ADHD or Developmental Trauma? Understanding the Overlap

In recent years, diagnoses of ADHD have risen dramatically — especially among adults and peri/menopausal women. At the same time, we’re finally beginning to understand the lifelong impact of developmental trauma: the physiological imprint left when a child grows up in an environment that doesn’t feel consistently safe, seen, or soothed.

Many of the symptoms overlap — attention struggles, emotional disregulation, low stress resilience — but the reasons behind them can be very different.

ADHD: A Neurodevelopmental Blueprint

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a neurodevelopmental condition, meaning the brain is wired differently from the start, in fact many successful people have these traits. It affects dopamine and norepinephrine signalling, which influence motivation, focus, and executive function.

Common ADHD traits can include the following but of course it's more complex than just these;

• Difficulty with planning, time management, and task initiation

• Hyper-focus on areas of interest

• Impulsivity or restlessness

• Poor working memory

• Emotional sensitivity and quick frustration

  
  

This pattern isn’t learned or conditioned through development, it’s how the brain processes stimulation and reward.

Developmental Trauma: The Adapted Nervous System

Developmental trauma arises when a child’s nervous system grows in an environment of chronic stress, emotional neglect, or unpredictability. The system adapts for survival, not exploration — learning to scan for threat, suppress needs, or disconnect from the body.

Typical patterns include:

• Hypervigilance and difficulty relaxing

• Emotional disregulation (big reactions, then shutdowns)

• Dissociation

• Sleep disruption

• Shame, guilt, or a persistent sense of “not being good enough”

• Somatic symptoms: gut issues, pain, fatigue

  
  

Over time, the body becomes wired for defence rather than attention — and this can look like ADHD.

The Overlap: Shared Symptoms, Different Roots

Both ADHD and developmental trauma can show up as:

• Forgetfulness and disorganisation

• Emotional reactivity

• Low stress tolerance

• Interrupted sleep

• Sensitivity to rejection or criticism

• Difficulty sustaining focus

• Chronic shame

ADHD	Developmental Trauma
Brain under-stimulated	Body over-activated
Needs dopamine to engage	Needs safety to engage
Driven by interest	Driven by threat or fear
Inconsistent attention	Protective disconnection
Restless energy	Hypervigilant tension

Can the Modern World also mimic ADHD

It’s also worth noting that our current environment — full of chemical exposure, blue light, sensory overload, and constant stimulation — can exacerbate or imitate ADHD-like symptoms.

• Toxic load from plastics, heavy metals, pesticides, and pollutants can impair mitochondrial and neurotransmitter function.

• Sleep disruption, EMF exposure, and nutrient depletion impact focus and mood.

• Chronic stress keeps the nervous system in fight-or-flight, reducing executive control.

  
  

This “environmental ADHD” isn’t a diagnosis — it’s a sign that our collective nervous systems are struggling to adapt to an overstimulating, under-restorative world.

• In truth, ADHD, trauma, and environmental stress often coexist.

• Someone with ADHD may also have developmental trauma.

• Someone with trauma may have a naturally ADHD-style brain.

• And all of us are living in systems that challenge our nervous system’s ability to regulate.

• The key isn’t to over-label, but to ask:

“What does my nervous system need right now — stimulation, safety, or space?”

Even experienced therapists and clinicians can miss the nuances between ADHD, trauma, and environmental stress. This has been true in my own experience and journey to health after speaking with many great physchologists, therapists and doctors it's important to review the whole of your life and all factors from childhood up until present day for a complete evaluation.