Is My Child Experiencing ADHD or Anxiety

What is ADHD and how does anxiety factor in?

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.

Anxiety is a natural emotion that embodies feelings of worry, nervousness or fear. Anxiety becomes disordered when it manifests itself into thoughts, physical responses, and behaviours that are maladaptive.

We often hear from parents that their child who experiences anxiety is now being identified at school as possibly having ADHD, which can come as a shock to them. However, this actually makes sense and is quite common as ADHD and anxiety have some overlapping characteristics.

Some of these overlapping characteristics include:

  1. Inattention,
  2. Trouble focussing,
  3. Emotional instability,
  4. Low self-esteem,
  5. Outbursts,
  6. Overstimulation,
  7. Problems with social skills.

How we understand these as signs of ADHD or as signs of anxiety depends on the lens we are seeing them through, some questions to ask are:

  • Is this a struggle of the brain or is this an emotional response?
  • Is it hard for your child to focus because they have a hard time paying attention in general or are they experiencing racing thoughts?
  • Are they overstimulated from the need to move around or from experiencing overwhelming and intense feelings?
  • Are they having trouble with friends because of their behaviours or because they have isolated themselves due to excessive worry?

Understanding the reasons behind the behaviour is key to determining if your child has a possible diagnosis of ADHD, anxiety, or both. A psychological assessment or appointment with your doctor can determine the diagnosis and next steps to best support your child. If you are interested in learning more about how our team can support diagnosis and provide mental health support call us at 519.302.2300 or email reception@brantmentalhealth.com

To watch a video from one of our social workers about ADHD, head to this facebook link https://www.facebook.com/BrantMentalHealthSolutions/videos/283035674648877