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ADHD: The Hyper-Focused or Zoning Out Coin Flip

May 4, 2010 Douglas Cootey

There is one aspect of Adult ADHD that has perplexed and befuzzled my wife for all twenty one years of our marriage. I like to think of it as the coin flip of attention extremes. Heads, I ignore you because I'm hyper-focused, or tails I ignore you because I'm spacing out. I can't for the life of me imagine why she'd have a problem with this.

[caption id="attachment_1369" align="alignright" width="250"]Adult ADHD uses your attention as a plaything. Either you're hyper-focused or you're zoning out. Either way, your loved ones feel ignored. Check this out. 'Night Train' by Kevin Dooley[/caption]

We all know the criteria by now. Adults with ADHD suffer from easy distractibility, trouble focusing, and the amazing ability to zone out in the middle of a song, book, page, conversation, project, etc. But those who live with these adults also know they can focus almost superhumanly on something at times. So which is it? Does ADHD mean we can't pay attention or does it mean we can't pull our attention away?

I'm afraid the answer is a little of both. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is not really a good description. It's more like Attention Discrepancy Disorder.

I'm sitting at the table typing away when I become aware somebody is talking to me. It's my wife. She sounds a little like this:

"hmmnamanammnmmmmananhmnhmanahmmnahmnanout the garbage?"

"Wha?"

"Douglas, I've been asking you if you could take out the garbage."

In a perfect world I'd say "Sure, honey!" and jump right to it. Unfortunately, I live in Bizarro World where "yes" means "if I remember", and anything that takes me away from what I'm working on makes me grunt in near monosyllabic sentences.

"Mmm, in a moment."

"So you'll take out the trash?"

"Douglas?"

"Yes, hon? What is it?"

Have you ever heard a primal scream? I have on a regular basis. My wife is really good at it by now. I'd almost prefer her frustration to her reaction to the flip side of my attention extreme, however.

We're sitting at the table talking about something I felt was worthy of a meeting. I really, really wanted this meeting. I made her stop everything she was doing to have it. She's sitting at the table listening to me discuss the issues, then it's her turn. She stops mid-sentence.

"Douglas? Douglas‽"

"Hmm?"

"Are we finished?"

"What? Oh! I'm so sorry! I was just distracted by the web page. I was sorta working on it, um, before I asked you to talk to me."

But it's too late. She's hurt by my lapse in attention and feels quite rejected. The simple solution would be for her to learn about my ADHD and stop taking these momentary lapses so personally, but I live in Bizarro World. The problem is that I'm so intensely in control most of the time that she doesn't recognize when I'm intensely OUT of control. I don't always ignore her. I don't always zone out. But when I'm bad, I'm really bad, even sometimes being hyper-focused and zoning out in the same conversation.

I don't have a solution to offer you or myself. The attention span in my head takes hard lefts and hard rights but never seems to stay on track moving forward. If you have adult ADHD, you know exactly what I mean, and if you don't, you may still wonder if I'm just making it all up.

The best way I can describe it is to have you imagine that attention is a train. Unless you are tired, your tracks probably lay fairly straight. For adults with ADHD, our tracks are filled with junctions with flaky switches. Anything can set a switch off and the track changes our direction of thought. We want to go straight. Bless our ever lovin' hearts, we truly do, but for some reason we find ourselves suddenly heading off towards parts unknown. Other times we're supposed to come to a stop at the station, but we're so focused on the destination that we forget to apply the brakes and whoosh right by you.

Don't cash your ticket in, though. We'll come back for you. It'll occur to us eventually.

APA Reference
Cootey, D. (2010, May 4). ADHD: The Hyper-Focused or Zoning Out Coin Flip, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, March 29 from https://www.healthyplace.com/blogs/adultadhd/2010/05/adhd-flipping-a-coin-between-too-much-and-too-little-attention



Author: Douglas Cootey

Heidi
August, 12 2018 at 8:56 pm

Sounds a lot like me and my sons. Bad thing is their father has it too I think but he denies anything is wrong with him. He groans as soon as anyone says anything. I can't remember the last time he touched me. I'm so tired of trying to entice him. 20 years, should have left a long time ago and met a man who really cared for me, not just one 10 years older wanting me to be mom to his 3 year old son. Met him when I was 16. He pretty much pressured me into a relationship and he has ruled everything I do. What do I do? I'm a Libra so of course I usually cry or avoid him. I pray all the time and to to whoever will listen, God, Jesus, Angels, Universe, plants, whatever...myself. I guess that's why mom said you are your own best friend. That and most just use you. Sorry for blabbing but when I dropped out of school at 17, I left all acquaintances and friends behind. I went to college some but he always complained and only got worse. Sucky thing is, once I was pregnant with second daughter, he saw me in the shower one day and looked at me disgustedly and has ever since. Wont touch me blames me for everything. So I pray.

Grace
July, 1 2010 at 3:25 pm

Douglas, I would like to meet your wife and find out how she deals with you! You see, you are just like my spouse. You have described him, which is helpful for me, since he is not able to communicate it as well as you have.
I don't cash in my ticket, but I often have to go running after the you all . . .

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