Coping with interruptions and hyperfocus?

[MrQuest]

Hello, I'm new here. I'm an older adult never formally diagnosed but always felt on the spectrum. Just found out about hyperfocus and ADHD and suddenly things are very clear. I'm great with one task, a mess with two tasks.

I think I've coped with this in the past by micro-focusing. Concentrating on one thing but being hyperaware of my surroundings to avoid missing social clues that I'm supposed to be doing something else. Meetings are a nightmare as I'm trying to solve all problems at the same time, so I usually just observe and process later.

My biggest issue is violent mood swings if a task I'm working on is changed. I'm fine if it is a small task, but most of my projects are weeks in length. I do great working on the same project for weeks, but if I'm asked to stop and work on something else my mind and body lock up. I always thought it was anxiety, but it's never been the actual task, I can do the task. It's always been about being able to "move" my brain after focusing on something for multiple days. Sometimes it can take days before I can do this.

Looking for insights and help!

[jilllewis84]

What you're describing is totally relatable. I was diagnosed last year, and these things got infinitely easier to address once I started medication. Actually, I realized that I did not know what it felt like to *focus* before starting meds, I had only ever experienced distraction, boredom, or hyperfocus. It is truly unique and powerful feeling haha. I couldn't believe that's just how most people get through their day. Wild.

If you're not diagnosed, that sounds like the best place to start. It can get a lot easier from there. Best of luck to you!

[Hidden]

I am not sure that anyone can actually focus on more than one task at once. I love this blog post by James Clear on the Myth of Multitasking, "In his best-selling book, Essentialism (audiobook), Greg McKeown explains the surprising history of the word and how its meaning has shifted over time. “The word priority came into the English language in the 1400s. It was singular. It meant the very first or prior thing. It stayed singular for the next five hundred years. Only in the 1900s did we pluralize the term and start talking about priorities. Illogically, we reasoned that by changing the word we could bend reality. Somehow we would now be able to have multiple “first” things." jamesclear.com/multitasking...

In terms of anger, that is harder. I have struggled with anger myself and have found that mindfulness and meditation help but there are no easy fixes.

[99cents]

It's fairly common to get frustrated by interruptions. For example I get irritated if one of my kids were my wife interrupts me in the middle of reading an article. Even if the conversation truly is more important, at some level I'm afraid of losing track of my thought processes and having a difficult time switching to a different context. This happens with small things and large things.

My counselor asked me to work on interrupting myself and practicing stopping in the middle of things. It's a skill. It can be worked on. My counselor therapist also asked me to practice saying things like, give me 30 seconds to switch my focus.