How to Avoid Addiction as a Neurodivergent Person

What exactly is Neurodivergence?

Let’s start by discussing neurodivergence itself. Neurodivergence is an umbrella term to describe various profiles of neurological difference in the ways our brain builds connections, processes information, and handles neurochemistry. 

While this article will focus on ADHD, autism, and AuDHD, the neurodivergence umbrella also covers learning differences (i.e. dyslexia), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Down’s syndrome, and potentially other mental health diagnoses (cPTSD, bipolar disorder, tourette’s). 

Before we dive into the discussion about neurodivergence and addiction, I want to be clear that neurodivergence is not simply a vulnerability profile. Neurodivergent people have beautiful and unique minds, and it’s precisely because their brains work differently that they can provide creative and unexpected perspectives to the rest of us. Because of their neurobiological profiles, you might find neurodivergent people with a deep passion for social justice, highly motivated to change old and outdated habits or processes, and/or with wildly imaginative minds. It’s been said that neurodivergent folks signal emergent ideas for the rest of us - both lifting up ideas we’re meant to grow into, as well as alerting us to environmental stressors we’re meant to grow away from. The strengths of neurodivergent people are numerous. This discussion of vulnerability is not meant to detract from those strengths, but to protect them by bringing the shadows of neurodivergent psychology into the light.

Neurochemicals in ADHD, Autism, and AuDHD

ADHD

• Dopamine differences

  • Our current understanding of dopamine is that it’s our “wanting” or “seeking” neuro-chemical. Dopamine drives us to desire and move toward things that bring us pleasure (despite it not being the chemical that creates pleasure itself).13

  • Adequate dopamine helps to decrease background noise, which helps prevent us from becoming distracted.1

  • Research has described mechanisms by which an individual with ADHD has an experience of having “less” or “lower” dopamine, which is correlated with the executive functioning difficulties associated with ADHD.1,2 

• Norepinephrine deficit

  • Norepinephrine produces physical arousal, alertness, and the “fight or flight” response.

  • Norepinephrine allows us to see tasks with clarity and importance, supporting our ability and desire to focus on them.1

  • Low norepinephrine contributes to the difficulty ADHD brains have with focus, because tasks don’t register as important enough to garner necessary resources from the prefrontal cortex required to focus on them.1

• Structural network differences

  • As opposed to neurotypical brains, the Default Mode Network of folks with ADHD does not turn off when one sits down to complete work, which contributes to poor focus and internal distraction.9

Autism

• Glutamate/Gaba balancing act

  • Autism is currently thought to involve the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain (i.e., our ‘gas pedal’ and ‘brake pedal’ neurochemicals). In autistic brains, there is often too much glutamate (i.e. excitatory neurotransmitter, or the “gas”) and/or too little GABA (i.e. inhibitory neurotransmitter, or the “brake”), which contributes to feelings of overstimulation.15

• Serotonin 

  • In some autistic people, high serotonin concentrations in the brain during development are related to higher connectivity in some parts of the brain (like sensory areas), and lower connectivity in others (like multiple regions needed to integrate social cues).17 This can create the “high sensitivity, low social capacity” profile we often see in autism.

• Oxytocin and Vasopressin

  • These two are neurochemicals involved in social behavior. Variations in oxytocin and vasopressin in autistic brains change how social interactions are processed by an autistic person, leading some autistic folks to try to socialize using conscious effort rather than intuitive knowledge/developmental skill.17

AuDHD

• Deficits in dopamine and norepinephrine + imbalance in glutamate/GABA + variations in serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin = an internal cocktail of neurochemistry that can contribute to:

  • High stimulation-seeking behavior (to manage dopamine levels), then feeling overwhelmed by it (due to the Glutamate/GABA imbalance described above).

  • A cyclical battle between the desire for novelty and the need for routine.

  • Attempts to use the benefits of one part of this neurochemical makeup (i.e. hyperfixation from ADHD) to compensate for other aspects of one’s neurochemical profile (i.e. sensory avoidance or overwhelm from autism).

  • A feeling of cognitive “gridlock”, requiring a significant amount of energy to manage being in any unregulated environment. A sense of overfunctioning while underperforming, which creates a particularly intense form of burnout unique to the AuDHD experience.

NOTE: You may notice that these forms of neurodivergence share many similar symptoms and symptom profiles with PTSD and cPTSD. Despite this, the trauma disorders and neurodivergence profiles are currently considered discrete diagnoses. It can be quite valuable to work with an individual therapist who can help you decipher where your experience lands within these different frames, in order to guide your efforts to experience more ease in your life. 

If you’re interested in working with a therapist around addiction and neurodivergence,

References

1. Arnsten, A. F. T. (2011).Catecholamine influences on prefrontal cortical function: Relevance to ADHD and related disorders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(9), 3760–3773.

2. Blum, K., Chen, A. L. C., Braverman, E. R., Comings, D. E., Chen, T. J. H., Arcuri, V., Blum, S. H., Downs, B. W., Waite, R. L., Notaro, A., Lubar, J., Williams, L., Prihoda, T. J., Palomo, T., & Oscar-Berman, M. (2008).Attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder and reward deficiency syndrome. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 4(5), 893–918.

3. Butwicka, A., Långström, N., Larsson, H., Lundström, S., Serlachius, E., Almqvist, C., Frisén, L., & Lichtenstein, P. (2016).Increased risk for substance use-related problems in autism spectrum disorders: A population-based cohort study. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(1), 80–89.

4. De Alwis, D., Agrawal, A., Reiersen, M. A., Constantino, J. N., Henders, A., Martin, N. G., & Lynskey, M. T. (2014).ADHD symptoms, autistic traits, and substance use and misuse in adult Australian twins. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 75(2), 211–221.

5. Hatch, S. (2020).The lived experience of late-diagnosed autistic adults with substance use disorders. University College London (UCL) Doctoral Thesis Repository.https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10214327/

6. Huang, J.-S., Yang, F.-C., Chien, W.-C., Yeh, T.-C., Chung, C.-H., Tsai, C.-K., Tsai, S.-J., Yang, S.-S., Tzeng, N.-S., Chen, M.-H., & Liang, C.-S. (2021).Risk of substance use disorder and its associations with comorbidities and psychotropic agents in patients with autism. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(3), e205371.

7. Kircher-Morris, E. (Host). (2024, July 8).The tricky relationship between addiction and neurodiversity (No. 233) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Neurodiversity Podcast. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72FyhKJN_pg

8. Kuenzel, E., Al-Saoud, S., Fang, M., & Duerden, E. G. (2025).Early childhood stress and amygdala structure in children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders. Brain Structure and Function, 230(1), 29.

9. Liddle, E. B., Hollis, C., Batty, M. J., Groom, M. J., Totman, J. J., Liotti, M., Scerif, G., & Liddle, P. F. (2011).Task-related default mode network modulation in ADHD. Cerebral Cortex, 21(7), 1507–1517.

10. Lee, S. S., Humphreys, K. L., Flory, K., Liu, R., & Glass, K. (2011).Prospective association of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance use and abuse/dependence: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(3), 328–341.

11. Miller, P., Pates, R., & Bereznicki, H. (2025).The vital role of trauma, neuro, and shame-aware care in substance use treatment and research. Journal of Substance Use, 31(2), 157–160.

12. Munday, K. (2025).Improving substance-use services for autistic adults: Insights and recommendations from autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood, 7(2).

13. Neurosity. (2024, May 15).The brain’s reward system: Understanding dopamine, motivation, and the focus molecule. Neurosity Guides.https://neurosity.co/guides/brain-reward-system-dopamine-motivation

14. Rohner, H., Gaspar, N., Philipsen, A., & Schulze, M. (2023).Prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among substance use disorder (SUD) populations: Meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(2), 1275.

15. Rubenstein, J. L. R., & Merzenich, M. M. (2003).Model of autism: Increased ratio of excitation/inhibition in key neocortical systems. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 2(5), 255–267.

16. Van Emmerik-van Oortmerssen, K., van de Glind, G., van den Brink, W., Smit, F., Crunelle, C. L., Swets, M., & Schoevers, R. A. (2012).Clinical prevalence of ADHD in substance use disorder patients: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 136(3), 237–244.

17. Veenstra-VanderWeele, J., Anderson, G. M., & Cook, E. H. (2000).Neurotransmitter systems in autism. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 9(Suppl 1), I85–I94.