An odd way to get intense stimulation?
I don't think it's odd at all! After all, bungie juming isn't for all of us!
I think the saying "whatever turns you on!" applies to those of us with ADD.
And if intellectual challenge is your thing, then getting intense stimulation from tackling something that is intellectually complex is exactly what you need to get your brain working to its full potential. It's a perfect match! Others, like me, in order to tackle something that's intellectually challenging, might have to exercise vigorously first, or go outside and have a snowball fight, or pick someone to have an argument with... in order to get the brain kicked into gear....
My hyperfocus happens when I'm reading a book or watching a
documentary and I find something interesting that I want to
learn more and more and MORE about. So I'll spend the next
couple of hours on it.
But my strict eating routine and bedtime never get ignored
while I'm doing this.
I do get exhausted from reading a lot, so once the interest
fades I crash down like a tonne of bricks.I am autistic with ADHD traits, and currently on Concerta. I've thought that I didn't do the "seeking intense stimulation" thing that many people with ADHD do, but then I realized something: When I go to learn something, that's about the only time I can focus. Everything from the minutiae of a video game to the basics of microbiology--if it's complex enough, it holds my interest, and I flip from scattered to hyperfocus.
Simple things don't hold my interest. Give me a page of third-grade math problems, and I'll drift off halfway through. Give me a page of differential equations or a tricky puzzle in a strategy game, and I've got about a fifty-fifty chance of flipping into hyperfocus mode and not coming up for air until there's absolutely nothing more to learn from it. I regularly ignore things like eating or sleeping when I'm in that state.
Anyway, I wonder if maybe I look for the intense stimulation that many ADHD types look for after all; only in a different way--I look for intellectual challenges that take up every mental resource I have.
Of course, I can't control whether or not I manage to flip into hyperfocus or not. I wish I could. Nor can I control which things trigger it. Again, boy do I wish I could. It's as likely to result in wasted time as it is in actually being focused where I want it.
I'm not sure whether this has to do with being autsitic (probably does) or being an absolute nerd (again, probably does), but I wonder whether it also has something to do with ADHD too. Typically, avoiding challenges is the norm; and most of the time, that's what I do; but if it's just the right problem, wham! suddenly I'm hyperfocused. Are there any other ADHD nerds out there who fill their craving for "excitement" by looking for intensely challenging problems?
I ran across a hypno-thereapist that claimed to be able to teach ADHD people how to turn on their hyper-focus. I never followed up with him. Maybe I should.
I have trouble turning my attention to tasks tha can be delayed.
I don't run myself down about it though, I would not use the Nerd concpet in a negative context. I think doing ordinary things are my biggest challenge, so being a nerd is a success for me. I naturally tend to be interested in the creative or oppostional.
Thanks for your post. I did just now find the reference to the guy who said he can help ADHD control of huyper focus. I sent him a PM. So I will see if I get a response. Mabe I will find out for myself how to get consious conrtol of my hper-focus.
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