My ADHD Journey, How It Intersects with Anxiety and What I Do About It

A month ago, I shared how -- at age 50 -- I got diagnosed with - and finally admitted to myself - that I have ADHD. And then about a week ago, I wrote an article: My ADHD Journey: Thriving through Variety. In this next part, I’ll explore my own ADHD intersections with anxiety.

Discovering Anxiety

It was 2006. I had two young daughters, ages 5 and 3, and now a third. I started having chest pain. At first, I ignored it, but it continued, so I went to the doctor. They did a ton of cardiac tests and eventually told me that my heart was strong and by every metric, I was in excellent shape. The chest pain was, in fact, how I experienced anxiety.

My doctor suggested that I try an SSRI to see if it made the chest pain go away, so I did for a few months. And yes, it made the chest pain go away. But I noticed a side effect. Prior to taking the SSRI, I loved my UX research consulting work. I was excited by knowing that something cool might be right around the corner. And I felt a little thrill whenever I completed a project successfully. Once I was on the SSRI, however, the thrill was muted. In fact, I was much less excited about my consulting work. This was a tremendous down side and I stopped taking the medication soon after.

So, 18 years ago, I both acknowledged for the first time that I had anxiety and also realized that for me, there were two sides to that anxiety – there was a good side that drove me forward and there was a bad side that caused me discomfort both physically and emotionally. (And I loved how this was one of the major theme elements in Inside Out 2!)

Early Attempts to Manage Anxiety

I wasn’t as open to seeing a therapist 18 years ago as I am today, but having acknowledged then that I have anxiety, I started working on ways to reduce it. Among other things, I bought some early computer-based biofeedback technology that was attached to my computer’s serial port but I couldn’t stay focused on the gamified biofeedback long enough for it to add value and eventually gave up. This is really the point when I started trying to find other ways to reduce my anxiety - with limited success at first, but eventually finding ways that really did make a difference.

The Intersection of ADHD and Anxiety

In the past two months, I’ve found myself intensively focused on learning about ADHD. Among what I’ve learned and what I actually found surprising is how much ADHD intersects with anxiety. And in understanding this, I started to understand myself just a little bit better.

Now I understand that the ADHD-driven anxiety from being sleep deprived with young children, feeling too fragmented and not staying on top of things plus general anxiety on top of that had put me over the edge of feeling the physical pain in 2006.

Managing Anxiety and ADHD and Thriving

I still do have anxiety, but for the most part, I now have learned tools to keep it in check. I am largely able to focus on the good aspects and let it drive me forward.

In fact, if we talk in person, you would probably see that I get excited about ideas and topics that I’m passionate about (in a good way) pretty quickly but by and large will present in social situations as a calm person.

There are still certainly times, however, when my anxiety becomes greater than my ability to cancel it out with my tools. These episodes can be painful – both emotionally and physically (I still sometimes feel it in my chest) but by and large, these episodes are infrequent enough that I can manage okay.

Although the ADHD recognition/diagnosis is new and I didn’t understand the tie-in with anxiety until now, I’ve had 18 years to work on tools to manage my anxiety.

Here are some of my tools:

Prioritize Sleep

I know now that too little quality sleep makes my ADHD much worse, and then the more I struggle with focus, the more anxious I get. So I’m pretty good at going to bed early enough that I can wake up naturally without an alarm.

Exercise Frequently

In my earlier article, I talked about how I try to break up my days with runs, swims, working out in my home gym, and some VR exercise/movement. This helps keep both my ADHD and my anxiety at bay.

Use Biometric Data

Even aside from ADHD and anxiety, I do like a good data set. I track biometrics with both my Oura ring and Apple Watch. The Oura ring is especially good at helping me understand my sleep patterns better, and when I recognize that there are factors that are causing a problem, correct for it.

Find the Right Level of Fragmentation

I find my calmest point where I have the right level of fragmentation – that is, I have enough projects – both professional and personal - to keep me busy and engaged while avoiding being overwhelmed and avoiding boredom. For the most part, I find that I can achieve this. My interlocking work puzzle pieces largely fit together in a good way and when I don’t have enough billable work, which certainly happens periodically, I can offset with personal projects and activities.

Leverage Sounds, Scents, and Sights

Certainly, if I am feeling anxious, turning on calming music, using the Calm app, burning scented candles, looking at calming scenes and videos on YouTube or in a more immersive way with my Meta Quest 3, and walking into the forest near me do wonders for my ability to push back against the anxiety.

Maintain Social Cohesion

I am lucky - but also work at having - a close-knit family, a personal network of friends, and also a professional network of colleagues who are also often friends too. Having a cohesive social network of wonderful people has been incredibly valuable in terms of my feelings of connectedness, and I believe that in turn helps me feel safe and secure which balances my mental health.

Have a Therapist

It took me a very long time to engage with a therapist, not until very recently when the recognition of ADHD + anxiety really pushed me to the point where I acknowledged this would be helpful in furthering my understanding of what I could do to improve my resilience with both. But now that I do, I can definitely find value in having essentially an independent third party to be able to talk things through and problem solve with. After all, this is also my professional pitch – to be an independent third party doing research for organizations!

Schedule Alone Time

I'm a mostly-extrovert. I love being around people and do get positive energy from others. While I don’t think I necessarily gain energy from being alone, making sure I have alone time - and a quiet place to retreat to when feeling overwhelmed - helps me stay calm and balanced.

Mostly Avoid Alcohol

Although never a big drinker, when I got the Oura ring four years ago, I started to see a direct link between alcohol, poor sleep quality, and a higher likelihood of feeling anxiety the next day. Now, although I don’t completely avoid alcohol, I limit to about one drink per month.

Ensure Good Air Quality

This one might sound a bit strange, but I do believe it makes a difference. Anecdotally, when carbon dioxide builds up too high, my focus decreases and I become more anxious. I have two air quality sensors in the house and three fans that draw air out of the house (and thus pull in fresh air).

Conclusion

Understanding the intersection of ADHD and anxiety continues to be a transformative journey for me. Recognizing how these two aspects of my mental health interact and affect my life has allowed me to further refine strategies to manage them effectively. While the journey is ongoing and there are still challenges to face, I am quickly gaining the tools and knowledge that help me thrive. Sharing my experiences here has not only been cathartic but also a way to connect with others who might be on a similar path. Together, we can navigate the complexities of ADHD and anxiety, finding strength in our shared stories and resilience.

Also check out the first article in this series: My ADHD Journey: Thriving Through Variety

About Cory Lebson

Cory Lebson has been a user experience researcher and consultant for 30 years.

As the Principal and Owner of Lebsontech LLC, he focuses on leading small qualitative UX research and evaluation consulting projects for a variety of clients across industries. Cory is also the author of The UX Careers Handbook Second Edition (2022)?and is a LinkedIn Learning instructor with course topics related to UX research and careers.

Cory speaks frequently on topics related to UX career development, user research, and accessibility.?He has been featured both on tv and on the radio and has also published a number of articles. Check out Cory's written and video content.

Cory has an MBA in marketing and technology management, as well as an MA in sociology and a BS in psychology. Cory is a past president of the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) International and is also a past president of the UXPA DC Chapter.

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