ADD and the capacity to Hyperfocus

An important aspect of ADD is the so called 'hyperfocus'. Hyperfocus is best described as 'an extra capacity to lose yourself entirely in something that has awoken your interest'. Someone is restless until a prolonged goal has been accomplished. After a period of constant and consequent focus on a given issue, this frequently results in a creative breakthrough. The expectations which an ADDer sets him- or herself are frequently particularly high. As a result, people with ADD, have often become used to succeed in things of their interest. Then they are able to learn almost everything.

Because of this a person with ADD tends to overcharge him- or herself. At doing something which he or she considers boring, the brain steers their ideas almost automatically to the more interesting. Something for which the ADDer can't always be blamed. At doing things which hasn't caught the immediate interest of a person with ADD, they often feel they haven't lived up to their full potential. This is easily understandable when someone considers that a person with ADD compares the accomplishment or failure with past experiences in occasions at which she/he has been working on things which where of utmost impotence to him or her.

Inciting the hyperfocus can't always succeed. Therefore feelings of guilt and/or uncertainty frequently occur among people with ADD. People in their surroundings have often told the: 'You can do the job if you'd only want', 'You are acting lazy'. By this a individual with ADD can internalize a negative picture of his or her personal abilities. For this reason much encouragement is necessary. Often a person with ADD already received enough criticism!

Lastly one should understand that the capacity to hyperfocus for some period of time, takes high quantities of energy. This explains why people with ADD can be exhausted at times. It is necessary to pick regular moments to 'reload the battery'. At times the ADDer can seem absent and difficult to reach. Then a ADDer feels empty and worn-out. The continues raging of ideas create a big fog in which the person finds it difficult to make choices or set priorities. As a result one gets done what is minimally expected of them. Women quickly display signs of depression where men tend to rebel, be impatient or react an behave unwise. In both cases much support is necessary!