I note two flavors of hyperfocus in me:
- Short Term. This is Extra Deep, and generally triggered by smaller tasks/puzzles (like troubleshooting tech, suddenly noticing something is dirty and deep cleaning it); I tie this into the "flow state". I go into the issue deep, it feels like my brain is a shark, aggressively swimming through water. (but the liquid is time and my body becomes unimportant.)
- Long Term. This is much shallower, and triggered by an Idea (so big projects like cohozuna, new skills/hobbies, new video game). I can have a couple of these running concurrently, but generally one is The Main One. There is a constant itch behind my eyes/in my skull, and if I'm not acting on the Idea, I'm toying with it mentally, building it out, folding it over, poking it with a stick. When I act upon The Idea it feels like water running down the inside of my braincase, and if conditions are right, acting will trigger hyperfocus1
The wind down/cool down after the first is almost violent; my body's needs suddenly all come to the front--like surfacing from underwater but negatively. I feel both "I need to eat/bathroom/rest" and also guilt: "oh no, what if I forgot something important while I was Down In There?"; if the problem was resolved/a solution is found, I may also feel satisfaction, if the problem was not resolved, I could be anywhere from disappointed to angry. There's not as noticeable cool down for hyperfocus2 because the wind down is so long. My excitement for the project wanes, problems occur that need a solution that is not forthcoming, I Act so much upon the Idea the thing is no longer novel. Sometimes the hyperfocus2 will cement, becoming, while not a habit (cuz, uh, this whole topic's root, adhd), a Regular Part of Me: like knitting or cooking or bugs. Other times I just stop doing the thing. I may pick it up again, I may not.
Sometimes I try to not slip into hyperfocus1 due to anticipated interruptions or to avoid the consequences of resurfacing--especially the guilt aspect. This feels similar to the itch of hyperfocus2, but critically, it's not the same. I've learned to avoid slipping into 1 when there are Life Tasks that need to be done or when my estimated puzzle solving/project completion time doesn't fit into my available time1, but avoiding diving in leaves an itch, and it's easy to confuse that itch with hyperfocus2's itch.
The other night I realized I was confusing the two and avoiding falling into hyperfocus2 like I avoid falling into hyperfocus1 and there were itches on itches! I didn't even know I was so confused! Em noted how I was really going hard hyperfocusing on friendship bracelets and my knee jerk reaction was, "wait, I can't do that, I don't need another hobby while I've got so many projects running..." But then I thought about it some more and: this is fun. I like it. I might do it for a while, or be done after the next bracelet. I don't even have to worry about The ADHD Tool Cost Problem because we inherited Em's Grandma's impressive embroidery stash. I don't have to resist slipping into hyperfocus2. So now here I am: hell yeah baby I'm hyperfocusing on friendship bracelets; who wants one 😎
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This is probably its own thing worth dwelling on--sometimes my ED wall is built entirely on "oh I don't have enough time to see any of my projects to completion"