« Articles

Adult ADD and Anxiety: The Other Side of ADD

Tess Thompson

Related Products:

Focus ADDult - Promotes concentration, focus and attention span in teens and adults

Most people with ADD suffer from anxiety too. In theory, if symptoms of adult attention deficit disorder are caused by anxiety, it need not be stipulated that the condition be classified as ADD. Actually there has not been enough research on ruling out anxiety. 

Imagination plays havoc with a person’s brain, it is better to check out the facts rather than let your imagination run wild and lead yourself to anxiety. Better ways of getting over anxiety is by praying, meditating, humor, sharing worries with friends rather than rushing to medication.

If anxiety has been caused by some real world situation it is better to make corrections in that situation rather than giving in to the perception that it is caused by ADD and look for easy medication solutions. Anxiety is also caused by medical conditions like, reactive hypoglycemia when the sugar level in the body falls. Such conditions warrant a change in diet rather than adult ADD medication.

It is very important to keep in mind that although anxiety and ADD run side by side, it needs to be determined whether symptoms of adult attention deficit disorder have been caused by anxiety or the other way around.

Anxiety can cause excessive restlessness, fatigue, mind going blank, irritation, unsatisfying sleep, and tension in muscles, all of which can be easily but erroneously, construed to be symptoms of adult attention deficit disorder.

As it is, lot of the psycho-stimulant drugs that are usually prescribed for ADD patients, are by themselves enough reason to worsen the condition of anxiety. Rather it is often advised that stimulants like caffeine and decongestants should be eliminated from the diet. Caffeine alone is known to aggravate anxiety and induce panic attacks. It is, thus, imperative that adult ADD medication be administered only after it has been clearly established that anxiety has been caused by ADD symptoms and not the other way around.

ADD is indicated only when at least six symptoms are manifested continuously for more than three months. Anxiety excessive or moderate, is simply one of the symptoms of adult attention deficit disorder and need not necessarily be indicative of a condition of ADD. If you see signs of anxiety, it does not necessarily mean that it has been caused by ADD. There could be many other reasons for it. Neglecting this and rushing towards adult ADD medication may result in getting caught in the vicious circle of drug-induced anxiety or anxiety due to external worldly situations.