Could Your Depression/Anxiety Actually Be ADHD?

Okay bitchesssss—you’re not really bitches. I’m just feeling spicy today!

As you probably have seen, if you look at any of my other content… I recently had the wonderful, frustrating, eye-opening, makes me want to slap my old clinicians who didn’t ever really see me, diagnosis of ADHD.

Imagine. At 49 years young, receiving an ADHD diagnosis. Like, what in the actual hell!!

Here’s the thing, though. It’s actually WAYYY more common than you would think. And many of us have been handed a depression and/or anxiety diagnosis instead, and then we’re so fucking frustrated when we can’t seem to get our symptoms in a manageable place. Well, let's break it down and get real about why this happens.

Gender Bias

Heyo! Gotta love it when gender bias shows up in healthcare. 🤪 

To start, ADHD has been historically seen as more common in boys. Unfair, I know! So, when girls show ADHD symptoms, they might not be taken as seriously. It's like, "Hello, we can have ADHD too, people!" But, yeah, that stereotype has been a real hindrance in getting the right diagnosis.

And, even if your clinician is a real saint who would never intentionally have gender bias, the fact is, likely their education trained them to diagnose ADHD when seeing the symptoms presented by men and boys—the whole, classic disruptive, hyperactive behavior. (I know you’re imagining that one kid in your 4th-grade class right now, it’s okay lolol.)

Buuuuutttt, many of us ladies with ADHD might not show it in the same way as hyperactive boys. We might be more in our heads. And that can make it look like we're dealing with depression or anxiety when it's really ADHD doing its thing.

The other kicker is that research shows that girls and women are WAY more motivated to hide their ADHD symptoms or compensate for them in other ways that are more discrete. Especially if a girl with ADHD can still pull off good grades, often the only observable symptoms left over often tend to be the mood-related ones, thus the misdiagnosis of depression.

Overlapping Diagnoses

To make matters worse, ADHD symptoms can totally overlap with those of depression and anxiety. It's a confusing mix! 

When you've got ADHD, and you’re struggling with forgetfulness, disorganization, and focus issues—BOOM! It's the same stuff that shows up in depression and anxiety. So, doctors are often quicker to diagnose the latter, missing the mark on ADHD.

It’s also not uncommon that women are dealing with symptoms of anxiety or depression that are very real! But when you have undiagnosed ADHD, those symptoms can rage on and on, never really getting to the root cause of what is causing those feelings of overwhelm, frustration or sadness.

Let me tell you what it looked like in my own life, because you know what? This shit just needs to be talked about!

I honestly sometimes felt like a lazy loser. Why couldn’t I accomplish things other people were accomplishing? Why, when I sat down to do something, was I just sometimes not able to do it? 

After finally getting this ADHD diagnosis and getting on meds, I have WAAAAYYY better focus. I realized I was never lazy at all! I just have a neurodivergence in my brain, and it just works differently.

For the first time in my life, I have the ability to see myself fully and LIKE WHO I AM, because I understand myself.

Do I still have GAD? For now, I’m still medicating for both, but I’m open to changes over time!

A Diagnosis Later in Life is Less Common

So you might be thinking (if you’re identifying with this at all)

• How did I go this long without being diagnosed?
• How did my teachers, parents, and doctors never catch this?
• I feel like these ADHD symptoms I have now are a new thing—WTF is that about?

It’s entirely possible that gender bias and overlapping symptoms played a massive role in why you never got diagnosed. But there is also another option.

I’ll let a certified Doctor of Science, Jessica C. Agnew-Blais, ScD, explain it…

“Adult ADHD is more complex than a straightforward continuation of the childhood disorder. The absence of a childhood diagnosis of ADHD should not preclude adults with ADHD from receiving clinical attention.”

Researchers are starting to identify more and more that adults truly can experience ADHD symptoms for the first time in adulthood. Yes, that’s a thing too.

But, your PCP might not be hip to this. It’s emerging science. So that’s why it’s so important to advocate for ourselves when things just don’t seem right between our experiences and outcomes.

Mental Health Stigma

The stigma around mental health is a million times better than even 20 years ago, but we still have room to grow as a society, amiright? 

Even if we’re aware of the stigma and we think it’s dumb as fuck, when we women finally speak up about our struggles, we might downplay the ADHD symptoms out of fear of judgment. 

It’s easier to let the focus be on our anxiety or depression, and the real issue gets pushed aside. Even as women, we can have our own stigmas and biases about ADHD as being a more “male” thing or a more “kid” thing. 

But the truth is, it’s just not! Girls and women can, and do, experience ADHD, and it can be even more challenging for women because it’s too often undiagnosed and untreated.

It's time to break those stereotypes and spread awareness about ADHD in women and girls. Let's stop assuming it's just a "boys thing" or that we're just moody girls. We're intelligent, capable, and can achieve anything we want to, even if our nervous system works by a different set of rules. They are rules we can learn to work within to have the success we know we can have. We can create a vibe to help us thrive. 

If you think you might have ADHD but were misdiagnosed with depression or anxiety, don't hesitate to seek a second opinion. You know yourself best! And if you notice these signs in someone you care about, speak up and offer support. Together, we can make sure every woman with ADHD gets the proper diagnosis and help she needs.

If this blog is leaving your head spinning a bit, let’s get in touch! 

You can always get onto my weekly email list for my Piece of Mind Love Note by putting your info in my Contact Page.

AND, if you want all Karrie, all the time-ha! check out my coaching program, where I work 1:1 with women in business who are dealing with spicy brains too, called The LEAP.