ADHD and Addiction: Why Both Conditions are Deeply Connected

ADHD and Addiction Through Lived Experience

We’re Rob and Ellyn – two people with ADHD who’ve experienced the chaos of neurodivergence and addiction firsthand. We’ve both worked in the addiction treatment sector for nearly a decade. Ellyn – a writer who’s delivered content for hundreds of mental health and recovery campaigns – and Rob – on digital search and web development campaigns. Together, we’ve seen addiction up close, both professionally and personally.

We didn’t meet in a clinical setting; we met building marketing campaigns and very soon, we realised we were living parallel lives: Rob, with a history of compulsive behaviours like gaming, workaholism and dopamine chasing. Ellyn, with undiagnosed ADHD until her 30s, masking for years through perfectionism, emotional burnout, and using substances to soothe internal overwhelm. For Ellyn, going to rehab was the beginning of her ADHD discovery.

We’ve seen how ADHD and compulsive behaviours are often the norm – and for those who are exploring the possibility of treatment for addiction alongside ADHD, we hope the information found on this page helps you or a loved one seek the right support.

Let’s Start With the Facts: ADHD and Addiction Are Linked

The research is clear and consistent. If you live with ADHD, your risk of developing a substance use disorder is significantly higher.

But this isn’t just about statistics; this is about the real people – like us – who live with fast brains and nervous systems that rarely rest. People who didn’t choose addiction but found themselves pulled toward anything that offered even a moment of relief.

Rob: “I am always going to be at risk of addiction”

For me (Rob), ADHD has always been a loud presence. I was diagnosed at 14, back when people thought ADHD was just about fidgeting or being disruptive in school (I was both of those things, so I totally get it). But it didn’t always look like that. It looked like gaming for 10 hours straight, feeling as though I needed to fix everything, working until I crashed, and needing something to stimulate my mind or sedate it – mostly nicotine.

I wasn’t chasing highs. I was chasing stillness. That’s the key part I want everyone to understand. Addiction is often viewed through a lens of destruction and suffering – which it absolutely is – but there’s another way to also view it. Addiction is trying to solve something, and for people like us living with ADHD, the solution is very much intertwined with the problem – both ADHD and addiction affect dopamine reward systems.

Ellyn: “I masked so well, I didn’t know it was ADHD”

For me (Ellyn), ADHD was a ghost. It was there – always – but no one could name it. I was the people pleaser and sensitive one who got told to toughen up. I wasn’t loud or disruptive, but my brain never stopped.

By the time I was in my twenties, I was juggling emotional dysregulation, insomnia, anxiety and substance abuse issues. I was writing content in active addiction, and at the time, I had no way of coping without it.

When I finally went to rehab and got diagnosed with ADHD, everything clicked – including my history of compulsive behaviours as emotional regulation tools.

And like Rob, the solution of self-medicating solved one problem, but created more elsewhere.

Why ADHD Makes You More Vulnerable to Addiction

People think addiction is a moral failing or a lack of willpower. Sadly, there are still many people who remain completely ignorant to what ADHD actually is.

Addiction, especially for ADHD brains, is a form of self-regulation – but it’s more than that – having ADHD puts you at greater risk of other traumatic events too.

1. Dopamine Dysregulation

ADHD affects the dopamine system, which is the brain’s reward and motivation pathway. That means we’re often:

• Under-stimulated
• Bored quickly
• Prone to impulsivity
• Constantly seeking novelty

Substances like alcohol, cannabis or stimulants? They offer immediate relief – not just emotionally, but chemically.

2. Emotional Dysregulation & Trauma

Many of us with ADHD experience rejection-sensitive dysphoria (RSD), intense emotions, and a history of being misunderstood. These emotional patterns can lead to:

• Social withdrawal
• Low self-worth
• High anxiety
• Burnout cycles

And if trauma is layered in (which it often is), we’re even more vulnerable. Studies show a strong overlap between developmental trauma, ADHD, and addictive behaviour.

3. Impulsivity and Poor Inhibitory Control

ADHD makes it harder to pause between thought and action. This means we’re more likely to:

• Try substances earlier
• Use them in riskier ways
• Struggle with stopping, even when we want to

Managing Compulsive Behaviour and ADHD Without Shame

We’re not here to hand out recovery tips; ADHD doesn’t work like that because what helps one person might overwhelm another. But what we can offer is transparency – the messy, imperfect, lived-in kind that lets you know you’re not alone.

We both manage compulsive behaviours in our lives – sometimes well, other times not. But every time we hit a wall, we learn something new about what we need.

Rob: Replacing the Rush Without Replacing the Pattern

I used to think the goal was to eliminate all dopamine-seeking. To stop chasing productivity highs, stop bingeing YouTube at 1am, stop gaming when I was overwhelmed. But that just made me feel worse. It added another layer of pressure. Self-awareness and self-compassion are two areas I would always recommend working on.

What I needed was to find balance, replacing some of the rush with something nourishing – not to eliminate the need altogether.

Now I use:

• Movement to regulate overstimulation – walking/exercise clears mental fog
• Box breathing when I catch that “must-scroll-now” feeling – it gives that extra space to ask myself: “is this really what I need right now?”
• Low-stimulation activities – sometimes I like to sit in a darkened room and listen to music, for others that can be a weighted blanket
• Permission to do nothing, which paradoxically resets me more than anything else

The key for me is recognising the urge and responding instead of reacting. That’s still hard. But when I treat myself like someone worth supporting – not correcting – I am much kinder to myself.

Ellyn: Gentle Structure, Not Self-Punishment

Having children makes it harder to have those quieter times to switch off, which can often lead to overstimulation and an increased need for sugary foods, screens, doom scrolling, sleep avoidance. Instead of viewing these things as self-sabotage, I see it as a need to create space for recovery.

Here’s what I’ve built for myself:

• Planning backwards: Instead of making long lists, I log what I actually did each day – it builds momentum and reduces the likelihood of negative self-feelings.
• Scheduled time for myself in the evenings: Once the kids go to bed, that is my time to do what I need to do.

I don’t aim for perfect weeks anymore. I aim for self-trust. That’s what keeps my compulsions quieter.

Behavioural Addictions People with ADHD Commonly Face

Not everyone with ADHD misuses substances. But many of us walk the tightrope of socially sanctioned compulsions – behaviours that look “normal,” even admirable, until they start taking over our lives.

Let’s name a few:

1. Workaholism

I (Rob) have fallen victim to this cycle many times before. There is often a fine line between passion and addiction for me. Workaholism looks like:

• Overdelivering to avoid being seen as lazy
• Tying your worth to productivity
• Never switching off, even when your body is exhausted.

2. Gaming

I (Rob) spent most of my childhood playing videogames, and it’s obvious to me why they are so appealing to the ADHD brain. Fast feedback, clear goals, achievement unlocked – it’s an ADHD paradise. But when 30 minutes becomes 6 hours at 3am. It starts to cost more than it gives.

3. Food and Binge Eating

We both know the sugar-caffeine-regret loop well. For many, food is comfort, stimulation and control. But it’s also a survival mechanism – especially when emotional regulation is low and stimulation is scarce. Binge eating is cheap, convenient and tastes good at the time.

4. Impulse Spending

Quick dopamine. Instant gratification. Regret later. For ADHD brains, online shopping hits hard and often. It’s not about materialism, it’s about relief.

If you recognise yourself here, please know: this isn’t a character flaw. It’s a coping mechanism in disguise. You’re managing chaos the best way you know how. That awareness is the first step.

What Has Actually Helped Us Living with ADHD and Addiction

We can’t give you a recovery formula, but here are the patterns that moved us forward:

1. Self-Compassion > Self-Discipline

ADHD culture loves “hacks” and “systems,” but they’re useless if they’re built on self-loathing. When we stopped treating ourselves like projects and started treating ourselves like people, everything changed.

Try this reframing:

2. Co-Regulation Over Isolation

Recovery from anything is brutal when done alone. ADHD makes us prone to isolation spirals, where shame keeps us quiet and disconnection fuels compulsivity.

We both rely on:

• Friends who understand executive dysfunction
• Mentors or therapists who validate our wiring
• Co-working, body-doubling, or parallel play

The message here: connection heals more than willpower ever will, and that’s true for both ADHD and addiction.

3. Micro-Decisions Create Macro-Change

You don’t need to transform your life in 30 days. You need to pick one corner of chaos and shine a light on it.

Here are small things that helped us regain control:

• Picking up a messy room corner while listening to a podcast
• Switching coffee to water when anxiety hit (we don’t recommend alcohol, obviously)
• Scheduling one thing instead of five
• Sending a voice note when we don’t feel like talking to people

Why We Wrote this Article on Addiction and ADHD

We’re not experts with letters after our names. But we’re ADHD adults with lived experience who’ve built careers in addiction treatment, marketing, content and storytelling. We regularly meet people just like us – misunderstood, sensitive and in need of something to help them get through the day.

If you or someone you care about has ADHD and are exploring addiction treatment options, it’s important to remember that you’re living in a world that wasn’t designed with your brain in mind. But the conversation is changing, and there are clinics that will build a recovery path that fits your neurodivergent needs. 

If You Need Help with ADHD and Addiction

The line between compulsive behaviour and addiction isn’t always clear – especially when ADHD is involved. Too often, people like us are either told we’re “not bad enough” or “beyond help”, and that’s often the surface-level paradox of ADHD. We either keep pushing, keep performing or keep burning out.

But the truth is, you don’t need to be addicted to alcohol or drugs to deserve support. If your behaviours – whatever they are – are controlling you, draining you, or making your world feel smaller, that’s reason enough to reach out

At Abbington House, ADHD isn’t treated as a side note. Their programme is designed for people who live with overlapping challenges like ours – people whose addiction and mental health needs don’t fit neatly into a generic model.

There is a better way to live. You’re not too much. You’re not too late. And you’re not alone.