19/08/2026
"When Modern Distraction Looks Like ADHD"
"Those with and without ADHD can experience worsening attention in the context of increased stress, increased technology use, and environmental distractions"
"A clinical diagnosis requires more than the presence of inattentive or impulsive tendencies. Symptoms must be persistent, developmentally inappropriate, present across settings, and associated with meaningful impairment. Patients who do not meet full diagnostic criteria can still benefit from support addressing attention, organization, sleep, stress, mood symptoms, or other contributors to impairment."
"Not Every Attention Problem Is ADHD
The clinician must determine whether another condition better explains the attentional symptoms or whether ADHD and a co-occurring disorder are present.
Anxious thoughts and stressful ruminations often distract patients, making it harder to sustain focus on a task and exclude unrelated stimuli and information. Depression may contribute to low motivation and poor task initiation. Symptoms of depression and anxiety can be incorrectly attributed to ADHD. Conversely, ADHD may initially be diagnosed as anxiety or depression because of the overlap in symptoms and treated as such.
Substance use may cause low arousal and poor motivation that resemble ADHD. Attention can also be worsened by sleep deprivation, sleep disorders, medication effects, or other medical causes. The differential diagnosis can become particularly challenging in older adults, in whom new or worsening attention problems may also raise concerns about cognitive decline. "
Inattention doesn't necessarily mean ADHD. Dr Zebib Abraham explains the complexities of evaluating adults and what clinicians should consider before making a diagnosis.
