What does hyperfocus look like?

People often think that those with ADHD have a short attention span or that they are unable to pay attention at all (hence the name ‘attention deficit’). 

However, it is more accurate to describe people with ADHD as having dysregulated attention, meaning that there are some tasks where they may struggle to give attention, but others where they may give extreme attention. 

When someone hyperfocuses, it may be hard to get their attention. When spoken to, there may be no response or even acknowledgment that they heard anything. They can get so absorbed in a task that they appear to completely ignore or tune out everything else. 

People who hyperfocus may often experience ‘time blindness,’ which means they do not see or feel time (Ozel-Kizil, 2016).

I used to be so focused that I forgot to drink for many many hours so that I even got a urinary tract infection once.

If someone hyperfocuses for hours on end, they may find that they have neglected to take care of themselves (Sklar, 2013). They may have skipped meals, not drank any water, showered, or spent any time outside or exercising. 

But those times have long past and it's not that bad anymore.  I have noticed, that people don't understand it and worked on myself, so now I do notice what is happening around me and people can talk to me. I even trained myself to get up, go to the kitchen to get a coffee, and chat briefly with colleagues. 

Many people with ADHD are able to channel their hyperfocus on productive activities such as school or work-related tasks. For instance, someone may focus on a work project until completion while in a state of hyperfocus (Hupfield et al., 2019). 

Others may also reward themselves with a hyperfocusing activity for completing all their other tasks first, giving themselves the incentive to complete less interesting tasks. 

But it seems, I am still too focused, disciplined, and not babbly enough for colleagues, as I still get bullied, as mentioned in my previous post.

You find more information on hyperfocus in this really good article: What does hyperfocus look like?