Can ADHD cause anxiety or does anxiety sometimes cause ADHD?

ADHD and anxiety are two different mental health conditions that can exist alone or together. ADHD is a neurobiological disorder.  Untreated ADHD can cause chronic anxiety as a result of critical comments from others about behavior or inattentiveness, increased conflict with others, the inability to control impulses, and not function well in certain situations. Anxiety is a by-product of physical and mental tension, excessive worry, and negative thoughts. It is mental and physiological response to a perceived threat or risk.

There are some overlapping symptoms between ADHD and anxiety. Trouble focusing is a symptom of both ADHD and anxiety.  However, the reasons and the cause of focus issues are different. The ADHD brain needs interest, novelty, urgency, and challenge to keep focused. Anxious brains struggle to focus because of racing thoughts.

Many people with ADHD will be diagnosed at some point in their lives with an anxiety disorder. This is partly because the ADHD experience makes day-to-day life stressful. Kids and teens with ADHD often have poor self-esteem because they can’t always control impulsive behavior but still need to deal with the negative consequences.  They also get into trouble for not paying attention, not remembering things, being late, and not doing things on time – which are caused by ADHD brain deficits.  ADHD makes a person start to doubt their ability to do better since it cannot be cured with willpower.  Kids and teens with ADHD know what they need to do and what they should do. However, ADHD affects a persons ability to PERFORM what they already know. The neurological deficits of ADHD (such as time blindness, more intense emotions, and poor working memory) can cause feelings of anxiety, which ultimately worsens symptoms of ADHD.

To manage anxiety, a person needs to be able to control their emotional state and manage emotional discomfort. Individuals with ADHD experience higher intensity of emotions (both good and bad), are easily overwhelmed, and can take longer to return to a calmer state. Anxiety is not a symptom of ADHD and vice versa. Both ADHD and anxiety are closely linked and may require separate treatment as each condition exacerbates the other. Assuming that babies are not born with an anxiety disorder, the answer to the question is ADHD comes first, Anxiety comes from negative life experiences, and both feed on each other unless treated.