A:Several conditions may mimic certain characteristics of A.D.D. / H.D., causing inaccurate diagnosis. These include:
Anxiety disorders. A.D.D. / H.D. may cause anxiety when people find themselves in school, life or work situations with which they cannot cope. A.D.D. / H.D. differs from garden-variety anxiety disorder in that an anxiety disorder is usually episodic, whereas AD/HD is continual and lifelong. If anxiety comes and goes, it is probably not A.D.D. / H.D.
Depression. AD/HD may also cause depression, and sometimes depression causes a high level of distractibility that is diagnosed as A.D.D. / H.D. Depression, however, is also usually episodic. When depressed patients are given Ritalin or other stimulant drugs, which seem t help with A.D.D. / H.D. patients, depressed patients will often experience a short-term high' followed by an even more severe rebound-depression.
Manic-Depressive Illness. Manic-depression is not often diagnosed as A.D.D. / H.D. because the classic symptom of manic-depressive illness are so severe. One day a person is renting a ballroom In a hotel to entertain all his friends; the next day he's suicidal. Yet A.D.D. / H.D. is often misdiagnosed as manic-depressive illness. A visit to any adult-ADD support group usually produces several first-person stories of A.D.D. / H.D. adults who were given lithium or some other inappropriate drug because their A.D.D. / H.D. was misdiagnosed as manic-depressive illness.
Seasonal Affective Disorder. This recently discovered condition appears to be related to a deficiency of sunlight exposure during the winter months and is most prevalent in northern latitudes. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) symptom include depression, lethargy, and a lack of concentration during the winter months. It's historically cyclical. predictable, and is currently treated by shining a certain spectrum and brightness of light on a person for a few minutes or hours at a particular time each day, tricking the body into thinking that the longer days of spring or summer have arrived. Seasonal affective disorder is sometimes misdiagnosed as A.D.D. / H.D., and vice versa, but seasonality is hallmark trait.
The above answer is courtesy of ADDNET UK
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Other conditions that can look like A.D.D. / H.D. include.
These when in combination can often resemble A.D.D. / H.D.
because they are often found WITH A.D.D. / H.D.