At Saber Psychiatry, we meet the mental health needs of children, adolescents, and adults. We are proud to use holistic, client-centered approaches to psychiatric care – treating the whole person, not only any needs for prescription care. We look forward to working with you; appointments are available, so call us at 615.678.7839 to learn about availability.
- Board-certified for children, adolescents, and adults
- Sleep, attention, behavior, and emotional regulation
- Comprehensive psychiatric evaluations
- Sleep-disorder evaluations and treatment
- Family therapy
- Parent training
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Treat the whole person, not just medical management
- Ages 2 through 64
- Appointments are available
Focus on Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Hyperfocus
We hear lots of questions about attention deficit disorder (ADD), which may present with or without hyperactivity (ADHD).
ADD can be diagnosed only by a physician, not by teachers, parents, or child-care professionals. While children can learn to manage their ADD (possibly with the assistance of medication), they do not grow out of it. Children and adolescents who have ADD grow into adults who have ADD.
ADD does not that diagnosed people cannot pay attention to things they find interesting; it means they have trouble regulating their attention (even more than most of us), and they are easily distracted. It is the regulation of attention that is a problem, not the ability to concentrate at all.
Indeed, some people who live with ADD demonstrate hyperfocus. Hyperfocus is the experience of deep, intense concentration. That’s great when the person needs to focus on the task at hand, but not-so-great when a person is meant to be cooking, doing homework, or weeding the garden and instead is focused on reading, video games, drawing, or sports.
There is disagreement over whether hyperfocus exists or whether it should be considered a discrete symptom, but we have seen it. Not everyone who shows hyperfocus has ADHD, and most people who have ADHD do not experience hyperfocus.
Scientists, writers, elite athletes, and musicians may benefit from hyperfocus. Hyperfocus on unproductive tasks (regardless of whether they’re useful in other settings), however, can harm relationships, school, and work performance.
At Saber Psychiatry, we teach children, adolescents, and adults how to manage their ADD and any hyperfocus; we also teach parents how to help their children manage it.
Managing hyperfocus may require:
Creating a schedule for hyperfocus activities – videogames, sports, music, and other enjoyable activities are allowed, but not until after the person has completed certain tasks.
Create markers – such as chapter breaks, the use of all the buildings blocks, or unpleasant-sounding alarms to mark time.
Don’t attempt to multi-task (something nobody does well anyway). Focus on one task at a time.
Use timers or ask friends/family members to text or call at certain times.
Speak up for yourself! Ask people to turn off the music or television while you’re in the room working.
Are ADD and Hyperfocus Real?
We hear that question a lot, usually followed by something like “I get lost in tasks too,” or “I hate doing boring things.” Psychological and behavioral symptoms all come from the range of human behaviors. Something is a disorder not because it exists, but because it exists in enough intensity and across enough situations that it makes typical functioning more difficult than it should be.
Call Saber Psychiatry at 615.678.7839 for more answers to your questions.
Saber Psychiatry
615.678.7839