Anxiety vs. ADHD - The Difference - How You Can Tell

Individuals will come through my office and tell me that they have ADHD. I find that we discover that their "ADHD" is actually Anxiety. They can manifest themselves in the same way.

We go through the difference between anxiety and ADHD and how you can tell if you have either or even have both.

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[ruteisabelmendes]

Can I get a virtual hug from all of you? Everything has been overwhelming

[samdoc]

I still couldn't tell the difference. My brain is both random and anxious, and just being not able to focus causes more anxiety, now i don't know if its anxiety or ADD which is primary, or may be just anxiety.

[liplock]

It still blows my mind that other people DON’T just randomly look up at the ceiling and count how many panels there are 😅 It’s weird to me that a lot of people aren’t just naturally curious about things - even random things like a ceiling. My ADHD sucks, but I feel like not having that curiosity would make life so fucking boring.

[ClaysUsername]

I was diagnosed last year with ADHD and I might be diagnosed soon with OCD. My counselor and I realized yesterday that I might’ve never been diagnosed with ADHD as a kid because my anxiety about pleasing people was just enough to keep me on task 😂

[krystalquinto]

Also 50% of people who have ADHD have some form of anxiety

[alexyodson]

This has been the biggest challenge I've faced so far. Do I really have adhd? Am I just anxious? Am I traumatized? OCD? Is it something else entirely?
I live more than 3500km away from my parents, and have no support whatsoever because I can't build healthy relationships.
My parents are boomers, and don't really believe in most mental illnesses. I dont have a single person I can trust or turn to for support. I have to try my hardest to recall every detail of my childhood without unintentionally leading myself to the wrong conclusion

[bggame]

"If I get a bad grade on my quiz. I wont be able to play video games. If I cant play video games, I cannot see my friends. If I cant see my friends, they will think Im a loser." HAHAHA. Ive totally had this string of thoughts before. Its amazing how similar we all are. 😜😜

[emilyyoung]

this is very helpful i recently found out anxiety and adhd are very similar and i was worried i might be diagnosed incorrectly.

[anthroman]

I had to opposite problem; doctors misdiagnosed my ADHD as anxiety when I was a teenager. This misdiagnosis really made me struggle through school, relationships, and just daily life.

I hate the fact that people are always skeptical of ADHD or ADD as a diagnosis simply because it's "becoming more problem." The fact that it's becoming more and more diagnosed is just a symptom of our own culture. Also, a lot of millennials are being diagnosed as adults now because our parents simply would not admit anything was wrong. Parents often feel a sense of shame when their child has a disorder but it's honestly not their fault in the vast majority of cases. Parents do not get enough quality time with their babies/children. Yes ADHD is largely genetic but that doesn't mean those genes will always be expressed if you grow up in a salubrious environment. I believe the higher cost in living and lack of mental health awareness in America is largely responsible for the rise in ADHD. Personally, I know people who clearly have ADHD or ADD but are just unaware.

[xXxSarahxXx]

Some interesting points, would have been good to hear more about ADHD. ADHD also often goes undiagnosed in some countries and this can lead to individuals developing anxiety, because they don't know what is causing their behaviours, and the ADHD brain is prone to being overwhelmed, because of the working memory limitations, which can look like anxiety.

It wasn"t until I was 27, I recieved my ADHD diagnosis at university.

[paulshorey]

OMG this video is so trippy, but in a good way. The reflections in your eyes! Your face, the stare, the hair standing up, and those reflections in the eyes, bright and white circles. You look like you've seen some things! You look like you've gone through some stuff and are here to help others. I feel like I'm inside a mental hospital, having a pleasant talk with my therapist. Love it. Love the message. Sorry to insult your face. I enjoy it.

[editinglearn]

I want to cry i just want to be normal like every other person i just dont know why i have both

[cptkarima]

Whole time I’m counting how many times you’ve blinked (1-2) not sure what I have here

[DominikPavel-fkwb]

I was diagnosed with ADHD since my teenage, spent my whole life fighting ADHD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 6 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.

[selenerodriguez]

I just had my first psychiatrist visit and she prescribed Anxiety pills. She was so attentive to what I was saying and is giving me a weeks test to see how I feel. If I still have a lot going on and jumping from one thing to another she will look into ADHD. But I loved how she listened and asked me so many questions where I felt listened to, I even got emotional.

[shurikenmoo.]

this person is staring so intensively
o_o

[TheNraveles]

I can definitely say it’s both lmaoo.
I have those moments where it is overloading with thinking about issues or what’s gonna happen next or whatever and then there’s different times where my brain goes EVERYWHERE. Like straight up I’ll keep talking and talking and then I’ll go onto like random topics and then like in classes when I was in HS I would just zone out and think about random things and then just snack back 10 minutes later and realize I wasn’t reading the pages I was turning lmao.
I remember I created this little person on the wall in my senior health class bc there was like a little bubble in the painting that looked like a person walking so I would like look at him and think of like random little scenarios with him

[bigctpd]

I think I actually have both. I do take meds for ADHD but also have anxiety with the fears and threats. 😳

[veronicasolis]

I was diagnosed with anxiety and when I was diagnosed they started telling me "omg why are you so quiet" .aking me think imnot worthy or cant do something right🥺

[christinashaw]

I love what you said about being the “shy person.” I was always called the “quiet one” in school. I’m 28, and I’m just now starting to realize that I may be more extroverted than I thought! When I get into crowds of people, I’m amazed by how much I have to say, and then I find myself questioning this identity of being the “quiet one” all of a sudden. 😅