Page 1 of 1 [ 3 posts ] 

fleeced
Sea Gull
Sea Gull

User avatar

Joined: 25 Jun 2010
Age: 57
Gender: Female
Posts: 200
Location: Northern Ireland

25 Aug 2010, 5:51 am

thought i might have ADHD with some AS traits thrown in. I've read a few places that depression and anxiety can be mistaken for ADHD.

Anyone know what the difference is between ADHD and anxiety/depression.


_________________
Dx - OCD, SAD, GAD, clinical depression.
Waiting for assessment ... ASD


CultOfByron
Tufted Titmouse
Tufted Titmouse

User avatar

Joined: 27 Mar 2008
Age: 47
Gender: Male
Posts: 48
Location: Ilkley, West Yorkshire

25 Aug 2010, 7:23 am

It's all about roots and symptoms.

ADHD is the label for a particular dysfunction of the brain's executive branch.

Depression and Anxiety are usually caused by something.

So ADHD can cause people to experience depression and anxiety, but not always.

Depression, aside from being caused by life events, can also be caused by things like a hypoactive thyroid, lack of sunlight, chronic fatigue, etc...

ADHD - 1st order (cause)

Depression and Anxiety - 2nd order (effect)

This, at least, is my understanding of it. Hope it helps ;)



MotownDangerPants
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 13 May 2010
Age: 41
Gender: Female
Posts: 955

25 Aug 2010, 7:26 am

It depends on the type of ADHD.

I have ADHD impulsive/hyperactive type and I'm very scatter brained.

I suppose ADHD inattentive type could mimic depression to some extent but it seems like it would only look that way to an outsider, aside form those with depression or anxiety, I don't think that most ADHDers feel depressed without comorbid conditions.

One of the biggest indicators of ADHD is executive function impairment. This could be sort of true with depression and anxiety as well but not nearly as much so as you'd see with ADHD.