Hyperfocus vs perseveration

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yfkg0VWx3rM[/youtube]

Errr its not always a bad thing!

I hyperfocus on things of interest to me and I am never late with an assignment when at college etc. Of course I hyperfocus on my studies, but it goes to show you can use hyperfocus in a positive way. I also hyperfocus on daydreams but can stop the action if I really have to get some college work completed...I just switch to hyperfocusing on that instead of the daydream and go back to the daydream when I have finished my work. Or I use an alternative method and work the college work into the theme of my daydream...and get my work done that way.

Ie I might add the theme that my character in the daydream is studying and needs to get their studies done...then, as the character is a representation of myself even though their life is quite different from mine (in the daydream) I start acting that particular aspect of the daydream out and get my books out whilst continuing on with my daydream at the same time.

PN I do not act all aspects of my daydreams out! Only the useful stuff lol.

Also many of my daydreams are also very complex and the characters in them have complete back histories etc as some themes/story lines have been running now for over 20 years. They make life more interesting, especially if I can work some real world activities into the daydream and still accomplish something in the real world. Everyday life is so boring and lacking in imagination in the most part, that I personally need something to spice things up a bit and that would be my daydreams. My daydreams run like novels in my head, except I am the one writing it.

Ok things like housework don't always get done (unless I am daydreaming that I am ginger rogers and the mop is fred astaire) but that's boring stuff anyway. I'll get round to the cleaning eventually but then again I consider my studies to be more important than removing every speck of dust from the living room or something. As long as the house doesn't smell...a bit of clutter and whatnot is not the end of the world. Apart from which housework really does not give me the intellectual stimulation I seem to need. I can sometimes combine it with my love of art and think of it as 'creating my environment' and get it done that way, but mostly I hate cleaning and would rather be writing an essay or creating some art work if possible. So yeah, I do tend to procrastinate when it comes to getting the housework done lol.

I'd much rather be spending my time pursuing art and science (as I like both) than getting the boring normal everyday stuff done...as I once said to my mum "I don't want to be normal, normal is boring".

this is one reason why sometimes i doubt my diagnosis and wonder if i just have adhd with sensory integration disorder and maybe nonverbal learning disorder as well my obsessions are really trully obsessions i just on what ever im currently interested in hyperfocus it even though there are times i have a hard time paying attention to even my special interest.

If I weren't able to hyperfocus, I wouldn't be a scientist, I wouldn't be an expert on my special interests, and I wouldn't have the determination and drive to succeed that I value. It's both a symptom AND a gift. I think he's jealous he can't hyperfocus.

I too, engage in hyper focus, and I think I have always had this. I primarily do this with things that I am interested in, which leaves the things I am not interested in, such as chores, getting left by the wayside. Like Bumble, I also have several long running daydream universes going. I have done this all my life, and have no idea how to stop it. I also have no interest in stopping it, as my own life is boring. Also, I find socializing with real people too difficult, so I do that with my daydream characters instead. I get to control the action, and can turn it off when I have to, or switch between different daydream universes when I choose. I think the day dreaming has helped me learn a little bit about dealing with problems in the here and now, too, because I do give my characters problems to solve, and I feel that I learn from how they work things out. I tend to try different solutions out, so I get to see different outcomes, and I can also try out different behaviors on the characters.

The hyper focusing does help me get some stuff done, but I wish I was better at chores. It's just hard to set to with stuff I really don't like doing. I do like Bumble's idea of having one of his characters do in the day dream, what he is supposed to really be doing, to help him get into the task. I'll have to give that a try. Maybe I can create a super efficient, but fun, clean freak character.

As someone who is both ADHD and Aspergers, I found this video very helpful.

It really clarified the main features/traits of each disorder and how they differ.

I can relate very strongly with the inability to relate to others as 'special objects'
- I tend to treat social situations (on the rare occasions that I am actually in a social gathering) as a venue for collecting and exchanging information
- I tend to relate to individual people in the same way

I can also relate strongly to the the idea of a 'developmental failure of self-regulation'
- It means that I am myopic to time
- I often fail to act/get my work done, until the deadline is imminent
- Then everything becomes a crisis (which was avoidable)
- This is quite different to the hyper-focus of Autism and can prevent/make it harder for me to use my autistic gifts

Dr. Barkley, in another video states quite chillingly that:

'There is no evidence that ADHD predisposes to anything positive in human life' and that those with ADHD who are successful are successful DESPITE their ADHD not because of it!

I agree with you but how would you say your autistic hyperfocus is different from perservation, personally? Does one play a bigger role in your life?

I do have both, I only believe that I have ADHD with some AS traits, including the autistic hyperfocus but he makes them sound as though they are so different that they couldn't coexist.

Also like ADHD is brain damage and AS isn't, I don't believe that either are but he says "classic frontal lobe injury", it just seems like he thinks anyone with ADHD has no way of getting around it.

I think the autistic hyperfocus has saved me from the ADHD perservation if anything but I wish more doctors would discuss those traits occurring together.

LOL you know what?

I watched again and now I'm just confused.

First he says-hyperfocusing doesn't really exist. It's just perseveration and is a sign of brain damage.

Then he goes on to differentiate between hyperfocusing and perseveration by saying that ADHDers have perseveration while autistics have hyperfocus.

Maybe I was being too literal.

"Hyperfocusing is really perseveration".

I see how he could be saying "Hyperfocusing IN ADHD is really just perseveration" there, herp derp.

Just to add without my hyperfocus and introverted nature I doubt I would have achieved the grades I did on my University course.

Why? Because I would have been out making pointless chitty chat instead of doing my work.

I wish people would stop painting these traits as purely negative! Without my hyperfocus and the stamina it gives me to keep going I wouldn't get such good grades. In my case it can actually be highly beneficial and yet it gets listed as a disorder because people think I should be out socialising instead of studying so much. Gah.

As Blindspot stated, very likely life would be easier without it. He has both and I'm aware that he is still successful, but.........

I don't live in a drain pipe or in a cardboard box under a bridge, but I'll second it.

I'll say ADHD has deepened my INTJ style of introversion to where you perservate or "hyperfocus" on stuff that had a high cost. You get hooked into things that appear to be obsessional and the cost was being underdeveloped socially. On side two of the coin, when things don't interest you, it's very difficult to get motivated to do them or even learn them. Figuratively, it takes a gun to the head to get moving here.

Add to that, the misses in cognition or 'inattention' cause a delay in theory of mind development. I'll say it took nearly 4 decades to know it all well enough.

If you want to see how beneficial ADHD is, take an overall look at their employment history, driving records, and marital success.

And what if someone can hyperfocus on something that one is not good at, as in some learning disability? Is it perseveration, as there's no useful outcome, no real knowledge? I'm very much like this when I indulge myself in my 'special interests'. I just enjoy them, without actually being productive. When it comes to work or studying, I have the classic ADHD inattentive traits, it's so hard for me to get myself to tackle... Expect NO chores done from me, vacuuming and washing the floor are my worst enemies.

I am hyperfocused when I am being productive or creative, like when I am learning a subject or writing a story or drawing a picture or writing some code or doing an experiment. I also hyperfocus when I am just thinking. That would be the deepest hyperfocus, when I am not at all engaged with anything outside my own mind. I often do this when I am walking down the street. My eyes and ears are still open, and my brain is still processing sensory information, but I am no longer aware of it. In this state of wide asleep, nothing bad has ever happend to me, because my brain always wakes me up before the intersection or guides me around obstacles in the way. It is only when I am not hyperfocused and aware of my physical surroundings that I have minor accidents.

If I am sitting around hyperfocused and thinking, it is OK to interrupt me, because it is like waking up from sleeping. When I am hyperfocused and actually doing something external and not stimming, it is not OK to interrupt me, because the interruption will feel eggstremely shocking to me, and I will become verry merry berry angry.

An eggsample of unproductive perseveration from my life is me clicking through 30,000 pages of LOLCAT pictures on I Can Has Cheezburger, just because I felt the need to complete this useless but enjoyable activity. And it was not completely useless, as I stole my catatar picture from there.

His brother had severe ADHD and committed suicide and he is trying to get people to take ADHD as a serious disorder.

Hyper focus can be very hard to control without medication. You may have more help from AS symptoms that can get you to plan and organise...reminds me I still haven't written my to-do list. Damn. But people with just ADHD find it impossible to get a hold of.

Hyper focus can get in the way of more important tasks though. And it can get to a point where you find it impossible to break away from and fail to clean the house, pay bills, pay attention to finances, etc.

Barkley is talking more about children and paying attention to video games instead of focusing on homework, getting ready for school. All that can add up. I hyperfocused on drawing for about 14 years and did not learn much outside of it. If you can focus on something that will help you develop a career then go for it.

Your final paragraph describes my own sentiments very well.

I thought the description of frontal lobe injury was a bit confusing.
- I think he was perhaps trying to suggest that ADHD characteristics are similar/the same as those who do have a frontal lobe injury
- In that respect I think he is saying that ADHD is caused by impairments to the frontal lobe
- Clinically, both ADHD and Autism are pervasive developmental disorders

In other videos, Dr. Barkley makes it clear that ADHD is in fact one of the most treatable of all the neurological disorders BUT at the same time also makes it clear that in his opinion, based on all of the ADHD studies undertaken, unlike Autism, there is no positive aspect to human life in ADHD.

Hyperfocus allows me to stay on task when I am actually able to begin the task and see it through to completion.
- It allows me to connect dots that many others don't even see

ADHD makes it hard for me to get started on that task, any task and makes it harder for me to move smoothly onto the next task.

A common feeling for me with ADHD is being overwhelmed with too much stuff and not knowing where to start.
- I have read this being described as 'time collapsing'

This is the self regulation impairment, which is fundamentally different to my difficulty in relating to others as special objects and reluctance to engage with others socially.

In contrast once I am on task and engaged in something that I am interested in, I can stay on task, to the exclusion of everything else.
- This is actually quite soothing
- Perhaps in part because the hyper-focusing provides relief from the (very real for me) anxiety of multitasking and time management

I was diagnosed quite late in life, so I am still putting the jigsaw puzzle together.

Hope this helps



Problem is, life generally doesn't work that way.
- Time management and scheduling is something I am working on
- I don't take any ADHD medication at the moment and never have, but I am considering this and will discuss this with my doctor at my next appointment.

I was being sarcastic/snide. I know it can be a major problem for ADHD-ers, but I was mainly pointing out that he did a horrible job of explaining how AS hyperfocusness can be very beneficial and the type of hyperfocusness in ADHD is much more problematic and interferes with daily life and jobs and household duties.

Yep. These are the exact issues I have.

One week I'll get comments from a teacher about being the best in class and suggesting that I try to help out other students, the next week they're telling me I seem unfocused and it's painfully obvious that I can't grasp simple concepts.

It's definitely true about not being able to start tasks, that is so frustrating sometimes. I just can't and even I force myself to I feel like I'm a thousand feet away from my book/laptop.

Hmm. I think I agree with what he's saying about those with ADHD being successful in spite of the disorder and not because of it, but now I wonder how many ADHDers who are successful are so because they indeed do have autistic hyperfocus and a few Aspie traits, while others have none and can't seem to get interested in anything.

Not saying that someone with ADHD and not autistic traits whatsoever couldn't be successful, it just seems more common for those with AS traits to have a talent or obsession that they naturally excel in.

Good luck with meds. I was on them for years, some of the stimulants can really help with the perseveration but for me they actually decreased my ability to focus in certain areas and may have even taken away some of the hyperfocus. There are so many now, I just got tired of dealing with side effects/guinea pigging myself .