What Is ADHD Hyperfocus?
Hyperfocus is a common, but confusing symptom of ADHD. How can someone be distractible, but also have an hyper fixation on an interesting task? In this video, learn about this complicated ADD trait.
Powerful, erratic, and somewhat mysterious, hyperfocus is a state familiar to anyone with ADHD who has a hyper fixation or has ever gotten “in the zone” so totally on a project or task that the outside world has ceased to exist.
ADHD is commonly associated with distractibility. But, the ability to direct intense focus on one area of interest for an extended period of time isn’t antithetical to the condition. In this video, learn about this critical (and complicated) manifestation of this ADHD symptom.
What is ADHD Hyperfocus?
Hyperfocus, also known as hyperfixation, is the tendency to concentrate very intently on a particular task.
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A child or adult with ADHD may focus so intently that they experience time blindness and lose track of the outside world and the passage of time.
What Causes Hyperfocus?
ADHD hyperfocus may result from abnormally low levels of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that is thought to create distractibility. This dopamine deficiency makes it hard to “shift gears” from interesting tasks to boring but necessary tasks.
“If they’re doing something they enjoy or find psychologically rewarding, children and adults with ADHD tend to persist in this behavior after others would normally move on to other things, says ADHD expert Russell A. Barkley, Ph.D.
What Triggers Hyperfocus?
Children may hyperfocus or hyper-fixate on playing a video game; adults may hyperfocus on shopping or scrolling through their phones.
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Anything that sparks a person’s interest can pull them into a deep concentration that’s difficult to interrupt.
Is Hyperfocus Bad?
There’s nothing inherently harmful about hyperfocus.
In fact, it can be an asset. Some people with ADHD are able to channel their focus productively to achieve great things.
“Many scientists, writers, and artists with ADHD have had very successful careers, in large part because of their ability to focus on what they’re doing for hours on end,” says Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D., founder, and clinical director of the Chesapeake ADHD Center of Maryland, Learning and Behavioral Health.
Hyperfocus: Next Steps
- Download: Do I Have ADHD? Your Free Guide to ADHD Symptoms
- Read: How ADHD Warps Time Perception: Strategies to Stop Wasting and Start Managing Time
- Read: Are You Time Blind? 12 Ways to Use Every Hour Effectively
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