In today's audio, I'm going to be addressing ADHD and depression, and the relationship between the two, because research indicates that adults with ADHD are almost three times more likely to have depression than somebody without it. So it's an important topic for us to cover. In previous audios, we've addressed and covered, in great depth, I think, the relationship between anxiety and ADHD and also low self-esteem and ADHD and various ways in which we can try to improve our self-esteem and reduce anxiety. I haven't specifically addressed that sort of common comorbid relationship between depression and ADHD.There's some research that suggests that hyperactive subtypes are at even greater risk of depression, and I guess there are many, many reasons why this can be, it's quite a multi-layered, complex issue really, if you think about just how ADHD impacts on relationships, on sense of self in the workplace, sense of self in relation to peers and our relationships with others, how we feel like we're failing or that we're making silly mistakes, all of these things just start to chip away at this sense of self. And, you know, other coping defences might start to appear, like avoidance and, you know, sort of self-isolation being one or overcompensating in other ways, trying to be too funny or being insensitive, you know, in our ways in which we might be trying to anchor ourselves.But there are just there are so many aspects to this really, you know, a lack of general dopamine can cause us problems, not only a mood, but also because of the various ways in which we might go about trying to generate dopamine, some of those ways that we've already talked about, which might be more maladaptive, like gambling, or sex, or drugs or alcohol, or just trying to bite off more than we can chew even, you know, it's just incredibly common. And what's also important to address I think, is how common it is, for people who, when they're feeling particularly low, feeling, particularly depressed, is to have sort of suicidal thoughts or thoughts about not wanting to be here. Now, for those who don't know, this, it's incredibly important to say that when mood is low, which is very common, it's typical and normal for those types of thoughts to creep in. Obviously, there are degrees around that, but it can be very, very distressing. So please do if that's happening, please do go and speak to your GPS, speak to your doctors about that.There's always the option of having some antidepressant medication. The UK's nice guideline treatment approach for depression is CBT alongside SSRIs, or antidepressant medication, they can be effective together. But yes, please don't suffer in silence. This is normal. And I would encourage you to also consider what, from an evolutionary perspective, what is your depression, doing? What is it saying? And I often encourage people to think about that and think about how the depression is in a way sort of telling you to reach out, to seek help, to seek support, telling you that something is wrong, something needs to be fixed, something needs to change. The irony is, of course, that what many do is they do the opposite and isolate and push loved ones away and stop doing the things that they enjoy, which is counterproductive, and I believe, counter to the evolutionary purpose of what depression is that is actually doing or trying to do.