Is There an Overlap Between C-PTSD and ADHD? Here’s What to Know
You're scattered, forgetful, and can't seem to focus on anything. Your emotions feel overwhelming and impossible to regulate. You struggle with relationships, have a harsh inner critic, and feel like you're constantly trying to hold it together while everything falls apart.
So which is it—ADHD or C-PTSD?
Here's the complicated answer: it might be both. And figuring out which symptoms come from where can feel like trying to untangle headphones that have been in your pocket for a year. Let’s break down the overlap between C-PTSD and ADHD:
What Is C-PTSD?
Complex PTSD develops from repeated, ongoing trauma—usually during childhood. Unlike PTSD, which typically stems from a single traumatic event, C-PTSD comes from prolonged exposure to situations you couldn't escape. This includes chronic neglect, repeated abuse, or growing up in an emotionally unsafe environment.
C-PTSD affects how you see yourself, other people, and the world. It often shows up as difficulty regulating emotions, a harsh inner critic, relationship struggles, chronic feelings of shame, and a persistent sense that you're fundamentally different from everyone else.
What Is ADHD?
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects executive function, attention, impulse control, and working memory. For women especially, ADHD often looks like chronic overwhelm, difficulty with organization, trouble completing tasks, forgetting things constantly, and feeling like you're working twice as hard as everyone else just to appear functional.
ADHD isn't about laziness or lack of effort. It's about having a brain that operates on an interest-based nervous system and struggles with tasks that don't provide immediate stimulation or reward.
Why C-PTSD and ADHD Look So Similar (And Tend to Overlap)
This is where it gets a little confusing C-PTSD and ADHD can look remarkably similar, especially in adults. Both can cause:
Difficulty concentrating. C-PTSD can create brain fog and make it hard to focus because your nervous system is constantly scanning for threats. ADHD creates attention difficulties because your brain struggles to sustain focus on tasks that aren't immediately engaging.
Emotional dysregulation. Both conditions can make emotions feel overwhelming and hard to manage. With C-PTSD, this often stems from never learning healthy emotional regulation as a child. With ADHD, it's partly neurological—your brain processes emotions more intensely and has trouble modulating responses.
Forgetfulness and memory issues. Object permanence challenges in ADHD make it hard to remember things that aren't directly in front of you. C-PTSD can create dissociative experiences and memory gaps related to trauma.
Relationship struggles. C-PTSD often creates attachment issues and difficulty trusting people. ADHD can make it hard to maintain relationships because you forget to reach out, miss social cues, or struggle with time blindness.
Low self-esteem and harsh self-criticism. C-PTSD often comes with a brutal inner critic formed from childhood messages. ADHD creates chronic experiences of "failure" that build a critical internal voice over time.
Overwhelm and burnout. Both conditions can leave you feeling exhausted from just trying to function in a world that wasn't built for how your brain works.
The Main Differences Between C-PTSD and ADHD
Despite the similarities, there are important differences:
ADHD is present from childhood, even if it wasn't recognized or diagnosed. It's consistent across different environments and situations. C-PTSD develops in response to trauma and may not have been present before those experiences.
ADHD symptoms are neurological and lifelong, though they can be managed. C-PTSD symptoms can heal and change significantly with trauma-focused therapy.
ADHD struggles often center around executive function and attention. C-PTSD struggles often center around safety, trust, and emotional regulation rooted in past experiences.
How Common Is It to Have Both?
Research suggests that people with childhood trauma are more likely to be diagnosed with ADHD, and people with ADHD are more vulnerable to developing C-PTSD.
This makes sense when you think about it: growing up with undiagnosed ADHD often means experiencing chronic criticism, shame, and feeling like you're constantly failing—which can be traumatic in itself.
Additionally, children with ADHD may be more vulnerable to traumatic experiences because of impulsivity, difficulty reading social cues, or challenges in school that lead to more conflict with caregivers.
Some people have both conditions running simultaneously. Others have ADHD, and the chronic stress of managing it created trauma responses that look like C-PTSD. Some have C-PTSD, and the symptoms look so much like ADHD that they're misdiagnosed.
What This Looks Like in Therapy
When both conditions are present, effective treatment needs to address both. Trauma therapy alone won't fix ADHD-related executive function challenges. ADHD strategies alone won't heal attachment wounds or process traumatic experiences.
Good therapy for someone with both C-PTSD and ADHD involves trauma-informed work that understands how ADHD complicates the healing process.
It means developing ADHD strategies while also working through inner critic patterns, building emotional regulation skills, and processing traumatic experiences at a pace that works for your ADHD brain.
It also means understanding that some symptoms might improve with trauma work while others need ADHD-specific support. And that's okay—healing isn't linear, especially when you're working with multiple complex conditions.
Getting the Right Support with Ditch The Couch Therapy
If you're dealing with symptoms of both C-PTSD and ADHD, working with a therapist who understands both conditions is crucial. You need someone who won't dismiss your ADHD symptoms as "just trauma" or miss the trauma underneath what looks like ADHD struggles.
At Ditch The Couch, we specialize in both trauma-informed therapy and neurodivergent-affirming ADHD support. We understand that these conditions often coexist and that treating one without addressing the other leaves gaps in your healing.