Anxiety and Addiction
Anxiety disorders — generalized anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, and specific phobias — commonly co-occur with substance use disorder.
Read more →ADHD and Addiction
ADHD frequently co-occurs with substance use disorder.
Signs of self-medication
When use is doing a job.
Substance use that started as a way to manage symptoms eventually creates its own problem. These are the patterns we see most often in patients with co-occurring adhd and addiction:
- Using stimulants — including someone else's prescription — to manage focus or energy
- Escalating use of caffeine, nicotine, or other stimulants to compensate for untreated attention symptoms
- Substance use that intensifies during high-demand periods like work deadlines or major life transitions
- Impulsive substance use tied to difficulty pausing before acting
- Using alcohol or sedatives at night to quiet a racing mind and fall asleep
- A pattern of starting and stopping treatment or medication inconsistently
- Substance use that began as a way to feel 'normal' or keep up with responsibilities
Integrated treatment approach
Both conditions, one plan.
Clinical sequence
Integrated treatment addresses ADHD and substance use together rather than treating one and hoping the other resolves on its own. Care begins with a comprehensive evaluation using DSM-5 criteria, followed by structured behavioral therapy that builds focus, organization, and impulse-control skills. Because stimulant medications carry misuse risk for people in active recovery, our medical team weighs non-stimulant options carefully and manages any medication decision with that risk in mind. Life skills training and consistent daily structure support the attention and organization challenges that make early recovery harder.
DSM-5: F90.0, F90.1, F90.2
Therapies we use
Evidence-based for this pairing.
Different condition pairs respond to different therapies. The modalities below have the strongest evidence base for co-occurring adhd and addiction.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Life Skills Training
- Individual Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Relapse Prevention
Insurance coverage
Typically covered.
Commercial insurance plans typically cover integrated evaluation and treatment for ADHD co-occurring with substance use, including behavioral-health assessment, medication management, and evidence-based therapy. Our admissions team verifies your specific plan's coverage as part of that first conversation.
Coverage is determined by medical necessity. Call admissions and we'll verify your specific plan as part of that first conversation.
Other dual-diagnosis conditions
More conditions we treat alongside SUD.
Bipolar Disorder and Addiction
Bipolar disorder and substance use disorder frequently occur together.
Read more →Depression and Addiction
Depression and substance use disorder co-occur at very high rates, and the relationship runs both ways — depression increases the risk of substance use, and chronic substance use worsens depression.
Read more →Personality Disorders and Addiction
Personality disorders — long-standing patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating that create ongoing distress or conflict — frequently co-occur with substance use disorder.
Read more →PTSD, Trauma, and Addiction
PTSD and substance use disorder co-occur at high rates.
Read more →Sleep Disorders and Addiction
Disrupted sleep is one of the most common co-occurring issues in addiction treatment.
Read more →
Take the next step
Treat adhd and addiction and substance use together.
Admissions answers 24/7. We work with commercial insurance and verify your specific coverage on the call.