#hyperfocus?

For anyone who’s new here, I’m a university maths student, as well as an absolute fucking NERD. I absolutely adore maths, and have a constant maths commentary going on in the back of my mind. University restarted today, but a bunch of learning resources were released just over a week ago, including the complete notes for one of my modules, and I kinda got a tiny little bit distracted and spent a whole week studying it and not doing much else and after I finished it I had no idea what to do with myself and tidied the whole house and then spent the rest of the day being bored and sad and then the complete notes for another module was released today and I’m already a good chunk into that module but then it got boring and I don’t know what to do with myself anymore because I’ve completely forgotten who I was before I started this INTENSE STUDY PERIOD even though it was only, like, a week ago.

This has happened before. It can be something productive that grabs my attention, but it’s normally something like a TV programme or a particular game or a book series. I’ll spend all of my free time on one thing and one thing only, and then when I run out of content I’ll suddenly be very lost and unsure of what to do with myself for a while until something else grabs my attention and I focus completely on that instead and the cycle restarts.

For me personally, this extreme focus on just One Thing doesn’t really stop me from looking after myself. I’ll spend the vast majority of my free time on The Thing, and also possibly slack on whatever I’m supposed to be doing in favour of daydreaming about The Thing, but I won’t be too distracted to take care of myself. I know that for some people, particularly those with ADHD who suffer with hyperfocus, this kind of thing can be a really serious issue that can’t be fixed very easily and can have a major impact on their life, and I don’t want to downplay any of that. But for me personally, it’s just how I function, and it isn’t having an adverse effect on my mental health and wellbeing, so I just kinda let it happen. It’s even useful sometimes, like because I’m already ahead on my studies, I’ll be a lot less stressed this semester. And if any of you relate to this, then surprise! You’re not alone! (Metaphorically of course. Physically, you may very well be alone, I’m not gonna suddenly appear at your window like someone straight out of a horror movie and whisper “you’re never alone” ominously before disappearing into the night and leaving you paranoid for the rest of your existence. Wow, this took a dark turn, sorry ‘bout that, have some sunshine and rainbows to make up for it. *throws a rainbow and precisely 3 sunshine in you’re direction*).