aardvark
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Post by aardvark on Oct 12, 2014 22:33:31 GMT
So... I was wondering what exactly is hyperfocus? Is it exactly what it says on the tin?
I notice a lot of people with ADHD (and people I've met with aspergers) talk about hyperfocus. I don't think I've ever experienced this and it sounds in certain circumstances like a good thing. Without medication I really struggle to focus on anything even if I'm really interested. In fact even with medication I know I can't concentrate as long as 'normal' people! I just can't imagine being able to concentrate or sit still enough for so long.
I realise there's different sub-types of ADHD so is there anyone here who also doesn't have the ability to hyperfocus?
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Post by Guezt on Oct 13, 2014 19:03:57 GMT
Hi
Hyperfocus, for me, is an emotional response to stimuli.
The emotion can be anything but is usually intrigue or discovery that something is not well known or perceived to be difficult so there is an opportunity for me to master it and be perceived as an expert so I can feel special.
This creates huge excitement for me which turns on the old hyperfocus machine.
Looking back, it's usually linked to people suffering in some respect and so is a compound of emotions that probably activates it.
Hyperfocus is great but isn't something I've been able to manipulate to my advantage. It allows me to quickly become an armchair expert in a few things but the real world requires letters after your name to capitalise on the same knowledge.
My hyperfocus appears to be a tool to relieve the noise through emotion probably to make me feel good about myself which is probably related to my traumatic (sob) childhood.
Hope that helps!
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aardvark
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Post by aardvark on Oct 14, 2014 17:34:08 GMT
Ah, that's interesting, I'd kinda just assumed it was like taking super stimulants or something.
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itwayne
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Post by itwayne on Oct 14, 2014 19:35:37 GMT
Hyperfocus: Finding a book you enjoy, and when people talk to you, you dont even hear them because you're completely inside the book Getting an idea - any idea - and ending up losing hours and hours following it up, to the exclusion of "normal" activities like work, sleep, chores Obsessing over something, not being able to step away from it
I do it all the time, I like cookery, and on Sunday I found Rick Steins French Odyssey on youtube. Watched the entire series without pause. No food, no toilet breaks, nothing. I should have been doing housework, ironing my work clothes etc, none of that happened...
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Post by Guezt on Oct 14, 2014 20:38:32 GMT
Ah, that's interesting, I'd kinda just assumed it was like taking super stimulants or something. It's positive procrastination. Learning becomes incredibly easy as opposed to almost impossible. It may be akin to stimulant induced focus in a normal person because the output appears to be greater than what is commonly achieved by the same peer group. These are just my observations though.
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Post by Bee on Oct 15, 2014 1:25:36 GMT
Hyperfocus is when you become so engrossed in something that you lose all sense of time and environment.
It can be anything really. Some people can 'master' hyperfocus, and use it when they need to. I certainly can't.
I tend to hyperfocus when I'm painting. It causes my Other Half concern because I look "obsessed", and I paint much faster than usual, and I don't feel hungry or thirsty. Every bit of my being is put into painting.
Unfortunately, it's not always so helpful. I got into trouble at work because I started cleaning the kitchenette. Several hours later it was sparkling! But it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing!
Xx Bee xX
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Post by carly31 on Nov 11, 2014 1:19:11 GMT
Hyperfocus. When you start doing something and get so into it that you lose an entire day and only realise the time when you feel sick from hunger and sure you're about to collapse before you stuff some food down your throat!
I've had hyperfocus that's lasted anywhere between 1-30 days. As quickly as it arrives it's gone and you wonder what to do with all the stuff you bought for this new interest that you were so so sure you were going to stick at this time!!
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aardvark
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Post by aardvark on Dec 1, 2014 11:33:27 GMT
Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering now if I do get it then. Sometimes if something is worrying me or if I know I have to do something I'll find it difficult to stop thinking about it or concentrate on anything else ...but that won't actually get me to do whatever it is I need to do as the concentration is all on worrying about it rather than actually doing it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2014 13:11:27 GMT
The best way I can explain my experience is that ADHD often feels like a magnetic force field is repelling me from being in the concentration zone that I need or want to be in to accomplish any given task. When I experience what I understand to be hyperfocus, it is like the magnetic force is reversed. I am sucked in to researching/engaging in an activity and I find it hard to prise myself away.
Thinking back to an open-plan office setting, my most usual (ADHD) experience is of feeling distracted by every.little.thing. going on around me. But once I do get absorbed in a task, I can let my own phone ring endlessly without hearing it, or people can be at my desk trying to catch my attention, and I am usually unaware until the repeatedly call my name or tap my shoulder to get my attention.
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anjie
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Post by anjie on Dec 26, 2014 17:16:46 GMT
Hyperfocus is when you become so engrossed in something that you lose all sense of time and environment. It can be anything really. Some people can 'master' hyperfocus, and use it when they need to. I certainly can't. I tend to hyperfocus when I'm painting. It causes my Other Half concern because I look "obsessed", and I paint much faster than usual, and I don't feel hungry or thirsty. Every bit of my being is put into painting. Unfortunately, it's not always so helpful. I got into trouble at work because I started cleaning the kitchenette. Several hours later it was sparkling! But it wasn't what I was supposed to be doing! Xx Bee xX Snap. I find it incredibly hard to do what I'm meant to but when I do start an illustration I can go hours without sleep and eating working on it. I spent 24+ straight making a Lino cut the other day not because I actually had to but I became engrossed. Sometimes it's incredibly useful because I can forgo sleep for a day or two without realising, but if I could focus at a normal level all the time I wouldn't get to the point of ever needing to get to that stage. I also also become hyper focused on emotions. Especially if I feel upset or anxious that I've done something wrong. I lock on and can only think In circles. Often bewildering to those around me who can't understand why Im so confused or upset. I went through a bad patch where if I became too focused on anxieties around me that I couldn't do anything or leave my room as all I could think on was what I'd locked onto. Not so so bad when you become aware of the pitfalls. I wouldn't worry about not becoming hyperfpcused on things. Xx
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