

You're so tuned in to what you're doing that you've forgotten you left a pot of rice boiling on the stove. Don’t forget: hyperfocus can make you oblivious to your surroundings. Don't neglect your life responsibilities because you've spent hours reading a 700-page book and you're determined to finish it that day. It is important for individuals to be aware of how much time they spend on a task even if they're enjoying themselves. So while hyperfocus can be a positive trait of ADHD, it needs to be managed well in order to be productive. This ties into another symptom of ADHD-some have a poor concept of time and may be often late for obligations. One of the dangers of being in a hyperfocused state is that people can become absentminded and lose track of time.

Those with ADHD can get so involved in their activity while in hyperfocus mode that they are unaware of what is going on around them in their environment. They’re trying to stimulate their frontal lobes and produce more dopamine. This is why people with ADHD are also easily bored and are always looking for ways to have fun. Having lower levels of this essential brain chemical causes people with ADHD to have difficulty getting their brains to calm down enough to get "boring" tasks completed. People with ADHD have low dopamine levels. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in our brain's frontal lobes. Similar to what happens in the brain of someone with ADHD when they are distracted, it is believed that low levels of dopamine in the brain trigger hyperfocus. The key component here is that the person with ADHD requires their brain to be positively stimulated in order to get into "hyperfocus mode." What Causes Hyperfocus? They could turn their hyperfocus to activities like cleaning the house, writing a book, playing video games, or doing an art project. They become so entranced in what they're doing that they are able to tune out their surroundings. While it might be hard to focus on the mundane, it's a totally different story when someone with ADHD is doing something that they love. ADHD makes it difficult to focus on boring tasks, and so the person with this disorder can get easily distracted, zone out, or leave their seat during boring activities. People with ADHD struggle with attention span regulation. A commonly believed myth states that those with ADHD simply "can't pay attention.” This is not entirely the case. Hyperfocus is a symptom of ADHD that causes a person to intensely focus on a task or interest for an extended period of time.
