What Is Hyperfocus - ADHD

Hyperfocus is an intense fixation on an interest or an activity for an extended period of time. In this video I'm talking about what it is, and how to harness the positives of hyper focus whilst avoiding the negatives.

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A little bit about me:
Hi I'm Purple Ella and my family is an autism family with three out of five of us on the autistic spectrum. I also have a connective tissue disorder (hypermobile Ehlers-danlos syndrome). So life can be a challenge but also a lot of fun.

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[notamilf]

yup i’m hyperfocused on guitar at the moment which is actually a better one of my hyperfixations over the years but i’ll just play it all day and all night

[lornajoy]

Hyperfocus is great, but also I can get so obsessed with a topic that I get really overwhelmed and stressed! I totally get the problem of not being able to control where my attention goes. It can be rubbish sometimes if I am supposed to be studying something, but my brain is wanting to think about other things!

[BrockArt]

My best friend with ADHD had me download and install over 100 skyrim mods with him. It took 5 hours and he kept adding more until I flipped out. No disrespect, but I just think it's a good example. I didn't know it was a hyperfocus thing until now. Thank you

[valentinrafael]

“Have your workspace tidy” yeah, there’s already a problem in this one

[thespoiledtexan]

It’s 5am and my husband just asked me where I’d been for the past 5 hours. I answered him with, I dyed my hair and laid mulch around all the trees and worked on the patio to get ready for the party in 13 hours. Like…duh. Where else would I have been? (I can’t believe that took me 5 hours).

[NotAyFox]

I find this inline with my own experience, where I score less on ADHD traits. I hyper-focus less often and with lesser intensity. I still find task switching very disturbing though.

[elladoggy]

great tips Ella!! Also sometimes i think that hyper focus can make people think you don't have adhd from the first glance as they think .. 'oh well you can focus'.

[tierneylouise]

Ella, I love your channel I know a few people with ADHD and I never knew about this hyper focus you are very helpful thank you xx

[andrewcarranza]

hyper focus is the only way i can do work. i can spend 12 hours coding while in that state. while my friends can only work for 4 hours

[thewizishere]

I find that with cleaning, putting on an audio book, helps. The book gives the pleasure. But since my hands are free I can do something useful and not miss out on something I enjoy.

[sugardaddyshane]

I just released I'm Hyperfocusing on Hyperfocus dam

[subtleaggro]

Yeah hyperfocus is not really that great when you also have diabetes... lots of games have tried to kill me even irl. I had to set alarms for all my meals. 😊

[PiscesLin]

oh so, me playing for hours, or binge watching a series until almost morning could be hyper focus? cause my sleeping pattern tends to be messed up when I'm super interested in a series and end up binging, same goes for browsing youtube, though I also can't sleep unless my eyes are forcing me to, because I tend to think a lot, whether it is about a random topic, or a small part of a song going in repeat in my head. I'm diagnosed with unspecified developmental disorder and just got accepted in to reassessment for autism btw ☺

[Susan-trrh]

My special interest is all things to do with the stock markets. At one point I got so obsessed with one FTSE100 company that I had to record every single detail about it. I was so hyperfocused on it that all the important things that needed to be done to manage everyday life got neglected. I lost weight as I forgot to eat and became dehydrated. It also created great anxiety as I was constantly worrying that I would miss a small detail. I did not realise that hyperfocus could be a sign of ADHD. This video is extremely helpful and full of excellent tips and strategies which I will certainly try. I really appreciate your style of presentation - clear, well researched, practical and to the point. Thank you. X

[notamilf]

and another one i had that sucked was a person and i would think about the person so much i couldn’t focus on a task or anything and couldnt have a conversation without bringing up this person etc

[unknown-etvs]

Here's the catch... After finishing my tasks and receiving my reward, i hyperfocus in the reward and get carried away to another realm

[leighannjohnson]

I also want to watch every Paul Rudd movie ever made! 😆 I'm not sure if I have ADHD, but I am autistic and I find that I really prefer to be able to focus on tasks for a long time (an hour or more) without interruption. Is that hyperfocus?

[watchingthebees]

I’m autistic (and suspecting I have ADHD as well) and I thought this was an autism thing?

[marin]

i think i hyperfocus sometimes when i study like staying all night up and learning tons of information for the exam next day lol xD

[Michelle]

I like listening to music while doing dishes and I find if I just do half and and then leave the rest for another day I don't get burned out and dishes don't pile up.