What is Hyper-focus? Aren't people with ADHD just scrambled messes all the time?
The best example I can give of hyper-focus is one from my childhood pet beagles. Beagle dogs are hounds that are bred for their great noses, and a large portion of their brain is dedicated to the sense of smell. So, when a beagle picks up the smell of a rabbit it stops what it's doing and runs to it. Many of them won't stop even if they are hurt, injured, tired, hungry, or thirsty because all their brain is processing is that smell. The smell is its reward, and if we were hunting, it would have made it much easier to catch that rabbit. Growing up in the American southwest, we had lots of cactus around. That means that every couple of months we had to get tweezers, pliers, and soapy rags to pull cactus out of their paws and mouth.
That is hyper-focus and when you have ADHD it can be a blessing and a curse by catching the "rabbit" at a cost of time-blindness and unintentionally ignoring people you care about because your brain doesn't process their existence in this state. Sometimes it's not even something productive that we've been sucked into. It can be a hobby, TV show, or any other distraction like learning about dolphins... for 12 hours a day and then having a large crash at the end of it. The person experiencing it does NOT get to choose what they hyper-focus on.
So how can we interrupt it?
The methods of interrupting hyper-focus will be different as an outside observer and as an ADHDer. When you're an outside observer, and you find that you approach a very busy ADHDer who you need to talk to, or redirect, there is a bit of a process. I will say that this isn't 100%, but it's a gentle way to help them remember the goal and work their way out of it.
As an Observer:
1) Start by greeting them and asking a question. If you get an "I'm busy", one-word answer, or the beginnings of a long-winded discussion about the topic they are stuck on without eye-contact, it's most likely that they are in hyper-focus and don't even know that they've said anything or they've acknowledged your existence but can't process that you came over for a reason.
Example: You: "Hey Jessica. Are you busy?" J: "Mmm-hmm."
You: "Alex, have you started your homework?" A: "Just a sec, mom. I'm about to beat this boss in my game..."
2) Walk up to them from the side, or someplace that you can be in view, acknowledge that they look busy, and ask them another question while touching their shoulder or arm.
Example: "Jess, *arm touch* I know that you're working really hard on this paper, but have you eaten tonight?"
"Alex, *hand on shoulder* I can see that you're working hard on this game. Do you have any homework left tonight?"
3) Offer a small task to help them move to the area that their next task is in.
Example: "Why don't you get a drink and we can talk in the kitchen about what we want to eat."
"When you finish this battle, let's get a snack and make a plan for homework tonight."
4) Give them a minute or two to wrap up what they were doing and gently remind them what the next task is.
"Hey honey, I think we're out of lemonade, but I got some soda at the store. When you get your drink, can you grab me one?"
"Hey! Great job on that boss. I'm trying to decide what snack to make."
As an ADHDer:
1) Make a plan for the amount of time you are going to spend doing the task. A good starting number is 10-30 minutes.
2) Choose something you can do for 10-15 minutes that is relaxing and moves you into the area of your next task.
3) Grab a pen/pencil and a piece of paper to write on after you finish.
4) Set a timer to remind you of your limit and get started.
5) Do what you tend to hyper-focus on.
6) When the timer goes off, write down the next thing (or 3) you would have done if you continued.
7) Get up and do your relaxation activity away from where you were focusing.
8) Start your new task.
The Good News:
In the title, I also mentioned that this can also be our ADHD superpower, and I do truly mean that. It's a type of motivation that people would spend big money on if it could be bottled up because it means that for certain tasks that are really interesting we can complete the work that someone without ADHD takes an entire day to do in just a few hours. We really do crack down HARD and have great blinders to distraction in this state, which makes us fantastic workers when we reach it.
When I worked at a costume shop, I was promoted to assistant manager in just 2 weeks because I was excited about the work and often came up with novel ways to inspire and train my coworkers as well as drive sales. ADHDers are also much more likely to start their own business and do well in delegating tasks that they find difficult so they can concentrate on the work that they excel in. All of that can come out of hyper-focus, and we can use it to our advantage.
How do you use it to your advantage?
The best way to promote useful hyper-focus is to make a plan that problem-solves in a new or interesting way. Invent something, become an entrepreneur, write, do some art, and make that something that you can do to contribute to the world. Everyone I've met who was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult has mentioned that the second they were suspected of ADHD (and told about it) they immediately dove into a hyper-focus around the research of ADHD and it's treatments.
Some people spent a few weeks on research before moving to something else, and others spent much longer... (I'm on year 3, but psychology has always been an interest of mine.) We can all agree that this researching period is beneficial, but it must have a balance with family, friends, work, and home maintenance.
Notes:
Breaking out of hyper-focus is a skill that I'm STILL working on, but I have found that doing the process above has so far worked about 80% of the time. I tend to lose the fight with ADHD the longer I allow myself to spend on the task, and if it doesn't have clear milestones to help me break out. If I'm writing here in the blog, it's easier for me to break in the middle when I finish a section or paragraph. However, if I'm just surfing the internet can be tricky to really feel a good stopping point, especially if you've started comparing things you want to buy.
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