Can adult ADHD/ADD contribute to anxiety?

[Random_Hero]

So i've had really bad anxiety for about 10 years now, (i'm 30), mainly with leaving the house and the further I would have to go the worse it would be. Have had propranolol on repeat for when I need to go anywhere out of the norm. Only last year did I finally ask the dr if I could talk to someone rather than just having pills all the time, and after a phone call a week it seems a lot of my responses where about me getting stuck somewhere or not being able to get home, and not because home was a safe place, but because of all my gaming consoles, computer, tv with movies and shows where there, as well as electricity for it all so I'm not worrying about batteries running low on my phone or handheld gaming consoles. Also my attention span is really low so I need all these things to keep me occupied. The thought of say driving somewhere far and getting stranded, although i'd have my car for shelter and i've been fed and watered, it's the fidgeting and twiddly thumbs that scare me.
So wondering if these adhd/add tendencies are why my anxieties that bad? Has anyone heard or come across this before?

[Random_Hero]

Dang, no one?

[Drisque]

I would say that there's most likely a connection. I have ADD and terrible anxiety to boot. I'm sure a quick google search would turn up some info regarding the topic.

[Speranza]

Hi, this is an older thread I know but I've just been googling all this.

I'm diagnosed with anxiety but I've wondered for a VERY long time if I might have ADHD. My daughters have just raised it with me and one ofthem is a post-Doc neuroscientist so I respect her views! I've looked at some reputable sites and it certainly isn't impossible that I have it, but I can't afford tests so I may never have the 'magic diagnosis' - in a way that doesn't matter as the possibility of the label is enough to prompt me to find strategies. Many of which I must have discovered, to get this far. My daughter says CBT is very helpful usually...


It seems there is very often an accompanying, presenting MH issue. Come to think of that, I knew from my work with kids that things tend to 'cluster' (like Dyspraxia and ADHD etc).

I'm just here to find out if there is an ADHD forum on NMP. If not, perhaps we need one!

[little scientist]

I too am a long term anxiety and depression person! Back in March, a friend shared an article about ADHD in girls and women, I read it and it really connected with me, I felt like I was reading the story of my life. So I went away, didn't think about it for a bit as I didn't want to become obsessed with it, and later filled out a few of the online questionaires, and did some further reading about it all. I spoke to a few friends, asking their opinions on what they thought about my behaviour and general being, and a few said instantly that they agreed, along with a family member. A few years ago, I found out that my parents had refused a school referral for some kind of suspected issue (one parent says dyslexia, the other said autism - but they aren't scientists or psychiatrists and can't remember what it was that was suspected) because I was performing academdically and getting results, so they felt there was no need to rock the boat and worry me in any way. Also, 18 years ago, much less was known about ADHD and autism, so it's possible that nothing would have been found at that time. ADHD was also almost unheard of in girls.

I saw my GP a few months later, at my usual review of my meds, and took along one of the questionaires that I had filled out, where I had ticked most of the greyed out boxes that suggest ADHD symptoms. I took a friend with me for support, as I thought I would have to fight for the referral! But my GP agreed to the referral, for which I have to go out of area due to lack of service provision in Derby. Waiting on the NHS will be a long journey, but like you Speranza, I can't afford to go private.

But I am scared I am barking up the wrong tree, scared that I am just looking for another excuse for my anxiety/depression. I am scared that if it is ADHD, and that I try meds, I could screw myself up mentally even more. But at the same time, I have always felt that there is something else behind my mental health.