Undiagnosed here, seeking some inspiration and will to not lose hope.
Had anyone successfully gotten in tune with your ever changing hyper fixations?
- If so, how long do your fixation periods last?
- Do you have a structure or benchmark after which you can effectively “close that chapter”?
- What strategies do you have to nudge yourself towards topics which will be meaningful in the long run?
I tend to go from rabbit hole to rabbit hole but it never feels like I’m in control. These fixations never produce any meaningful outcomes and always have a cost which I pay for by neglecting other aspects of my life.
It is a superpower and a weakness as you all probably know. It’s great for expanding your interests and appreciating life through different perspectives. I don’t want to lose it and want to get into some harmony with it. Anyone had any success?
Thank you :)
I just accepted that getting focused on something is an urge like any other and to avoid spending much money if it reminded me of other times I got sucked into something and it didn’t work out. Basically setting a limit on cost.
Time though, that will be lost anyway and I’ve come to accept it. After a few decades my limitations have sunk in and it is really just coping with the disorder.
Also it isn’t a superpower. Yes, quick and shallow understanding of things can come pretty quickly if I am interested. But that is a tradeoff for the inability to retain most previously gained knowledge.
This is where I’m at too. There are some methods and principles I can try to enact, like if I’m hyperfocused on a subject I feel is actually worthwhile I can limit my exposure to other new stimuli in the hopes of maintaining the focus for longer. But ultimately my brain is out of my control and it’s really only a case of coping and damage limitation.
And yeah I wish people would stop referring to an inhibiting disorder as a superpower. It’s really not.
That’s a fair point. Ye are right… “superpower” is the wrong term, especially when most people feel the negatives consequences of such a disorder.
Think that term stuck as an attempt at reframing it to try take some control back over this “tendency” to meander. Either fight it or roll with it, nudging it bit by bit and as you say, limiting the damage. Thank you.
Appreciate your response.
That acceptance you have gained is key to managing it… And the ability to not get too excited and remembering past moments. I like that idea of setting limits on cost, whether money or time.
And yes on reflection it’s not a “superpower”. I have seen some people around me manage this disorder in a way that avoided this shallow understanding through good note taking and putting the hours in over longer periods of time. Just trying to see what strategies the folks here employ.
Your approach feels to me (correct me if wrong), about cultivating awareness to return to the present without getting too invested. You may have worked on it or it may have come naturally over time. You’ve reminded me of my lost meditation practice haha. So thank you.
Pretty much, yeah. I’m actually pretty successful professionally and have had to temper my excitement about new projects knowing that I’ve dug myself into too much work in the past. I also have to pay a lot of attention to the audience when discussing technical topics to avoid getting too far into the weeds.
Really it just comes down to being self aware enough about my tendencies which is something even neurotypical people would get a huge benefit from. I just have to do it to function in society, so I get a LOT of practice!