When ADHD & OCD Are Interacting

A Series: Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP A message for anyone who has lived in the space between chaos and control. If you are reading this and recognizing yourself for the first time, I want you to know this: You are not broken. You are not dramatic. You are not “too much.” You are not imagining the intensity of what you feel. You are living with two disorders that amplify each other in ways most people — including cli

A Series Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP Tools that help without triggering shame or rigidity. 1. Create External Structure Without Perfectionism ADHD needs scaffolding. OCD needs flexibility. The goal is to create a “good enough structure” that supports functioning without triggering compulsive rigidity. Examples: visual schedules micro‑tasking body doubling timers with soft endings “good enough” templates These approache

A Series: Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP How to support someone whose brain is fighting two battles at once. ❤️ Their Reactions Are Not Personal — They Are Protective When someone with ADHD + OCD freezes, withdraws, or becomes overwhelmed, it is not a rejection of you. It is a neurobiological survival response triggered by executive overload and intrusive threat signals. You may shrink away from others even when you need

A Series Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP Why traditional assessment misses the interplay — and how to avoid retraumatizing clients. Research consistently shows that ADHD and OCD share overlapping symptoms and high comorbidity, yet clinicians frequently diagnose only one disorder. This is often due to symptom presentation that appears contradictory on the surface — impulsivity vs. rigidity, disorganization vs. perfectionism

A Series Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity We were not taught to recognize ADHD in girls or OCD in women — and the cost of that invisibility is enormous. The Hidden Epidemic Now Being Exposed Women with ADHD and OCD often grow up believing they are: too sensitive too emotional too messy too perfectionistic Not because their symptoms are mild — but because their symptoms are misunderstood . Research shows that up to 30% of people with OCD also meet criteria for ADHD , a

A Series Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP Why unpredictability feels dangerous, why your brain overcorrects, and why none of this is your fault. 🔥 The Moment ADHD Loses Its Grip ADHD isn’t just about distractibility — it’s about regulation . When your ADHD brain becomes overwhelmed, overstimulated, or emotionally flooded, the internal structure that keeps you moving through the world starts to fall apart. Research shows t

A Series: Understanding the ADHD & OCD Comorbidity by Sarah Jurrens, LPC, LMHC, ADHD-CCSP, CCTP When chaos meets the drive to control, the nervous system does exactly what it was wired to do — even when it feels like it is betraying you. 🌩️ The Freeze No One Talks About For many people living with both ADHD and OCD, overwhelm doesn't look like the classic “fight or flight.” It looks like freeze — a sudden, terrifying shutdown where your mind is in full panic, but your body