who may have spent years being treated for anxiety alone.

The order of support matters too. Treating anxiety on its own may ease worry, but focus and organisation problems may remain. Recognising both allows a psychologist to plan support that addresses each one.

How an Assessment Tells ADHD and Anxiety Apart

A comprehensive assessment looks beyond a list of symptoms. It asks when they started, what drives them, and how they affect your daily life. The Australian ADHD Clinical Practice Guideline recommends this kind of thorough approach, including checking for co-occurring conditions such as anxiety.

An adult ADHD assessment usually includes:

1. A detailed clinical interview about your current difficulties, childhood, schooling, work and relationships.
2. Standardised questionnaires for ADHD, plus screening for anxiety, low mood and other conditions.
3. Information from others, where possible, such as a partner, parent or old school reports, to understand how symptoms showed up over time.
4. Ruling out other explanations, such as sleep problems, thyroid issues, substance use or trauma.
5. A feedback session where your psychologist explains the findings and talks through next steps.

The assessment can find ADHD, anxiety, both, or something else. Any of these answers is useful, because it points towards support that fits.

Getting Started in Melbourne or Via Telehealth

Our ADHD psychologists in Melbourne see clients in person and via telehealth across Australia. You don’t need a referral to book an assessment. If you’d like ongoing therapy for anxiety, your GP can prepare a Mental Health Treatment Plan, which may give you access to Medicare rebates for up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year under Better Access.

If an ADHD diagnosis is made and you’re interested in medication, you’ll be referred to a psychiatrist or another eligible prescriber, as prescribing rules vary between states.

Not Sure If It’s Adhd, Anxiety or Both?

Our psychologists offer comprehensive adult ADHD assessments in Melbourne and via telehealth across Australia, including screening for anxiety.

Frequently Asked Questions