Ask for anxiety and depression care
Guideline advice, not formally gradedADHD evidence
Tell your clinician about persistent anxiety or depression, so care covers it.
Start with the time you have
1 minute
Write down the mood or anxiety worry you want your clinician to hear about.
5 minutes
Write when it started, how often it happens and what it stops you doing.
15 minutes
Put your symptom history and current medicine list together for an appointment about combined care.
A plan
Connect the care plans
- Raise persistent mood or anxiety symptoms.
- Ask for assessment, treatment or an appropriate referral.
- Agree who coordinates care and how progress will be reviewed.
How sure the science is
Guideline advice, not formally graded, ADHD evidence
- Recommended by ADHD clinical guidelines, but nobody has pooled the trials and graded how sure they are.
- Guideline advice is a considered judgement, not a measured certainty.
- Measured in people with ADHD.
AAP key action statement 7 (AAP grade C recommendation), NICE NG87 1.3.4 and 1.4.13, NHS adult guidance; no combined-treatment effect or GRADE rating claimed.
The number, drawn
Treat co-occurring conditions or refer for appropriate care
Why it matters
- Anxiety and depression can sit alongside ADHD, and they need their own assessment and treatment plan.
- The AAP recommends treating co-occurring conditions within the clinician's expertise or referring on, and NICE includes coexisting conditions in every ADHD assessment.
- NHS adult guidance adds that anxiety and depression can make ADHD symptoms worse.
- Better control of ADHD symptoms does not mean a separate mood or anxiety disorder has been treated.
How to do it
- Describe persistent worry, low mood or loss of interest, and what it does to your days or your child's.
- Say when these problems started and whether they line up with treatment changes or life events.
- Find out if you need a separate assessment or referral.
- Agree which clinician coordinates treatment and checks for interactions between medicines.
- If you or your child has thoughts of suicide or is in immediate danger, help is available now: contact local emergency services or a crisis line.
- New severe mood changes need prompt clinical assessment, including review of current medicines.
Putting it into practice
In real life
- Tell the clinician if low mood hangs on even when attention gets better.
- Ask whether the ADHD team and your anxiety therapist can share notes and coordinate, with your consent.
Watch out for
- Common mistakeIf you put everything down to ADHD, a separate condition can go unnoticed. Name the mood and the worry out loud.
- Common mistakeWith several services involved, nobody may own the plan. Ask who coordinates it.
Trusted guides
How we rated it
- Evidence grade
- A Moderate or high certainty evidence in people with ADHD, or an explicit ADHD guideline recommendation.
- The number
- Treat co-occurring conditions or refer for appropriate care (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019)
- Benefit
- 78/100 An editorial priority for the general list, weighted by certainty. It does not predict what will happen for you.
- Effort
- Some effort
Sources
- Tier 1 guidelineClinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of ADHD in Children and AdolescentsAmerican Academy of Pediatrics, 2019
- Tier 1 guidelineADHD in adultsNHS, 2025
- Tier 1 guidelineAttention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: What You Need to KnowNIMH, 2024
- Tier 1 guidelineAttention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management (NG87), recommendationsNICE, 2019
- General information about ADHD, not a diagnosis or an individual treatment plan.
- Tailoring changes the order of suggestions; it does not assess you.
- Medication decisions belong with you and a qualified clinician.