Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

I believe when i hyperfocus i become exemely tense and rigid. Boxing coaches, jiu jitsu teachers, etc.....have all told me the same thing, That i am too tense and need to loosen up.

Yesterday i joined a dragonboat team and while paddling, i wore myself out and got boatsick. The instructor told me im too tense and have to loosen up but i couldnt do it because i kept hyperfocusing. The even stranger thing is that i feel calm and relaxed when im assumingly tense and rigid.

The girl behind me on the boat has adhd as well, worse than me....and she said that she is very rigid/stiff too so she understood what i was going through.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

yes! I have to sit a certain way at my desk (kind of half yoga) so i don't get a stiff neck & shoulders at work. Yet I never realize I'm doing this until later in the day. I suppose it would be the same thing if I were in any sports.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

I'm always surprised when people tell me to loosen up too. I end up paying for it later with sore shoulders and neck and sometimes headaches but like you and set I don't notice it until I'm in pain. I do think hyperfocus has a lot to do with it.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

exactly right? We think we are comfy but we are not and later pay the price. The instructor was ******* me off and i stopped listening to him but....he was right....

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Yeah, I get ****** off too when I get told that, I guess it's because it takes away from my enjoyment in the moment when I have to pay attention to body mechanics. Yet, when I give a massage, I'm very aware of my body mechanics but I think that's more trained habit. I do get in the zone when I'm giving a massage so I think paying attention early on can pay off big later.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Well, I never heard anyone refer to it as being tense, but I know what you mean. I hyperfocus on the internet (especially youtube and blogger) and will spend countless hours watching youtube, compiling videos, organizing my blog, etc to the point that I'm not even sleeping well!

Plus, even when I'm doing other routines I have to do, my mind is still fixated on finishing my little projects, which I often never finish anyway.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

tense as in your body is tense and rigid while you hyperfocus. Not, tense hyperfocus.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

When I was in high school I had an undiagnosable lower back issue. Kept me out of several sports. It turned out that I'm so anxious that whenever I'm stressed or hyperfocused my glutes and low back are clenched.

Meditation and yoga can really help this and are what eventually 'cured' me. Yoga can teach you to control and relax muscles you might never have even known you had. Meditation (and meditative yoga) can help you pinpoint what is tense, when. It still takes the manual process of scanning your body and then relaxing, but you can get good enough that it can be done in seconds. It also allows you to stay mostly hyperfocused. My problem is that I tense back up so soon afterwards that I need to be kindof vigilant.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Oh you mean physically.. That only happens when I do very difficult tasks, also add to that, my poor motor coordination and fear of getting hurt.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Hahaha... tension. The cement wall that I meet every single time I go skiing. I am so afriad of falling (hurting myself, embarassment,) that I go at the breakneck speed of molasses, and get left behind by my friends and family in the process. I just... want to do SO WELL. And the result? My legs are rendered into limp noodles by the end of the first day of skiing -.- What sucks about it is I know I could go faster if I wanted; I've been skiing for years, so I would be safe.

That's how I feel about music, too. I love music; I love listening to it, learning about it, playing it. People I'm close to (and strangers) often remind me of how talented I am. But all that talent seems to go down the drain the minute I actually have to perform in front of others.

Ginnie - Absolutely agree about getting ****** off when told to relax or to loosen up multiple times. I think it's because I'm really a rather laid-back person most of the time, and most people know that. So when I get all tense and people tell me to try and get rid of the tension, I'm just like "Stop talking to me," even though I know their intentions are good. Hate how I suddenly turn into this raving perfectionist whenever I am doing something I want to do well at.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Just punch them in the face.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Sarah - A little reluctant to do that when sometimes the people telling me to relax are my parents. Don't think that'd end well =P.

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

Yess ! My taekwondo instructor was like 'you are so tense' and came right behind me an made me do the wiggle dance whilst holding onto my arms ....I was so embarrassed :s

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

well hes a perv so...

Re: Do people tell you to not be so tense? Are you rigid/stiff?
 

yes. Definitely. All my life.