Living with anxiety and ADHD at the same time can feel like your mind is being pulled in opposite directions. Anxiety often makes you second-guess, overthink, or avoid, while ADHD can leave you feeling restless, scattered, or stuck on a single thought. Together, the two can create a cycle that feels hard to break. The good news is that treatment doesn’t have to be one-size-fits-all. When therapy combines approaches designed for both anxiety and ADHD, clients often experience deeper relief and lasting change.
Why Anxiety and ADHD Overlap
Many people are surprised to learn how often anxiety and ADHD occur together. ADHD can make it harder to manage daily tasks, leading to stress and worry. On the other side, anxiety can heighten ADHD symptoms by making it harder to focus or follow through. Understanding this overlap helps us approach treatment in a way that acknowledges the whole picture.
A Blended Approach to Support
When someone seeks therapy for anxiety and ADHD, we start by looking at their unique experiences and needs. Treatment often blends several approaches:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Helps reframe anxious thoughts while building problem-solving tools for ADHD.
- Mindfulness Practices: Support focus, calm, and body awareness.
- Skills Training: Practical strategies for organization, time management, and emotional regulation.
- Trauma-Informed Therapy: Recognizes how past experiences may shape both anxiety and ADHD patterns.
- EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing): Useful when trauma is part of the picture, supporting relief from distress that fuels anxiety and distractibility.
This layered approach means clients aren’t just managing symptoms but learning how to feel more grounded, capable, and supported.
What You Can Expect in Sessions
Sessions might include talking through stressful situations, noticing patterns that trigger worry or distraction, and practicing tools you can use right away. Sometimes that looks like role-playing conversations, sometimes it’s breaking down overwhelming tasks, and sometimes it’s pausing to check in with how your body is responding. The goal is to build skills while also creating a safe, steady space to explore what’s underneath.
Therapy That Meets You Where You Are
Whether you’re feeling constantly on edge, struggling to keep up, or exhausted by trying to mask your symptoms, therapy can help you find new ways forward. By combining approaches for anxiety and ADHD, treatment becomes more flexible and effective. You don’t have to choose which struggle “matters more”—we support both, because both are part of your experience.
Start Where You Are
If you’ve been searching for support with anxiety and ADHD, Morning Sun Therapy offers in-person and online sessions across California. We’ll work with you at your own pace and help you build tools that fit your life.
You don’t need to go through this alone.
Book a free 15-minute consultation today to get started.