I am a survivor of childhood narssistic abuse.
ADHD Drug May Improve PTSD, TBI Symptoms. How Childhood Trauma Could Be Mistaken for PTSD. PTSD and ADHD: Underlying factors in many cases of burnout. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a helpful conversation. Have you ever been misdiagnosed as having trauma or ADHD? If you have both, what do you do to address them? Let me know about your experiences in the comments. If stimulants and ADHD coaching don't cut it, you might also have PTSD ( 15 Common Signs of Unresolved Trauma). If it feels as though something is missing though you are working through trauma, you might also have ADHD. In short, if you think you have ADHD and PTSD, try to address both issues.
Experts also recommend exercise, sleep, and healthy food to almost everyone.
Creating routines and learning how to manage emotions help both PTSD and ADHD, and ADHD likewise benefits from coaching, therapy, and/or medication. 3Ĭommonly recommended treatments for trauma include eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), appropriate medication, and reducing stress in everyday life. Certain medications used to treat ADHD might also work on trauma and depression, perhaps because stimulants affect dopamine (neurotransmitters that help motivate us) and allow the brain to focus on the present rather than on past trauma. Treating ADHD improves engagement in trauma work, and working on PTSD lessens the anxiety and restlessness caused by ADHD. 2 PTSD and ADHD Treatmentsįortunately, doctors find that addressing ADHD often assuages PTSD symptoms and vice versa. One study found that, “children diagnosed with ADHD also experienced higher levels of poverty, divorce, violence, and family substance abuse,” indicating that stress heightens ADHD symptoms or that trauma is sometimes misdiagnosed as ADHD. Those living with trauma already live with high levels of stress, and researchers note that those with ADHD have a difficult time maintaining “balance in stressful settings.” 1 Researchers found that a quarter of those suffering from burnout likely had ADHD and more than half had strong symptoms of PTSD. One study in Sweden found that a large number of people who took extended sick leave due to “emotional exhaustion syndrome” (better known as “burnout”) also suffered from undiagnosed PTSD and/or ADHD. In addition, both ADHD and trauma can cause problems throughout someone’s lifetime. Difficulty concentrating, likely due to inattentiveness in ADHD or traumatic dissociation.Depression, hopelessness, and low self-esteem.Anxiety and hyperawareness or hyperarousal.What ADHD and Trauma Symptoms Have in Commonīoth ADHD and PTSD can manifest the following symptoms: Though challenging, treating the combination of ADHD and trauma is not insurmountable. Sometimes PTSD exacerbates ADHD and ADHD slows recovery from PTSD. The two conditions share certain symptoms and can be hard to distinguish. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and trauma or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms can overlap, making the combination difficult to correctly diagnose or treat.