![]() This is also how ADHD develops but for different reasons. This is because PTSD rewires and affects the development of a growing brain, stunting the growth of areas that deal with emotional regulation, impulse control, and self-awareness. Once traumatized, a person may eventually meet the criteria for ADHD, even though ADHD was not present in his or her early development. However, we can speculate that PTSD might “cause” ADHD, particularly in children. Which Comes First: ADHD or PTSD?Ĭurrently, research on the overlap of ADHD and PTSD is minimal. This leaves many trauma survivors struggling beyond childhood with symptoms that look like ADHD and vice versa. ![]() The presentation may change as children become adults, but neither condition is likely to fade entirely, and the symptoms of either may stay steady or even increase as the adult encounters new, stressful situations. Both present symptoms of inattention, poor impulse control, lack of focus, sleeplessness, distractibility, impulsivity, irritability, poor memory and concentration, anxiety, sensitivity to sensory stimuli, mood disorder, low self-esteem, and propensity to self-medicate. He responds easily and often to the fight/flight part of the brain called the amygdala, becoming so consumed with his own safety that he cannot pay attention to daily life.ĭespite its different origins, the presentation of PTSD may appear similar to that of ADHD, and either is easily mistaken for the other. They leave a person feeling chronically unsafe, which, in turn, causes him to excrete higher than normal amounts of the stress hormone cortisol. Traumatic events lead to physiological, cognitive, and emotional changes in how a person processes stressful incidents and worries. PTSD results from a traumatic event or series of events in a child’s or adult’s environment that causes changes in the brain. Sometimes symptoms go unnoticed until much later in life, even though the condition is present from the start. As a brain-based disorder, ADHD is typically present from birth, though its symptoms may not present until later in childhood. This causes significant functional impairment in many of life’s tasks - learning, working, making decisions, organizing, and relating to others. ![]() Children with ADHD have less developed, smaller, and less active areas of the brain that deal with emotions, self-awareness, and impulsivity. PTSD and ADHD Symptoms: The Differences and SimilaritiesĪDHD is a neurological and developmental disorder. If your doctor seems to lack curiosity about what else might be going on with you, it is always smart to get a second opinion. When sorting out ADHD and PTSD, or a combination of both, a provider should approach a case like a detective without a lead, open to any possibility. Therapists and prescribers often get caught up in their own theories and don’t look beyond what they think is obvious. Misconceptions about both amplify this confusion. Seasoned professionals struggle to decipher the differences and overlap between the two conditions. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may be the most difficult co-occurring or differential diagnosis for clinicians to recognize and treat alongside ADHD. We call these “differential diagnoses.” To complicate matters, ADHD may also co-exist with nearly any disorder. ![]() It’s not uncommon for mental health providers to misread symptoms - to mistake signs of anxiety or mood disorder for ADHD, or conversely to misdiagnose a learning disability or autism spectrum disorder as ADHD.
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