More on hyperfocus | ADHD Information
[QUOTE=cowboy]Funny thing with me and hyper focus is it generally starts out as a thought, and the next thing I know i have run an entire senario through my mind. its almost like theres an alternate life being played out in the background of my head. (sometimes its really nice)
i suppose thats weird huh?
[/QUOTE]I do the same thing, it starts with a thought, a scenario develops and I play that through, then I think of another version, play that through, and another, and another, and another.........
I am constantly plagued by "what if" scenarios that constantly play in my head that I have to answer to feel comfortable, instead of just "being" I unwillingly play my life through in my head first.
Its like I live many lives inside my head as I play out the scenarios they seem so real. This habit/personality trait is the cause of my procrastination, anxiety, worry, stress and depression, It's like I have to deal with real situations but also all these other ones that manifest in my head.
I wish I could turn this off and just live ONE life. I am still undiagnosed and unmedicated. Still researching. I just want to stop having to find things to keep my mind occupied.
Does anyone else experience this or have they experienced this? If so when they were medicated did it stop or ease a little?? Jude38927.0289699074I still do that when I'm stressed and it's kinda reason the reason I have a difficult time reading books too. I read a word and it sends my brain on a tangent. Then one thought leads to another before I know it I am in some dream world and not reality. On medication it is better. I'm able to focus better and longer.
That really isn't hyperfocus but is obsessive thought. It's where a simple thought loops and loops until it encompasses your mind.
Hyperfocus is more where you zoom in on some detail and until it's over (video game, work, etc.) it is all you can do.
OCD is often associated with ADHDers and can be controlled with therapy or meds. I used to obsess with little things that mean nothing in the end but now it's limited to details at work. I have to admit I can be very anal about things like cleanliness, behavior and safety at work. I am just glad that my OCD behavior is not cleaning hands or closing doors.
When i hyperfocus, idont really get hung up on a single thing thst keepsrunning through my mind. But I keep doing whatever i'm doing and notice
absolutely nothing else, no sounds, or seeing anything else, and before i
know it i've spent like 4 hours playing a videogame.I have OCD w/ my ADHD-I become OC w/ so many things it is tough. Strattera helped but it exhausts me so. I hyperfocus at times at work, when intense about something but it isn't the same as OCD.
[QUOTE=candyhound21410]When i hyperfocus, idont really get hung up on a single thing thst keeps running through my mind. But I keep doing whatever i'm doing and notice absolutely nothing else, no sounds, or seeing anything else, and before i know it i've spent like 4 hours playing a videogame.[/QUOTE]
My best personal hyperfocus example/definition: Being four or five & writing a story for three days straight w/no eating/sleeping because my character in the story didn't need to.
You took exact the words I've explained to soo many people right out of my mouth.
Conversely, I can write for hours on end, mostly about philosophical inquisition and word play.
[QUOTE=SWYZ721]
[QUOTE=Countrygirl]I read a word and it sends my brain on a tangent. Then
one thought leads to another before I know it I am in some dream world and
not reality. On medication it is better. I'm able to focus better and
longer. [/QUOTE]You took exact the words I've explained to soo many
people right out of my mouth.Conversely, I can write for hours on end,
mostly about philosophical inquisition and word play.[/QUOTE]
SWY Wanna do my homework then? LOL! I can never hyperfocus on anything
that could be useful to me. LOL!
OMG, I do that all the time where my thoughts go absolutly crazy. A single image can set of really horrible scenarios for me, like what would I do if something would happen to dh. Who gets the kids up and ready for school if I have to be at the hospital. It just goes on and on. Most of the time I do that when I'm in bed trying to sleep, it can keep me awake for hours.
I also hyperfocus at times, like when I crossstich something, I just can't stop until it's done. Then i realize it's two in the morning.
[QUOTE=ADHDinsane]Ever get hyperfocus while driving? I focus too much on the driving action itself and the car, and not about where I'm going, or where things are sometimes.
And before you drive, you know the exact way to get there and what roads to use, but you couldn't immediately recall any of the stores, or landmarks along that way when someone asks you?[/QUOTE]
That sounds too familiar!!!! I was talking to someone about finding a store in town and they told me the name and where it was and told me to go over the brigde and it was on the right!!! I kept saying we have a bridge on that road? They looked at me like I was an alien!!! I kept saying there is no bridge after the high school?
Long story short there is a bridge that crosses a major river to get to the SE side of town!!! I am a visual person and my brain could not register the verbal stuff about the directions - I croos that bridge every day!!!
Ever get hyperfocus while driving? I focus too much on the driving action itself and the car, and not about where I'm going, or where things are sometimes.
And before you drive, you know the exact way to get there and what roads to use, but you couldn't immediately recall any of the stores, or landmarks along that way when someone asks you?Regulating my hyperfocus is one of my biggest challenges. It's a constant
companion for me, and it's actually one of the reasons why I never in a
million years would have suspected I was ADHD. I always thought there
was no way because I was CONSTANTLY obsessing over things (and was
completely disinterested in everything else).
It's actually really frustrating for me. I sink into it (particularly when my
meds wear off at the end of the night), and then I'm just screwed. It
usually happens at the computer. I'll zone into what I'm doing, and hours
and hours go by. Pretty soon it's 4 AM, and I'm struggling with myself to
get up, but I can't. I'll look at the clock repeatedly, but the time doesn't
register. And when it does, I'm like "oh crap! it's been 3 hours!", then I'm
like "five more minutes", and BAM, it's been 3 hours again! And at that
point I'm fighting with myself to get up, but I can't, and I just get fixated
again.
I've started setting alarms to snap me out of it and remind me how long it
has been, but it doesn't always help. Sometimes the hyperfocus is so bad
that even walking away isn't enough. My mind won't stop, and it just
keeps thinking about whatever it was I was doing. Or it keeps
brainstorming. I've had super obsessive hyperfocus that has lasted days
or even weeks where I just cannot seem to think about anything else, and
my brain keeps trying to turn back to that one thing I'm hyperfocused on.
Then, BAM, it's gone, and I couldn't be less interested.
It was always how I got things done though, I guess. I've done some
pretty amazing things while stuck on hyperfocus mode. the trouble is,
when it passes, I'm left with these huge projects that I don't have the
focus to contribute, and then I watch as they crumble all around me =(
I had ADD as a child, but the symptoms faded by the time I was 10 or so. Anyway, now, 12 years later, I found out a guy I know is taking meds for adult ADD. Some of the symptoms he described sounded really similar to how I often feel. Anyway, a few days ago Wikipedia introduced me to the term 'hyperfocus', which I experience on a daily basis.
As I've read, I agree it can be a blessing and a curse. I'm a fairly quiet person, not because I'm shy, just because I won't say anything unless I've got something to say. Unfortunately, most people don't seem to work by this logic. Small talk kinda bores me, which I guess makes me appear to be fairly unsociable and introverted. Sometimes I'll be in a public place, in a hive of activity, sitting down with some friends, eating lunch or whatever, and I'll still be zoned out, thinking about something way more interesting than what they're talking about. Half the time my eyes won't even be in focus of anything, which can't be good for them. I've read that a lot of hyperfocussed individuals experience these kind of things.
Anyway, Google led me to this page, and led me to a fair few pages similar to this one, where people would relate their experiences and all. Now I'm all for the solidarity, but I've gotta say that I was pretty disappointed not to find any websites that offered any sort of 'coping strategies', or, better yet, to train one's mind to use hyperfocus to one's advantage in all situations. Can anyone offer some ways in which hyperfocus can be used to focus in on the situation at hand, for example, boring pointless small talk (which in actual fact, isn't all that pointless if I'm talking to someone that I want to like me). I know it's kind of a paradoxical thought, as hyperfocus is, by nature, focussing on something in the mind. But I'm sure someone out there must have some answers. Don't tell me all my Googling has been futile. Hyperfocussers are smarter than than the average bear, so I'm sure that there must be some that have figured out how to train their mind to use this blessing/curse to their advantage in a social situation. And I'd like to steer well clear of meds and psychiatrists.
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