It’s common for people with ADHD to have trouble making decisions.
Making decisions is a process that requires a handful of skills.
People with ADHD usually struggle with those skills.
Many people have a hard time making decisions. This can happen for different reasons. Some people may be anxious about making the wrong choice and have “analysis paralysis.”
But people with ADHD can have an especially tough time weighing options and choosing. That’s because they typically have trouble with the specific skills that go into decision-making.
Making decisions is a complex process. The first step is understanding the options. Then, you need to compare and consider them before choosing. Doing this involves:
Getting the process going (initiating the task)
Paying attention to the information
Remembering details so you can compare
Seeing different possibilities
Knowing what each option entails
Thinking about the consequences of the decision
These abilities are part of executive function, a group of skills that people with ADHD struggle with. Anxiety can also be a factor in indecision. ADHD and anxiety often co-occur.
Dive deeper
Executive function is a group of mental skills that act as the “management center” of the brain. The main skills are related to memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. But executive function also covers attention, organization, planning, and more. People with ADHD struggle with executive function skills.
Trouble with executive skills impacts many areas of life and can make a wide range of tasks difficult. But it’s not a matter of intelligence. People with these challenges are as smart as other people.
It’s common for people with ADHD to also have anxiety. (It’s so common that researchers are looking into possible genetic links.) Being anxious can make decision-making hard: What if you make the wrong decision or it doesn’t go well? What if you get blamed for the outcome?
People with ADHD also tend to struggle with managing emotions. It’s part of their challenges with executive function. They may get stuck in their anxious thoughts and not be able to decide and move on.
There are ways to work on improving executive skills, especially in kids. But experts agree that medication for ADHD is one of the best ways to manage ADHD symptoms.
Treating ADHD can help keep symptoms like difficulty with focus and memory from getting in the way. It may help with anxiety over decision-making, too.
But if anxiety is a bigger problem that impacts many aspects of life, it’s important to get help for it separately from ADHD.
