Breaking the ADHD–Anxiety Cycle: How Therapy Can Help You Find Focus
ADHD, Anxiety, and Finding Focus
If you live with ADHD, you already know how tough it can be to stay on task, manage deadlines, and keep life organized. Add anxiety into the mix, and things can feel even more overwhelming. The two often go hand in hand, and together, they can create challenges that spill into school, work, and everyday life.
Why ADHD and Anxiety Often Show Up Together
ADHD makes it harder to focus, remember details, and follow through on plans. Anxiety brings constant worry, overthinking, and a fear of messing up. Put the two together, and you get a cycle that’s hard to break: ADHD leads to missed deadlines or last-minute scrambles, which trigger anxious thoughts… and that anxiety makes it even harder to focus the next time around.
How This Affects School and Work
In school, that might look like inconsistent grades or staying up all night to finish assignments. At work, it might show up as difficulty meeting deadlines, trouble managing big projects, or feeling stressed out under pressure. It’s not about a lack of intelligence or ability—it’s about the way ADHD and anxiety interact to get in the way of performance.
How Therapy Can Help
The good news? Psychologists have tools that can make a real difference. Using approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), therapy can help you:
• Shift unhelpful thoughts that fuel worry.
• Break tasks into smaller, more manageable steps.
• Build time management and organization habits.
• Use mindfulness to stay calm and focused in the moment.
These strategies don’t just reduce stress—they also help you create systems that make everyday life more efficient.
A Path Forward
When ADHD and anxiety are managed together, it’s possible to find focus, build confidence, and succeed in school, at work, and beyond. With the right tools and support, you can stop spinning in the ADHD–anxiety cycle and start moving forward with more clarity and calm.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with a registered psychologist, we can help! Contact Waterloo Psychology Group through our website (www.waterloopsychologygroup.com) or call us at 226-476-0276.
226-476-0276