Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

One of the things that I do a lot is that I tend to become almost obsessively focused on something and then eventually lose interest. I often completely lose track of time. Sometimes I will even forget to stop and eat meals and feel resentful about having to take the time to go eat or prepare a meal.

When I was at university, it wasn’t uncommon for me to suddenly feel a little faint and realize that I hadn’t eaten anything all day long. My parents and I didn’t know back then that I had ADHD, but my mother was concerned about my not eating right, so she prepared individual meals for me in freezer bags and brought them down every few weeks and stocked up my freezer.

Sometimes this intense focus on something might last for several weeks or months, and I will end up feeling a little burned out after a while. It might be directed at some sort of research project (such as when I was at university), a newly discovered group on Facebook, genealogy, or a new hobby. I often tend to buy lots of books on this new area of interest or check them out of the library.

This intense focus might also be directed at a person, too, and especially a new romantic interest when I was younger.

And then, almost like clockwork, I will suddenly lose interest (or at least be much less interested) in whatever it was that I was so interested in before. I will then move on to something new. When I went in to see the psychologist for my ADHD diagnosis, my current partner commented on all the lavish attention I had initially displayed, only to have that suddenly drop off.

Sometimes this pattern of mine seems to be cyclical in that I might come back again for a while to what I was formerly interested in before.

My partner happened to see this on the Internet, and said that this is exactly what I’m like:

http://www.tickld.com/images/content/6343.jpg

I’m not sure if this is part of the hyperfocus that the books on ADHD describe, or if it’s something else. It almost has an obsessive quality to it.

When I was diagnosed with ADHD in August, this tendency to become intensely focused on something that interests me for a while was directed at ADHD. I must have bought a dozen books on ADHD and checked others out of the library. I subscribed to ADDitude magazine, joined this forum, etc. It seemed like I was reading about ADHD or looking up stuff about it on the Internet every chance I got.

My therapist seemed to think that I am being “obsessive” and actually wrote that down in my chart.

Now that I’m getting therapy and medication for my ADHD, and have read a lot about it, I will probably lose interest in this subject (at least to some extent) after a while.

I was hoping that the methylphenidate IR that I’m on would help fix this tendency to obsessively focus or hyperfocus on things, but even though both my partner and I have noticed improvements in some other areas, this is not one of them.

Should the meds help fix this? Is this tendency to obsessively focus on something and then lose interest an ADHD thing or is it something else? Is it the same as the “hyperfocus” described in the literature on ADHD?

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

I'm not sure what category it would be classed as. However, I also experience this (although not with people).

I will forget to eat and become "all-consumed" by whatever task I'm busy with - luckily I get like this about my work and the projects are usually short enough to hold my interest.

I will lose track of time and realise I haven't eaten all day, or that it's suddenly the early hours of the morning and I have to be at work the next day.

Once that window of all-consuming interest has passed I find it extremely difficult to pick it back up again and have very little interest - difficult if it's a work project :p

Always seem to remember to drink energy drinks and smoke cigarettes though :scratch:

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

scrambled86: I'm a little confused about the difference between "hyperfocus" and being "obsessive," or if there is one.

My therapist implied that I might have a little Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The problem is that I don't have any compulsions that I know of. I also had the impression that OCD meant obsessing over mostly negative things and was usually an unpleasant experience. I sometimes wonder if my therapist knows what she's talking about.

I do obsess and ruminate sometimes on negative things, but most of the time, I become kind of overfocused on new things that have caught my interest, and it's usually something that I like. It just isn't very good if I have other things I should be doing instead. My partner also hates it when I become overfocused like I do.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Well, personally, I'd say that sounds like ADHD. But I'm no expert and I'm only just learning about these things.

Does your therapist have experience working with ADHD people?

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

I'm with you, Poppin. True OCD as I understand is quite different from just being intensely interested in something, sort of like the difference between someone who's ADHD and someone who gets distracted from time to time.

I don't see the qualitative difference between obsession or hyperfocus. It's probably semantics. Hyperfocus was a term they coined specifically for ADHD people and I suppose it has a nicer ring to it than obsession.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

I can totally relate to "cyclical obsessions". My hobbies range from "educational stuff" such as science, history philosophy, etc to more "entertaining stuff" such as television/movies and gaming. I spend most of my time on google or youtube to pursue these interests of mine. One moment I might be watching some educational documentary and the next moment I might be interested in watching a cartoon. Although when I'm in college, I try not to get that distracted.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

I completely relate with all that you say you obsessively focus on Poppn. I have always related it to the "hyperfocus" title given in literature. I think I can obsess at times to a fault (unnecessary interwebbing, etc) and other times it can be helpful if studying something that pertains to my life.

I have a friend who is diagnosed with mild OCD. But for her it plays out very differently than me. For instance, she cannot leave the kitchen without straightening her hand towel and making sure the kitchen sink faucet is directly in the center of the sink. Well, she can leave it, but it really bothers her. She goes about her business but cannot stop feeling bothered by the fact that these things aren't "straightened" up, and she eventually goes back into the kitchen and has to "correct" it. Then she feels relief.

When I am "obsessing", I never really feel a sense of relief after spending time doing so. It is just a strong need/desire for more more more. Then it eventually drops off...I think when something else catches my attention.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

From my personal experience, hyper-focus is more about things we WANT to do, obsessions are more about things we NEED to do. When you are hyper-focused on something, you should have no problem explaining he subject of your hyper-focus to people because it's something you are happy to do. With obsessions, you may have difficulties explaining why you need to do something, because it isn't totally clear to yourself either.

That is my take at least....

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Crackpotdad: LOL...even though we might WANT to do what we're hyperfocused on, there are probably times when we shouldn't and know perfectly well that we shouldn't do this and should be doing something else instead.

I wonder if the line between WANT and NEED is always that clear cut. It's really hard for me sometimes to break away from things that I'm hyperfocused on. Is that just a want or is there a need in there, too?

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Word :D

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

I don't mean to imply that if something is a 'want' we approach it in a completely normal and healthy way.

Let's say you watch something about D-Day and suddenly find yourself trying to learn every little detail, buying books, reading late into the night. All that you learn you are more than happy to share (aka you become mr. Know-it-all) What you don't share is that you didn't sleep all weekend learning what you did.

No, there isn't a clear cut line, of which there very rarely ever is. It's just the best line I can think of given the subject.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Crackpotdad: I agree that it's probably as good a line as we can make.

One of the problems with all the different disorders is that the lines between them are not always very clear cut and in some cases they might actually be related and not completely separate at all.

I was curious about the relationship between dyslexia and ADHD since I write and read rather slowly. So I wasn’t sure whether my reading and writing difficulties are because of dyslexia or because of ADHD.

In one study by Eva Germanò et al, “Comorbidity of ADHD and Dyslexia,” Developmental Neuropsychology, Volume 35, Issue 5 (2010): 475-493, I found the following:

“ADHD is a highly comorbid condition…Psychiatric comorbidities include oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, anxiety and depression. Other types of comorbidities reported include RD [Reading Disorder], developmental coordination disorder, and language disorder. Among psychiatric disorders, ADHD is the most frequently associated with dyslexia.”

In "The Medical Basis of Psychiatry," edited by S. Hossein Fatemi et al. (Humana Press; 3rd ed. Edition, 2008), p. 308, it said that “the surprisingly high rate of 25 to 40% comorbidity of ADHD with dyslexia is an example of such a putative genetic pleiotropy [i.e. when one gene influences multiple phenotypic or observable traits], in which one gene may exert effects on different cognitive functions.”

In other words, one gene exerts an observable influence in both ADHD and dyslexia. This is what is called the “shared aetiology hypothesis” which holds that comorbid ADHD and dyslexia arises from some common genetic influences associated with both disorders.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Are you familiar with Asperger's Syndrome? Does it fit much?

Here's a quick test that might interest you.

Re: Hyperfocused or just obsessive?
 

Yeah, I'll get super interested in a subject study it for hours. Research it find out everything I can about it. Get bored of it. Forget it all a month later.

It's how I studied for my classes too. You could tell what subjects I was interested in because my tests were either high A's or low C's, I either knew all of it to the last details or I knew hardly anything and figured out how to guess based on how the question was worded. Regardless, once class was over and I'd forget all of it over the span of a week away from school. When we came back the teacher would review and I'd give them a blank face and have no idea what they were talking about. Swish, rinse, repeat.