How to differentiate anxiety from ADHD in adults?

Differentiating anxiety from ADHD in adults can be complicated because the symptoms can overlap. However, there are distinguishing signs. In ADHD, beyond anxiety, it's common to observe frequent forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, and a feeling of being constantly on edge, which is less common in pure anxiety. Furthermore, self-imposed pressure to compensate for internal turmoil is an indicator of ADHD.

Anxiety can improve partially with medication or standard therapy, but if the underlying problem is ADHD, these treatments won't resolve all the symptoms. Furthermore, attention and organizational problems from childhood, along with bouts of hyperfocus and mental blocks, are more characteristic of ADHD than anxiety. These symptoms can become a feedback loop if both disorders aren't treated holistically.