Hacking Your ADHD Understanding the ADHD and Anxiety Overlap with Dr. Mona Potter
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Feb 2, 2026 Dr. Mona Potter, a Harvard‑trained child and adolescent psychiatrist and CMO of InStride Health, discusses how ADHD and anxiety overlap. She explains external versus internal distraction, how anxiety can mask ADHD, the mechanics of OCD and when ADHD structure might feed obsessive loops. Practical talk on medication as “volume control,” building executive skills, and pacing treatment when both conditions coexist.
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Different Origins Of Distractibility
- ADHD distractions are often external while anxiety distractions are typically internal and worry-driven.
- The ADHD brain latches on slower; the anxious brain hypervigilantly latches too tightly, creating similar but distinct attention problems.
Three Clinical Buckets To Consider
- Misdiagnosis, untreated ADHD, and true comorbidity form three distinct clinical buckets to consider.
- Each bucket overlaps in interventions but requires matching treatment to the individual's underlying drivers.
Medication Revealed Anxiety-Driven Punctuality
- William described a medication change that reduced his anxiety and revealed his lateness was anxiety-driven.
- When anxiety eased, he had to actively use strategies to be punctual rather than relying on worry-driven focus.