By Mitch Rice
Difficulty focusing, restlessness, or persistent mental fatigue can be signs of various emotional and mental states, but they are especially common in people with ADHD or anxiety. The overlap between these two conditions can make distinguishing one from the other difficult, particularly in adults who have developed coping strategies that mask core symptoms.
Understanding the difference is important because, without a cause, how can we address it? Structured tools like mental health quizzes can offer an accessible first step.
How the ADHD in Adults Quiz Can Help Spot the Difference
If you’re unsure whether you’re dealing with anxiety, ADHD, or both, a reflection-based tool can offer insight. While not a diagnostic test, online ADHD vs. anxiety quizzes are built to help adults identify attention and regulation patterns, even for people who have learned to “mask” symptoms.
The best approach would be to explore the underlying reasons for these symptoms. Unlike questionnaires that focus on symptom detection and management, the ADHD in adults quiz from Breeze https://breeze-wellbeing.com/adhd-test/ explores patterns of forgetfulness, task switching, impulsivity, time perception, and mental fatigue. These show areas where ADHD hides and the role anxiety plays in day-to-day functioning.
Here’s how a test like this can help you if you’re not ready to take your concerns to a doctor’s office:
· Rule out ADHD traits if your patterns stem mostly from anxiety-driven thought spirals and not executive dysfunction.
· Spot overlapping symptoms, such as restlessness or difficulty relaxing, and help you realize if these are rooted in attention challenges rather than anxiety-based worry.
· Reveal how ADHD may cause anxiety, for example, the anxiety that builds up after repeated missed deadlines or chaotic work routines.
The received results may be highly beneficial for therapy or professional evaluation. Bringing quiz results into a therapist’s office might save you some time and give you language to express what you’ve been dealing with.
According to the CDC, approximately 39% of people diagnosed with ADHD also experience symptoms of anxiety [1]. This makes self-reflection tools especially useful for sorting through what’s at the root.
ADHD vs Anxiety: Side-by-Side Comparison
It’s not always easy to tell whether you have ADHD or anxiety. Your mind might constantly feel like racing, and the to-do list never seems to shrink. Both conditions can cause overwhelm, distractibility, and low motivation. But the reasons why these symptoms show up usually differ.
Below is a simple table that outlines some key differences. While no table can replace a clinical diagnosis, it can help you better understand where your confusion may be coming from.
| Symptom Area | ADHD | Anxiety |
| Focus | Easily distracted, especially by external stimuli | Focus is disrupted by looping thoughts or worries |
| Attention Span | Inconsistent, can hyperfocus or lose focus quickly | Scattered due to rumination or fear-based thinking |
| Restlessness | Physical (fidgeting, tapping, movement), but also mental | Mental (inner tension, overthinking) |
| Emotional Regulation | Emotions can shift quickly and feel intense | Emotions can stem from persistent worry or dread |
| Inner State | Feels scattered, under-stimulated, or impulsively reactive | Feels tense, fearful, alert to threat |
| Sleep | Trouble falling asleep due to racing thoughts or overstimulation | Trouble falling or staying asleep due to persistent worry |
| Decision-Making | Impulsive, avoids steps, may jump to conclusions | Overthinks every possibility, fears making the wrong choice |
| Motivation | Low initiation, easily bored, avoids routine | Fear-driven procrastination, perfectionism blocks action |
| Productivity | Inconsistent, bursts of energy or avoidance | Avoidant due to overwhelm or self-doubt |
| Self-Talk | “Why can’t I just get started?” or “I’m lazy” | “What if I mess this up?” or “Something bad will happen” |
Learning ADHD Symptoms with ADHD Quiz for Adults
Adult ADHD significantly differs from stereotypical “loud and childish” ADHD. Although neurodevelopmental conditions like ADHD usually start in childhood, not all adults realize they have ADHD until well into their 30s or 40s. Especially women, whose symptoms differ from frequently accepted signs, which makes them get diagnosed with ADHD on average four years later than men [2].
According to the DSM-5, diagnostic criteria for mental health conditions, adult ADHD symptoms fall into two categories: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity [3]. To be considered a diagnosis, symptoms must have been present before age 12 and must interfere with functioning in at least two areas of life (e.g., work and home, or relationships and school).
Here are some of the most common symptoms that online ADHD in adults quizzes might catch, even if a person might overlook them:
· Inattention & Poor Follow-Through
People with ADHD tend to constantly forget appointments, misplace items, or lose track of emails. Tasks that require planning, like organizing a trip or managing finances, can feel overwhelming or impossible (unless a person’s doing them in hyperfocus).
This happens due to a different executive function, the brain’s ability to initiate and finish tasks. In people with ADHD, executive function might be called dysfunctional because they have difficulties starting, prioritizing, or finishing tasks.
· Time Blindness
What the ADHD vs. Anxiety quiz can reveal is time problems. People with ADHD can experience difficulties estimating how long things will take or losing track of time entirely.
It might feel like you’re always running late, or start something “for five minutes” and realize an hour has passed. This is also due to executive (dys)function.
· Impulsivity
Impulsive and loud ADHD is exactly the type of ADHD everybody knows about. This can show up as interrupting, speaking without thinking, or making sudden purchases.
Not everybody, though, knows how it feels to be that impulsive person inside. Emotionally, it might look like overcommitting yourself or saying things you regret later.
· Hyperfocus
We already mentioned this lesser-known trait. Some adults with ADHD can become so absorbed in something they love (like a creative project or video game) that everything else around them disappears.
Some even call hyperfocus ADHD’s “superpower.” While it may sound helpful, hyperfocus leads to neglecting basic tasks or responsibilities. Adults with ADHD can skip meals and self-care, or focus on unnecessary tasks, because they are unable to distract themselves from something.
· Mood Swings and Emotional Dysregulation
Due to the different size and functioning of the amygdala, the brain’s center for regulating emotions, adults with ADHD might experience more intense emotions and have less control over their feelings [4].
If you want to explore this side of your personality, try ADHD quizzes for adults that explore emotional regulation and can explain your reactions.
· Quiet or Internalized ADHD
Especially common in women and people raised to “behave,” this version doesn’t involve hyperactivity. Since many girls might be taught to be quiet, not to run around, and study hard, they internalize the symptoms. This coping strategy might lead to overthinking, perfectionism, daydreaming, and chronic self-blame, often mistaken for anxiety or depression.
What Anxiety Looks Like in Adults
Anxiety can feel like a background hum. It’s quiet, possible to ignore, and unharmful, but it’s always there. It’s easy to underestimate the importance of this background noise.
At its core, anxiety is the brain’s way of trying to keep you safe. But when the system stays stuck in alert mode, when there’s no real threat, it can start interfering with a person’s daily life, relationships, and ability to relax. What signs of anxiety are the most prevalent?
· Racing thoughts
Your mind jumps from one worry to the next, making it hard to focus or wind down. Unlike individuals with ADHD, anxious people ruminate on possible outcomes of potential situations instead of numerous thoughts that go through the brain all at once.
· Physical tension
Anxiety might manifest physically. Tight muscles, clenched jaw, stomach discomfort, or headaches are possible as natural consequences of internal stress [5].
· Overplanning or perfectionism
In order to prevent the worst-case scenarios that a person with anxiety creates in their head, they try to prepare for every possible outcome to avoid failure or embarrassment. For example, someone might carry heavy bags with random stuff “just in case.” Or they can be distraught if something they planned doesn’t turn out as they imagined.
· Avoidance behaviors
One interesting area ADHD vs. Anxiety test explores is how a person with anxiety can delay decisions, skip social events, or procrastinate. Not out of laziness, but from fear of discomfort or failure.
· Irritability and fatigue
Constant hypervigilance drains energy levels. Fatigue can be felt on both physical and emotional levels. Because of this, small stressors may feel overwhelming, like dropping a spoon might trigger tears.
Many people with anxiety describe it as “living with a motor that won’t shut off.” Even when life on the outside seems calm, the internal pressure continues.
Can the ADHD in Adults Quiz Show Overlapping ADHD and Anxiety?
A study from Frontiers in Psychology showed that nearly 70% of adults with ADHD also experience some other mental health condition, and anxiety is one of the most common ones [7].
While ADHD and anxiety are distinct conditions, their symptoms frequently overlap. Shared symptoms include:
· Restlessness and fidgeting
· Difficulty focusing or shutting off thoughts
· Emotional overwhelm
· Sleep problems
· Procrastination due to mental paralysis
But here’s what’s important to know: the root causes are different. With ADHD, distractibility or forgetfulness comes from neurological differences in attention and executive dysfunction. With anxiety, the difficulty might come from fear-driven thoughts that can be a consequence of previous life events.
That’s why it matters to distinguish which condition is primary. ADHD usually requires tools that build executive function, like structure and task support. Anxiety might call for mindfulness, cognitive reframing, or addressing underlying fears.
Start by taking the ADHD vs. Anxiety quiz to learn the best coping techniques for you. In many cases, managing ADHD symptoms reduces anxiety. But sometimes, anxiety needs its own attention too. A professional psychologist can help you explore the full picture.