Could someone please explain to me the difference between worry, anxiety and daydreaming w/ respect to ADHD Inattentive? I'm asking because my thoughts are a major distraction. My mind is constantly going. I'm always thinking, analyzing, planning, etc. often the same scenarios over and over other times just random to do's. This keeps me from being present in the moment, focusing on what I need/want to. I also tend to overthink simple decisions.

I can semi-control this w/ some self talk, but I have no control over when it starts and by the time I'm even aware that I'm doing it I've gone off on some other thought tangent. Med's have helped to slow my mind and so has becoming conscious that I am actually doing it.

I'm planning (read envisioned already in my mind numerous times) on talking about this with my therapist next week so please don't remind me that I need to talk to my doctor. http://addforums.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif I've definitely got that all thought out. I'd really like to know if this is daydreaming or perhaps coexisting anxiety or even obsessive thought patterning? Or just part of being someone w/inattentive ADHD. I've taken SSRI's (unsuccessfully) in the past for what I thought was depression and Xanax and Ativan to help me get to sleep. (yes mind works at night too)

I know it sounds like I'm asking for a diagnosis, but really I just want someone who has this same type of problem to share their experience and how they are managing it.

anxiety and worry are closely related. They come together when you feel anxiety because you are worried about something. Simple enough...

daydreaming and adhd... A lot of ADDers tend to daydream. and we happily kill a lot of time thinking about things. Some of us tend to tune out or "check out" to a degree that is almost autistic. We can shut out the whole world and sit and quetly ponder our favoirite thing for mainutes, even hours on end. We cant' control it, we sort of do it spontaneously.

ME :D

I have the same problem. My mind gets flooded with thoughts of everything I need to do, various problems I need to deal with, and thoughts of all the things that might go wrong but haven't yet. I get overwhelmed and feel that I am unable to control my life.

This creates anxiety and I try to escape by daydreaming about pleasant things. Then I realize that I have spent my time daydreaming instead of dealing with the real world, which is another source of anxiety.

I have made a lot of progress by first recognizing that my life is no more complicated or difficult than anyone else's. What I need to do is keep my thought patterns under control.

The technique that has helped me the most is to do my thinking on paper. In addition to using a planner for to-do lists and a journal for thinking through various issues I also take time throughout the day to jot down whatever is on my mind. The simple act of writing down your thoughts is a powerful technique for helping to control them.

I use self talk too but I also write it down. I may write something like, "I can't do any of this stuff until I get home and only one thing must be done today. Right now I need to concentrate on my job. I will be off work in two hours and then I can go home and take care of the other stuff." Sometimes I feel silly writing this out but after doing it I am usually able to put that extra stuff out of my mind.

HIGH or Ongoing Anxiety/Stress (internal or external) can cause various levels of dissociation, which in turn, can impair memory and learning in situations. It literally shuts down the left prefrontal cortex, IIRC.

Also, high levels of cortisol (triggered by adrenalin and CRF) actually cause death to neurons in the Hippocampus. (SSRIs can reverse some of this. Bremner did studies of this in abused kids or people who grow up in stressful homes.)

Example: Try having an argument and then go read a page from the newspaper.


I can almost guarantee you that the next day, you will NOT remember what you read.

im inattentive. i dont have this worry/anxiety thing you are talking about. complete daydreaming and idea inventing. random thoughts--ooh i should cut my hair, ooh i should research all day about lazy eyes and get a pirate patch. everyone is different though. i don't have a reading comprehension problem. mine is listening-wise.