When Anxiety Overlaps with ADHD, Depression, or OCD: Understanding Co-Occurring Conditions

Anxiety is a common mental health condition, but it often doesn’t appear alone. Many people experience anxiety alongside other conditions such as ADHD, depression, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). These overlapping disorders, known as co-occurring conditions, can complicate diagnosis and treatment. At Coastal Psychiatry, led by Dr. Deepti Varma, we specialize in helping individuals understand and manage these complex challenges with personalized, compassionate care.

Why Anxiety and Co-Occurring Conditions Are Common

Mental health conditions are rarely one-dimensional. The brain and body are deeply interconnected, and when one system is out of balance, it can affect others. 

For example, anxiety can heighten symptoms of ADHD by making it harder to focus. Likewise, ongoing anxiety can trigger or worsen depression by leaving someone feeling worn down, hopeless, or emotionally drained.

In many cases, co-occurring conditions share similar symptoms, which can make it difficult for individuals, or even providers without specialized training, to know what’s really happening. This is where the expertise of a psychiatrist becomes invaluable.

Anxiety and ADHD: Understanding the Connection

Anxiety and ADHD often go hand-in-hand, particularly in children and young adults. ADHD involves difficulties with attention, focus, and impulse control, while anxiety brings persistent worry and fear. For some, ADHD symptoms create stress that leads to anxiety; for others, anxiety worsens ADHD-related struggles.

Signs that someone may be dealing with both conditions include:

• Trouble focusing due to both restlessness and intrusive worries
• Avoiding tasks because of fear of failure, not just distraction
• Irritability from feeling overwhelmed by competing demands

A psychiatrist can carefully assess whether symptoms stem from ADHD, anxiety, or both, then recommend treatment strategies that address the overlap rather than treating them in isolation.

Anxiety and Depression: The Heavy Weight of Both

Anxiety and depression frequently occur together. While anxiety often feels like racing thoughts, excessive worry, and physical tension, depression brings sadness, lack of energy, and loss of interest in daily life. 

When combined, they can create a cycle that’s especially challenging. Anxiety fuels negative thoughts, which deepen feelings of hopelessness, while depression makes it harder to find motivation to address anxious fears.

Treatment for co-occurring anxiety and depression typically includes a combination of medication, therapy, and lifestyle adjustments such as improved sleep hygiene and exercise. At Coastal Psychiatry, we create individualized plans to help patients regain balance and rebuild their sense of hope.

Anxiety and OCD: When Worry Becomes Compulsion

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by intrusive, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental rituals (compulsions) designed to relieve anxiety. While OCD is its own distinct condition, anxiety is at its core. People with OCD often feel trapped in a cycle where anxiety drives compulsions, which provide short-term relief but ultimately strengthen anxious patterns.

Some signs of anxiety and OCD overlapping include:

• Excessive need for reassurance due to worry
• Repeated checking or organizing to reduce anxious thoughts
• Fear of losing control over one’s thoughts or actions

Psychiatric care can help break this cycle through medication management and collaboration with therapists who use evidence-based approaches such as exposure and response prevention (ERP).

Why Accurate Diagnosis Matters

Because symptoms of these conditions can overlap, it’s easy for people to feel misunderstood or misdiagnosed. For example, trouble concentrating might be seen as ADHD when it’s really anxiety, or both could be present. Similarly, someone could think they’re experiencing depression alone, when in fact anxiety is an underlying factor.

At Coastal Psychiatry, we take the time to conduct comprehensive evaluations that look at the whole picture, including your medical history, lifestyle, genetics, and environment. This thorough process helps ensure an accurate diagnosis and a treatment plan designed to address all of your symptoms, not just part of them.

How Coastal Psychiatry Can Help With Anxiety & Other Conditions

Dr. Varma, a board-certified psychiatrist, has extensive experience in identifying and treating co-occurring conditions. Her approach is holistic, combining evidence-based treatments such as medication management with therapy referrals, lifestyle recommendations, and ongoing support. By addressing the root causes of symptoms and considering how conditions interact, she helps patients move toward long-term healing and stability.

Get the Help You Deserve From a Licensed Anxiety Psychiatrist

Living with anxiety, especially when it overlaps with ADHD, depression, or OCD, can feel overwhelming. But you don’t have to navigate it alone. At Coastal Psychiatry, serving Middletown, Red Bank, and Monmouth County, NJ, you'll get compassionate, personalized care that helps you understand your symptoms and move forward with confidence. Schedule an appointment today.