ADHD and Mental health
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be a lifelong condition. You might start to experience symptoms in childhood and find that they continue into your teenage years and as an adult.
We know that if you have ADHD you’re more likely to experience a mental health problem. There’s evidence that anxiety, depression, conduct disorder (persistent patterns of antisocial, aggressive or defiant behaviour), substance abuse, and sleep problems are all more common with people who have ADHD.
What is ADHD like?
If you experience ADHD, you might find that you:
- have difficulty concentrating
- tend to fidget
- are forgetful
- sometimes make impulsive decisions.
This isn’t a complete list of all symptoms, but they are some of the symptoms which are also common in mental health problems.
Lots of the main symptoms of ADHD are things that impact your behaviour, mood, and thinking. So you might be misdiagnosed with a mental health problem like depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or a personality disorder.
Support and Treatment
There are lots of different types of treatment for ADHD, such as medication, talking treatments and educational support. To find out more about these and how you can get them, visit the NHS website.
Where else can I get support for ADHD?
If you’re experiencing a mental health problem, please visit our resource library.
You can also call us on 0300 330 5488.
There are also several organisations that support people with ADHD: