#Hyperfixation problems

[queenbread]

I think my friends might be tired of Sophia Light rambles

I dunno, I'm not sure but my friends miiight be a little tired of me sending this Dr Sophia Light meme and rambling about her....

they're gonna have to put up with it for at least another few months though

They can blame Arona for the meme mwahahahahhaha

I WILL NOT CEASE

[what-fandom-again]

I hate listening to podcasts because they require a certain level of attention that I just dont have

Because 90% of the time I turn a podcast on, I'm USING IT AS BACKGROUND NOISE FOR VIDEOGAMES OR TASKS

So I'm sort of splitting my attention between two things which I'm notoriously bad at especially when I'm unmedicated so I end up missing a lot of details

This is especially bad since I tend to go through periods where I haven't listened to an episode of something in weeks or even months

Which results in me feeling a lot of guilt when I go on tumblr and see people talking about things that I either missed or just haven't gotten to yet

[faerieboyfixations]

I'm ready to take back Earth!

Except, I'm really not, because every other time I've played that mission it has legitimately emotionally devastated me with the kind of severity that only a highly invested special interest can do to a neurodivergent! Sure, I have the Happily Ever After mod, but I don't know if there's a logical end choice to use with it, it whether my usual choice will make sense, it anything else. I only know it's supposed to be less devastating.

Maybe synthesis will work, or maybe I'll end up running my week by playing the last mission three times before I move on to the Citadel as an Epilogue!

I hate not knowing what to expect!

[all-that-good-stuf]

Why am I always cursed with never having my hyperfixations being popular enough. Like I’m starting to hyperfixate on the Little Big Planet franchise and I feel like there’s like 12 of us in the fandom

[bucketofjaybirds-bucket-emporium]

Neurodivergence be damned, I gotta resist the urge to combine my hyperfixations this time guys I could do it with TF2 and Folk Horror, i could do it with TF2 and Jurassic Park... i don't think i could handle hurting my merc boys that much with a Saw AU (plus i don't think there's enough characters in TF2 to make that happen anyway, the saw franchise has too many scrunglies to count)

[lanfykins]

That's odd, I wasn't expecting any deliveries.

UNLESS

I'm glad they understand HOW URGENT THIS IS

Not shown: me scrabbling desperately at the tape with an ancient pair of nail scissors because I was TOO EXCITED to go and get a knife

LOOK AT ALL THOSE LOVELY WHITE PAGES

*heavy breathing*

...I have a roleplaying game tonight and work drinks tomorrow WHO DO I HAVE TO KILL I HAVE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO NOW

FOREVER

[thechronicsloth]

I'm looking for neurodivergent people, especially ADHD and/or autistic, with myasthenia gravis or other physically debilitating chronic condition for advice. Basically, I need to take breaks often. Or I SHOULD take breaks often. Especially now that I'm getting better, it's easy to forget that my body needs constant rest. But I'm having a lot of trouble doing this while hyperfixating on something. I've tried setting alarms but most of the times it's too hard for me to stop what I'm doing. I've tried having a TV show/anime that I just LOVE ready at hand so I can watch it while I rest as an incentive, but even that often gets postponed. Obviously, if I don't get enough rest throughout the day several days in a row I end up crashing or at least in need of a very long rest.

I was wondering if other neurodivergents struggled with hyperfixations and if you have any tips or tricks to get around this issue.

[viktheviking1]

I'd like to add the condition that it has to be at least a year since either your intense obsession ended and/or since you saw an episode

mutuals do this

[princeturveydrop]

Help I had a new quilt idea that I really want to make, but it relies on scraps that I’m currently using for other quilts so I have to finish those first 😫

[loreartisan]

this was supposed to just be an art profile i swear but i fear i hyperfixated too close to the sun (is this the tumblr effect?)

[japhgura]

Currently struggling with the 'you could be creating something right now' headspace again

I just literally debated going to sleep at a reasonable time or finish one of the 20 things I was drawing this week.

It's gotten to the point where relaxing has become really difficult, every time I'm not doing stuff for my diagnosis or taking steps to get my life back in order after the very uncool things that happened in April I start to feel guilty the moment I'm not creating things. Like it's running away from me.

Which makes sense I guess, since I'm struggling with keeping my hyperfixations present again

This is super frustrating and it happens so many times, it keeps coming back

If anyone is going through the same brain dumb I wish you some chill man, I could seriously use some

[businesscasualart]

Would y’all like…be displeased with me if I started loyally posting fandoms I don’t even know anything about

[faerieboyfixations]

I haven't finished Starfield, but it's losing my focus anyhow. I married Sam, mission accomplished. What do you mean there's more Starborn plot? Why must we be immediate enemies to the first non-humans we find? Did Bethany esda learn nothing from bioware?

Now, I'd love to shift my fixation to Baldur's Gate, but I don't have 3 and the earlier ones are much less enticing. So I'm flailing for art ideas and proper distractions as the dark months loom.

[frankieroslesbian]

Nah man having intense hyperfixations as a neurodivergent person is probably the most isolating feeling in the world

Like all I can think about is this specific thing but I'm not allowed talk about it because it doesn't interest anyone else around me. So instead it just builds up to the point where I feel like I'm going to explode

[ren-is-real]

Hyperfixations can be wonderful but be careful because if you go too deep The Sickness. It gets you. The Sickness.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

the ADHD writer's guide to actually finishing a draft (no, seriously) 📝

okay, tumblr, writers... we need to TALK about how to actually finish a damn draft when your executive functioning decided to pack its bags and leave for a permanent vacation in the bahamas.

i'm not here to give you that basic "just set a timer!" advice that makes me want to throw my laptop into the sun. we all know those productivity hacks that work for neurotypicals make us want to scream into the void. (been there, screamed that.)

so here's the ACTUAL guide from someone who's written three novels while her brain was actively trying to sabotage her the entire time.

FIRST: accept that linear writing is a capitalist construct designed to torture us.

i'm serious. whoever decided writers should start at chapter 1 and proceed neatly to THE END clearly didn't have dopamine playing hide-and-seek in their prefrontal cortex.

write whatever scene has your brain chemicals SINGING today. that climactic fight scene that's six chapters away? the tender moment between your characters that happens in the middle? WRITE IT NOW while your brain is actually interested. i have finished entire novels by writing them in chunks and stitching them together like the beautiful frankenstein's monster they are.

SECOND: the 10-minute lie (that actually works???)

tell yourself you're only going to write for 10 minutes. that's it. no pressure. your adhd brain can handle anything for 10 minutes, right? the secret is that once you start, momentum becomes your best friend. sometimes you'll actually stop at 10 minutes (congrats, you still wrote something!) but often you'll look up and realize it's been two hours and you've written 2,000 words. and yes i've seen this a lot, like everywhere, where they tell you "set a timer for 5, and by the time you realize it's 2 hours" i've seen this many times before, and it actually works. at first i thought it didn't but boy, i was wrong.

THIRD: use your hyperfixation powers for good, not evil.

we all know that adhd comes with the superpower of becoming obsessed with random things for unpredictable amounts of time. WEAPONIZE THIS. create artificial urgency around your project. tell people about your deadline. make elaborate aesthetic pinterest boards. create a spotify playlist that you only listen to while writing this specific project. trick your brain into making your WIP the shiny new hyperfixation.

FOURTH: body-doubling saved my writing career and it can save yours too.

find another writer friend (or any friend who needs to do focused work) and sit together - virtually or physically - while you both work. something about having another human witnessing your work process bypasses the executive dysfunction. i swear it's actual magic. discord writing sprints, zoom sessions with cameras off but mics on - whatever works.

FIFTH: embrace the chaos of your natural writing cycle.

some days you'll write 5,000 words in a frenzy at 3am. other days you'll stare at the document for an hour and write "the." BOTH ARE VALID WRITING DAYS. the only consistency we need is returning to the document, not some arbitrary daily word count.

SIXTH: create external accountability that doesn't make you want to die.

deadlines from publishers? great. deadlines you set for yourself? your brain laughs and says "or what?" find the sweet spot - maybe it's a writing buddy you check in with, maybe it's a public progress tracker, maybe it's promising your sister you'll take her to dinner when you finish a chapter.

SEVENTH: the frankendraft approach.

your first draft DOES NOT need to be good, coherent, or even make sense. it just needs to exist. leave yourself notes like [FIGURE OUT HOW SHE GETS FROM THE CASTLE TO THE BEACH LATER] and keep moving. your adhd brain will thank you for not getting stuck in research rabbit holes for six hours.

EIGHTH: find your optimal writing environment through shameless trial and error.

maybe you need complete silence. maybe you need to be in a coffee shop with specific ambient noise. maybe you need to write standing up. maybe you need to dictate your novel while pacing around your apartment. there is no wrong way to get the words out.

i personally write best when i'm slightly uncomfortable (weird, i know) so i often end up writing while sitting on my kitchen floor with my laptop balanced on a chair. whatever works, bestie. a finished messy draft is infinitely more valuable than the perfect novel still trapped in your head. your adhd brain is simultaneously your greatest challenge and your greatest asset as a writer. the connections you make, the unique perspectives, the creativity - all of that comes from the same place as the struggles.

you've got this. now go write something, even if it's just for 10 minutes. i believe in you. ✨ -rin t.