Can I have ADHD but still struggle with socialising?
Yes, social difficulties are a very common part of living with ADHD. While many people think of ADHD as just a struggle with focus, it also affects how the brain processes social information and manages impulses. For many neurodivergent adults, socialising can feel overwhelming because it requires high levels of executive function—the ability to listen, filter out background noise, and regulate emotional responses all at the same time.
These struggles often show up in ways that others might misunderstand. For example, you might accidentally interrupt people because your brain has already jumped to the end of their sentence, or you might "zone out" during long stories because your working memory has hit its limit. There is also a significant emotional side to this called Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD), which can make the fear of social "failure" so intense that you avoid socialising altogether. You aren't being rude or disinterested; your brain is simply working overtime to manage the massive amount of data that comes with a simple conversation.
If you find yourself exhausted after a night out or constantly "auditing" what you said in your head, you aren't failing at being social—you are just navigating a neurotypical world with an ADHD brain. To learn more about why socialising feels like "hard mode" and how to find your tribe, sign up for the free Life on Hard Mode newsletter below.