🌿 Managing Anxiety and ADHD Together: Strategies for Professional Women
🌿 Managing Anxiety and ADHD Together: Strategies for Professional Women
Living with ADHD is challenging enough — add anxiety to the mix, and daily life can feel like a constant uphill climb. Many women experience both conditions at the same time, and research shows that anxiety is one of the most common co-occurring issues with ADHD.
Here’s what happens when ADHD and anxiety collide, and what you can do to manage both.
🔄 Why ADHD and Anxiety Often Show Up Together
ADHD fuels anxiety. Trouble focusing, missing deadlines, or forgetting commitments can make you worry constantly about “dropping the ball.”
Anxiety worsens ADHD. When you’re stuck in a worry spiral, it’s even harder to start tasks or regulate attention.
Masking adds pressure. Many women with ADHD overcompensate by over-preparing or people-pleasing, which ramps up stress and anxiety.
📊 Studies confirm that comorbid anxiety is highly prevalent in adults with ADHD and can complicate treatment outcomes (Frontiers in Psychiatry).
🌸 Strategies That Help Both ADHD + Anxiety
1. Break the cycle of overwhelm.
Use micro-steps instead of giant to-do lists.
Example: Instead of “Finish project,” start with “Open document” → “Write outline” → “Draft intro.”
2. Calm your nervous system.
Breathing techniques (4-7-8 breathing, box breathing) can lower anxiety and reset focus.
Grounding practices (naming 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear) pull your brain out of anxious spirals.
3. Externalize your brain.
Keep tasks in one reliable system (planner, app, or notebook).
This reduces the mental load that fuels both ADHD forgetfulness and anxious “what if I forget?” loops.
4. Set realistic boundaries.
Say no to commitments that drain you.
Protect rest time as fiercely as deadlines — your brain works better when it’s not in survival mode.
5. Consider professional support.
Therapy and/or medication can address both ADHD and anxiety together.
Telehealth psychiatry makes it easier to access care that fits into your busy schedule.
🌿 The Takeaway
ADHD and anxiety often feed off each other, leaving women feeling trapped in a cycle of stress and distraction. The good news? With the right strategies and support, you can break that cycle and create a daily life that feels calmer and more manageable.
You don’t have to figure this out alone — support is available, and small steps really do add up.
🌿 Free Resources
Looking for practical tools you can start using right away? I’ve created a growing library of free ADHD and burnout resources you can download anytime. They’re simple, evidence-based, and designed for women who want small changes that actually fit into busy lives.
