ADHD comes with a lot more than the inability to focus, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and difficulty staying organized. I think when people hear ADHD, they associate it with one of those four things, throw it in a category, and imagine that the symptoms that ADHD’ers will exhibit are symptoms that anyone could expect from one of those four characteristics. It’s so much deeper than that. I can only speak for myself and my ADHD experience, but I can say, in talking with other ADHD’ers, I wish neurotypical people and the world could see the struggle is often much deeper than that. One of the many things that comes with ADHD is Hyper-fixations, and I want to discuss the rollercoaster and crash that comes with it.
This blog is all about neurodiversity, ADHD in women, life with ADHD, Hyperfixations in ADHD, and signs and symptoms of ADHD.
A hyper-fixation is a common thing you’ll observe across the board with neurodivergent individuals. Hyper-fixation intensely focuses on one specific object, activity, or topic. I think it’s important to know that neurotypical people can also experience hyper-fixations. It is not limited to the neurodivergent person. It is, however, more common among neurodivergent individuals than it is among neurotypical individuals. Hyper-fixation is not an isolated mental illness in itself but rather a characteristic seen predominantly in neurodivergent people.
I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on my hyper-fixations. I was hyper-fixated on photography and invested about $10,000 in equipment, but fortunately, photography overlaps with many of my other interests, so it wasn’t a complete waste. I also became fixated on sewing and tried to start several sewing-related businesses, spending a lot of money. I have other ventures and ideas like these that I could tell you about.
The most embarrassing or shameful part of me with my hyper fixations, is the fear of not being taken seriously when i present a new idea. The fear of no one wanting to indulge or tune in with my latest creative project because, let’s face it, ” How long will Beez be working on that project?”. Even worst, sometimes i have no idea that its a hyper fixation.
Sometimes, it feels like a newfound passion that will go a long way. Something that I will sustain will bring me eternal happiness (you know, we ADHD’ers love a good dopamine rush). This often leads to me impulse buying, going all in, and eventually realizing it was a hyper-fixation. This causes me to want to hide in shame because yet again… why would we ever take her seriously?
I know it is probably as simple as “Who cares what people think? You have to do you.” and while I wholeheartedly know this, this isn’t my first reaction to the frustration and shame that comes with that feeling of wanting to quit a current hobby that I thought would indeed define me and stick around forever. So all this to say, if you know an ADHDer looking for a way to define themselves who is still searching for the hobby that will become their personality — give them grace. Chances are, it’s more profound than a hobby change.