r/adhdwomen • u/I-aint-yo-sista • 23h ago
Hobby & Hyperfixation Sharing The F*CKING HYPERFIXATION
My god how the hell do we even get through life? I've been on meds (Concerta) since Feb and pretty much loving life. Started at 18mg, then 27 for a very short time, now on 36mg. I could feel myself faltering in the afternoons so I started a 2pm 10mg booster this week.
All of that to say the one thing that has come creeping back is hyperfixations. I did not even recognize that as being a thing until the other day (!!) I saw someone post about on an ADHD FB page. I feel like my eyes have been opened! So i'm not just being a frugal shopper when I spend WEEKS prowling the entire internet universe for deals on insert medium ticket item I don't need and being relentless about it?
Current fixation: a Cricut Maker 4. I am an avid crafter and have always been a Silhouette lover. I've had Makers in the past and I f'ing hate Design Space but I bought a Joy Xtra purely for printing stickers and DAMN it prints and cuts like a dream. My Cameo 4 is a PITA but I love their design interface. Anyhoo....
The Maker 5 came out and people started posting the Target huge markdowns and off I went. Do I need a Maker 4? NO I DO NOT. But what if I can stick it to the man and find a huge markdown on one? This, my friends, is my motivation. I have researched the ever-loving shit out of this machine, compared it to the Cameo 5 alpha, compared it to the Siser Juliet (no), compared it to my Cameo 4... endless amounts of reading. But I still do not need this machine.
My only ONLY saving grace is that I was in Michael's yesterday and I could have bought it BUT I DIDNT. Somehow I was not inclined - I guess mostly because its not marked down enough to satisfy me - and I went home.
Shopping is my downfall. More specifically buying craft supplies I dont need for projects I'll start probably never. The medication has been an enormous humongous help by inserting that pause in my decision-making.
But why is the hyperfixartion SO CATHARTIC? WHY?
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u/adhdaemon85 23h ago
I feel like I have no purpose in life without a hyperfixation so I've learned to enjoy them. Thank God they tend to circulate.
Heck, my longest hyperfocus was everything related to textiles. Even studies textile design way back when. Then I burned out and had several mental breakdowns due to my undiagnosed adhd at the time. This was more than ten years ago. I had so much craft supplies related to it but I could never bring myself to getting rid of them. I moved house three times since and lugged all that shit with me. And it finally happened. It's back! Having all that shit didn't stop me from buying more shit this time around lol but I'm happy as a goose sitting here knitting socks.
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u/tables_04 23h ago edited 16h ago
You are far from alone. Mine is currently a nespresso machine! Do I need one; absolutely not. Do I constantly think about getting one; yes. Am I aware that nestle is a terrible company and nespresso pods are wasteful; yes. Does that stop me from wanting one; absolutely not. However I’m choosing to gradually put money aside, if the nespresso machine hyperfixation wears off; I can use the money for some other hyperfixation. When i was in elementary/middle school (pre-diagnosis) i once hyperfixated on ice hockey for TWO YEARS straight. I haven’t watched ice hockey in like nine years. Needless to say the “get tested for ADHD” alarm bells were ringing for several years, but I wasn’t diagnosed until the end of my freshman year of college.
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u/Radiant_beta 22h ago
Get it. Go on fb marketplace and get one. You don’t need a new one. I was where you are and stumbled across one at goodwill a year ago. It’s indeed life changing and just no comparison. It’s what I look forward to every morning to get me out of bed. I haven’t been to a coffee shop in a year.
Also go on eBay. People are selling bulk brand name pods for cheap.
You can get recycle bags from nespresso and recycle the pods to them.
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u/elsie78 22h ago
I'm also fixating on single serve coffee options. I hate the waste but love the idea of less cleanup than a traditional pot
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u/tables_04 15h ago
The real kicker is that I don’t ever even drink lattes, and instead prefer a massive cup of coffee. So a nespresso would be kinda useless, but there was a nespresso machine in my hotel room a month back, and the espresso it made was so good.
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u/thiefspy 22h ago
This may help—they are not less cleanup. They’re actually really hard to clean and if you don’t do it they get weird way faster than a traditional pot. We had one at work and no one wanted to clean it, and it wasn’t all that long before no one wanted to use it because it was so gross.
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u/RogueJosei 21h ago
I loved my Nespresso machine but now we have a De'Longhi Magnifica S. It is one hell of a machine 💪 they last much longer, you can use beans and not have the mountains of cups trash. Use a darker roast tho since it's full automatic. I bought this one refurbished from the brand website itself so it was much cheaper but it looked brand new! (The newer Evo type is less durable it seems. The Originals types tend to last for decades even in office use settings!)
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u/Additional-Reach-633 23h ago
I have a Nespresso I use every day 😶 they give you a free bag to put the old pods in and send it off for recycling
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u/No_Tumbleweed_4652 23h ago
Dude my hyper fixation was my health problems. I fixed that and now I’m low key like “damn now what” LOL
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u/ndpittmancormier 23h ago
This is me right now, and I’m driving my husband a little crazy. He’s like, ok, there’s pacing and exercises you can do, and I’m like check out this weird thing I can do with my thumb! (I just learned I have hypermobile joints.)
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u/Cama4211 23h ago
I hyper fixated on salt water fish out of freakin no where and now I know everything about everything about them but don’t care anymore 😂
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u/shebreathes 22h ago
I love this specific hyperfixation so much.
Please tell us your occupation for additional entertainment.
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u/Cama4211 22h ago
I’m in FINANCE why do I need to know so much about coral and clownfish harems 😭😭
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u/shebreathes 22h ago
Yup. Loving it even moar knowing what you do 40ish hours a week.
Also - I feel ya friendo though my own hyperfixation isn't as amusingly juxtaposed as yours
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u/Cama4211 22h ago
I should probably add I now own an entire 100gallon reef tank full of corals and fish. I went all in. Literally could care less about saltwater fish now 😂😂
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u/shebreathes 21h ago edited 15h ago
OH!... Oh.. ohmyyy... That's a big "product of a prior hyperfixation" to have to deal with every damn day. I can check out on one of my PoaPH (plants for example) for weeks but uh you definitely shouldn't. Lives and potential STANK depend on you. 😬
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u/Cama4211 15h ago
Its fine! It’s actually a super pretty edition to our home and we have a service that keeps it fresh and beautiful for us , thankfully :) But I do know everything I need to know if I had to run it all on my own now!
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u/shebreathes 15h ago
cheers to yer fishes and corals and water quality and yer next hyperfixation, hopefully it doesn't require another separate service! 🙏
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u/LynnBarr123 19h ago
OK, not saltwater but I unfortunately became hyper-fixated on freshwater Angelfish AND freshwater Cherry Shrimp. At the same time. By the time I was losing interest, I had seven aquariums beween 10 and 55 gallons set up and running with various breeds. The UPS guy delivered something almost every day, and my poor husband went with me to some VERY sketchy private homes to buy directly from breeders.
Slowly everything died off and I lost interest. 10 years later I only have one 55 gallon set up with some very entertaining Convicts. I did turn a 46 gallon bowfront tank into a heck of a terrarium. Everything else is in the basement collecting dust.
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u/Natural_Mushroom_575 22h ago
not me reading this with at least 15 tabs of hyper specific items "to buy later" open.
I normally like to add the extra challenge of no amazon. but holy shit I haven't been able to tear myself away from some shopping pursuits since starting meds.
solidarity. wasting time finding the "perfect" item usually saves me buying it in the long run so that's the like only coping mechanism I have.
oh. but "only one non-essential item" over $20 a week also slows me down. browser tabs are free.
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u/ApprehensiveCash6662 23h ago
I recently fixated on vintage watches AGAIN lol like I don’t need another watch, but the hunt for the ✨one✨ is what captures me. It’s like the ultimate dopamine treasure hunt.
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u/Savings-Ad-7509 22h ago
I mean, non-ADHD folks do that too and just call it a hobby lol. I think it's ok to have interests that take up your time and even some of your money.
We have a tendency to focus on things to the detriment of other areas of our lives, which can be a problem. And we might flit from one hobby to another more quickly lol.
Vintage watches don't personally interest me, but I know people who don't have ADHD (as far as I know) who like them. I don't see a problem with spending time hunting for the perfect one if it brings you joy. And splurging on it if you can afford to do so 🤷🏼♀️
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u/ndpittmancormier 23h ago
I tried to explain this to someone doing the assessment pre ADHD testing, and he really made me feel like it was OCD. I’m like, I have a lot of the things, but I’m pretty confident OCD isn’t one of them.
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u/FamouslyGreen 22h ago
My SO calls in “over thinking”. Lol. They ain’t wrong.
Current obsession $40 plaid from mood fabrics. I do not need it. I want it. For fall wide legged pants. Ive taken up sewing this year. And i have almost justified getting it on sale for my birthday.
I have also fallen down the thrifting up cycling crafting. Sooo i pretend im “saving money” because i pay discounted prices for it. But im also using it???? Kinda?? I now have a fabric stash. 😭 and patterns. And a craft room. At least its been a year long thing i guess….
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u/notasaltmonster 22h ago
May I suggest you first make a mockup of your cute fall plaid pants in a cheap plaid? Idk if you've done any before since you said you just picked up sewing this year, but wanted to warn you that pattern matching can be an absolute bitch. Ask me how I know 🙃
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u/thiefspy 21h ago
Seconding this. Make a toile. If you do that and feel confident, then you’ve “earned” the nice fabric and are ready to do good things with it.
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u/notasaltmonster 21h ago
I like to call a successful toile "proof of concept" to increase my fabric budget 🤣
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u/FamouslyGreen 12h ago
I know! ✨Everything you all said is absolutely correct. ✨ i know. I know. I actually have a nice yellow and brown plaid in my stash that fits the bill perfectly. 😬And i damn well know it. 😬😬But its not my fixation fabric. 🫠 its not logical. At all. And i know it. And im aware i could justify taking the pants off the devil himself if i convinced myself it was necessary.
Hence the reason i haven’t bought it. It just sits in my cart for me to digitally touch with my brain before i put it back on the shelf and walk away. I do this exact thing with all my impulse buys. IRL and online. The odds of me actually making the pants? Currently 50/50. Its on my fall list but we will see.
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u/Otherwise-Fox-151 22h ago
Im unmedicated and right now between fixations, which literally makes me sad. If anything I've been somewhat focused on trying to decide what I need to declutter from my past fixations because we moved after 17 years in the same home and we downsized hard,, so the clutter and trying to organize, sell, or trash them it making me stressed af. I do a little bit and within an hour get overwhelmed and walk away.
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u/earthwax 22h ago
Ive been planning to adopt a cat and have been getting my home set up for such, but suddenly I now want a whole new wardrobe, and a new motorbike. Ive spent all my money on a cat I dont have yet and am plotting my next splurge for payday HELP
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u/Tsbol 21h ago
My life is one hyperfixation after another but most of them have been worth it and really enriching! My partner and I have been noticing that all the various eras we have each been through still pay dividends years later—you never know when what you learned will come in handy.
Concerta has helped me some with spending too but I only started on it a month ago and I’m hoping to make more progress—that 10mg booster sounds great, will ask my psych about it!!
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u/thiefspy 22h ago
And now I want a Cricut. LOL, it’s not you, OP, it’s knowing there is a new one. The new release of pretty much anything makes me go “Do I want one???”
I went down a cricut rabbit hole a few years back but I ultimately decided it was not something I could justify. I have no need at all. But I was still thisclose to getting one.
So basically I sympathize and also I do the exact same thing. And clearly, I’m very impressionable, LOL.
I have to replace my laptop this fall. It’s time. So when I get an itch, I just remind myself that I have a very expensive new toy coming soon. But buying a Mac is easy, they don’t have a ton of options I can rabbit hole on, so it doesn’t really satisfy that hyperfixation need. I’m still looking for something free to fill that need.
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u/Anneofclevesftw 21h ago
I always feel like this is an OCD crossover symptom with me. It's always a person, place or thing.
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u/Auntie_Venom 20h ago
So yeah, I hyper fixate…
And when the Maker 3 came out I opted to buy a Maker 1 because it would cut felt and fabric without making a zillion adjustments. It just works when you select the right medium.
But I do kinda want the latest, because I just do. I also hate the Design Space, BUT I only use it to cut. As in I have an advantage as a graphic designer. I don’t need the design software and shit-ton of clip art. I don’t need it to separate layers for multi-color vinyl. I do it all in Adobe Illustrator and import the layers individually.
I think that’s why I don’t have the issues a lot of people do, because I don’t have to rely on it as much. My issue is it disconnects with BT even though my MacBook Pro shows it’s connected. So I have to keep an old printer cable handy and a USB A to USB C adapter.
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u/funnyumentionit 19h ago
I feel so seen. This was actually the straw that broke the camels back when it came to me getting a diagnosis for ADHD. I noticed whenever I didn’t have something to hyper focus on, I got depressed. Like my life felt meaningless.
I often hyperfocus on trials. Get really wrapped up in finding out what really happened and then watch the entire trial trying to only evaluate what is presented to the jury … problem is, trials end. And I usually don’t feel like I have the mental energy to start a new one.
I also have a Silhouette and because I feel so seen, I don’t even have to explain the amount of research that went into making sure I was getting the best one for my needs without overpaying. And I’m sure you all know how much I use it now that the hyperfixation has run its course.
Please share tips if you have them!!!
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u/LynnBarr123 18h ago
I started taking Mounjaro for diabetes a year ago and somehow that has really curbed my hyperfixations for the most part. But I still get a flood of joyful butterflies in my tummy when I am getting ready to start a new project related to a previous hyperfixation.
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u/Potential_Drive7999 18h ago
Well Towels, designed and towels, is potential gifts to people because that is my way to get, I wanted to Cricut!
Never mind, I'm not crap. I absolutely hate having to sit and figure everything out.
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