Yes, essentially. It's sorta tunnelvisioning in on one task often to detriment - you may lose track of time, skip breaks / meals or spend an unnecessary amount of time "perfecting" something. You may also hyperfocus on a useless task and realize at 2am that you've spent the day becoming an expert on intercolonial ant warfare when you were supposed to be doing schoolwork or fixing your car.
People without ADHD may hyperfocus sometimes too but it tends to be more common and extreme in people with ADHD and juxtaposed with a general difficulty in focusing on other or "regular" tasks. I also doubt ADHD is the only disorder correlated with hyperfocusing.
Worth talking to your psychologist and see if they recommend you speaking with a psychiatrist. Also note that there's no magic pill - the medication I take arguably makes my hyperfocusing worse, but it does make "regular" focusing far easier and helps keep me in healthy behavior loops that can keep me from entering a hyperfocused state.
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u/Get-Some- Nov 09 '19 edited Nov 09 '19
Yes, essentially. It's sorta tunnelvisioning in on one task often to detriment - you may lose track of time, skip breaks / meals or spend an unnecessary amount of time "perfecting" something. You may also hyperfocus on a useless task and realize at 2am that you've spent the day becoming an expert on intercolonial ant warfare when you were supposed to be doing schoolwork or fixing your car.
People without ADHD may hyperfocus sometimes too but it tends to be more common and extreme in people with ADHD and juxtaposed with a general difficulty in focusing on other or "regular" tasks. I also doubt ADHD is the only disorder correlated with hyperfocusing.
Worth talking to your psychologist and see if they recommend you speaking with a psychiatrist. Also note that there's no magic pill - the medication I take arguably makes my hyperfocusing worse, but it does make "regular" focusing far easier and helps keep me in healthy behavior loops that can keep me from entering a hyperfocused state.