Weird thing happening with hyperfixations

[mysterionz]

I’m on the autism spectrum + I have adhd. I sometimes find myself developing hyperfixiations that last for a few days only for them to go away and then come back whenever they want. This usually happens with past special interests of mine, like the powerpuff girls, my little pony, friendship is magic, or SpongeBob. Does this happen to anyone else? Only two of my special interests have remained consistent for the past year or so (South Park, 1.5 years and drawing, going on 11 years this month.

 

[Slime_Punk]

Yes! I've been diagnosed with both ASD and ADHD and while I don't really identify with the ADHD side much at all, stuff will occasionally grip me for like a week and just slowly release for weeks, months or even years only to return with a vengeance.

Each time it seems like it gets stronger, though. Does that happen to you as well?

 

[Luc Ienn]

I’ve heard that when having combination ASD and ADHD, this is a common thing. The ADHD need for constant new stimulus combined with ASD’s proclivity for special interests, apparently it leads to something like this.

I do not have diagnosed ADHD, but I am similar to you in this way. This is one of the reasons I want to get screened for ADHD, because of this and a few other things.

 

[Mr. Stevens]

I've had interests fade away and come back. I don't have ADHD, by the way. I think it's just a normal burning out and moving onto other things. Then when the interest becomes meaningful to you again, it returns. I don't worry about it too much or pathologize. Interests have their life, even if that means a fade and resurrection. To me that's just nature.

 

[Shevek]

When I'm stressed over the future, I like to return to well-known, relatively simple activities.

 

[Tom]

I have ASD, but not ADHD. I have always had special interests. I do rotate between them and on occasion add a new one but I stay with them long term overall. My longest one goes back to age 4.

 

[Crossbreed]

My less-central interests wane when I have studied a subject as far as my resources have allowed me to.
If I receive a new bit of information on that subject, my interest in it will re-awaken if only to absorb it into my previous body of knowledge.
If that new info constitutes a paradigm shift, I may stay with it a little longer.

When I was first interested in animal taxonomy, it was based on the animal's form & structure.
Now it is based on their DNA sequences.
Some species previously thought to closely related are now considered to be less related (and vice versa).

 

[Human Avatar]

I don’t have ADHD , but I have ASD-2 . I have the same thing I will get obsessions over certain music, projects , or ideas could be anything really . They go away and come back . Sometimes stronger . My last one was having to drink water only out of glass. No plastic or anything just glass.

 

[Judge]

The more I think about it, the more I believe this is how I grew up. Moving from one intense interest to another. Particularly within my hobby of plastic modeling. A new project every week, and adhering to a strict routine of painting on Friday, and building on Saturday.

Silly perhaps, but other than going to school without a choice, that was a good deal of my existence. Can't help but wonder how much better I would have fared had I spent more time on learning and less time building models.

And as an adult, while my building models began to wane, I got into other things like photography and later computers. But always with an intense focus that no one around me could ever appreciate.

 

[MildredHubble]

My interest in a certain type of computer has been constant since I was 3 years old. I have a few interests that seem to cycle in terms of how much I engage with them. In all honesty though, my other interests are off shoots from this main one, though it may not seem obvious to most people.

I think it's quite normal to have one dominant interest or hyper fixation and have others that are less so that kinda cycle. It's like chords in music.

One thing that can effect how much I engage with certain interests is my mood. Things are slowly getting better and my recent new meds are helping a little, so I'm finding my ability to focus has improved and this is a big factor.

Energy levels and focus for me, are adversely affected by anxiety and depression. When my mood improves, I'm usually a hive of activity.

 

[Progster]

Yes, that happens to me, too.

 

[HyperfixedAngel]

Depending on my mood, my hyperfixations can last up to like an month even, then I cycle to another favorite of mine. Currently I’m focusing on The Amazing Digital Circus!

 

[Misty Avich]

I only get hyperfixations on things that make me anxious, not so much interests. Well, to an extent I get a little focused on things that interest me but that's just normal for all humans, otherwise interests wouldn't exist. But I don't hyperfixate on interests to the typical autism extent. Except on things that make me anxious, but those aren't interests. It's just emotion.