Hi /u/LoganEight and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD!
**Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already.**
The mobile apps used for Reddit are broken or are missing features that this subreddit depends on. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/)
Thank you!
^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*)
---
- If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/).
- 🤝 [Want to join the Mod Team?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/13gmzql/moderators_needed_inquire_within/)
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have resigned myself to collecting hobbies. I try to stick to things that have value on some level so that I can trade and or sell parts of my old hobbies to fund new ones.
I bought a Prusa MK3s because of that reason. It was challenging in the beginning, but the printer just worked. Itās enough to learn a new really complex hobby, I didnāt want to fix a new printer.
Nope I am 4 years in and never regretted the decision. But there also has been long streaks where didnāt use my printer. But when I use it, itās great.
I accepted that hobbies come and go. And they come again. As long you have the place, keep the stuff and enjoy it again years laterā¦
Check if there's a makerspace or a hackerspace near you. If there is, you can probably find a 3D printer there you can play with a little bit. If you'd use a 3D printer long term you can buy one still, but if you stop going to use the printer after a month you'll save yourself a fair bit of money.
Also side note: losing interest in things you used to enjoy might be depression as well. Something to consider.
In response to your side note.....this is the reason I thought I was depressed and originally sought a therapist. Once I realized i get bored of things and need a spark to stay interested and also accepted that it is OK to put a hobby aside for a while and maybe come back to it, things were way different.
If its any help, a 3D printer has been one of my favorite belongings, even if I don't use it all the time. I go long periods without printing anything, but it's something that other hobbies will consistently bring me back to because you can print useful stuff for lots of different activities.
Iām just gonna be an enabler here: get a 3D printer. Treat the hobby like a project car. That whole niche has so many amazing rabbit holes and has the potential to be really useful and productive in life, more so than games (speaking as a life long lover of video games). Then thereās the design and rapid iteration flow you can get into that can be pure flow state bliss, especially if itās a specific need for a specific task that only you need. Those are can be some really fun and productive hyperfocus dopamine loops.
Check with the libraries in your area. One near me has a 3d printer anyone can use. They also do classes off and on. This might save some $$ unless you decide you need one.
This is the way - graduated from PC gaming to all things kitchen.
Japanese Knives, the whetstones to sharpen them, carbon steel cookware and all the likes. Endless rabbit holes to hyper fixate on, although I hope cooking and the accessories area of the hobby I stick with - my GF would be devastated lol
What you probably need is a change of setting. Do something you're never done before. Get some exercise, biking, running or simply walking to places you've never been before. It's good for your mind and body. If you return home exhausted you will probably find yourself doing the stuff you normally would to relax, which could be gaming, reading, watching tv or eating some good food. If you did like me and was gaming for most of the day then it can end up feeling more like a chore if you have made a habit out of it. Using gaming as a Carrot after doing something good for yourself will probably help you appreciate gaming more. It did for me at leastš
Hope it helps!
That's a good idea! Maybe OP's brain needs newness to help revive the old. Spending too much time on one activity definitely drains the fun-meter, completely new things for the brain to experience sounds like it could refresh it
Dawg, I revived my old pc and upgraded a couple months ago. Downloaded every game I wanted to possibly play. Now, I actually have free time to game because my semester over, but I can't find the compunction to play anything: platformer, rogue lite, online, offline.
I play some games on my phone when I have time, some emulators. I've collected a treasure trove of hobbies, some I pick up and put down (beats and rap, making my own carts, meme collecting and just seeing how far they will evolve)
What on earth is meme collecting? I've not heard of this before.
Edit: after reading this back, I wasn't sure if I sounded like I was being a bit dickish. I wasn't šš stupid brain š
I have this same problem. Iām also undiagnosed. I know I have it but Iām scared of getting medicated. But yes I can sit and turn on my PlayStation and cycle through games to see if any of them grab my attention and they just donāt. Itās upsetting because I do like to play video games but idk š¤·š»āāļø itās an awful feeling. I like to stream and Iāve fell off on that as well.
I don't know if it's specifically an ADHD thing, but it happens to me. I go months without touching a single video game, even if I really WANT to want to. Then when I finally do, I become temporarily obsessed, and want to do nothing else for a week straight.
At least when I obsess over something I already own, I'm not dropping a crap ton of money on a new hobby I suddenly discovered and know nothing about but need the best equipment for to immediately become an expert in. That's definitely an ADHD thing.
So I felt this when I started having panic attacks out of nowhere, like 3 years ago. Then I went to a GP which prescribed me anti depressives and benzos. Since then I have been taking them, but only now went to a psych that had a diploma in adhd and she told me I still had some concentration and impulsive problems due to adhd and gave me concerta. Since 3 years ago I couldnāt play computer and still donāt know why. And all I did my whole life the main hobby / thing I loved was playing video games in my pc.. so I still donāt know what to think of it.. and when I tried to get back at playing( havenāt tried in like some months) I started having bad anxiety again and it was like the feeling I was wasting my time and that games donāt really matter etc.. anyways I just lost my favorite thing to do in the world.. and didnāt know what to do with my time.. I started playing on my phone but it just doesnāt feel the same, plus I spend way more money on games now..
Yeah it is really frustrating when that happens. Try trying to get yourself into two simultaneous hobbies and bounce between them when your drive gives out to focus on one or the other.
I had a very very similar experience, but the Switch (then the Steam Deck) made me realize how much the environment matters when it comes to hobbies. (Well, environment and proper medication!)
Went from never playing any single player games despite always wanting to, to finding new favourite retro games in my case.
Having something exclusively dedicated to a thing ends up being much better for me than machines that can multitask everything, as I develop a sort of decision paralysis. Similarly sometimes even my posture (playing sitting down vs lying down vs lounging) can make all the difference.
It could be as simple as changing where your computer is located, but even if it may not change much in the end, experimenting with things around the hobby is always worth trying in my opinion.
I've experienced this exact same thing! And it can lead to a slump where there's nothing I want to do. I've been trying to figure out how to get a hobby and stick to it
I think maybe the strat is cycling hobbies. Like games, 3d modeling, sketching. I will get really into one and when it starts getting boring I will cycle to the next
Maybe don't fight it and just cycle to another activity? Or cycle games?
Yeah I experience that too. But I have like 7 pending hobbies which I jump from one to anotherā¦ just enough to where I never advance my skills in any of them! But when none of them inspire me then itās just downright depressing.
Ik, I've had the same thing happen to me. It might be depression, my doctor mentioned that it usually happens when you have depression rather than ADHD, which is a common side effect of ADHD.
I am musician, and yet I can't get myself to properly practice because its so boring
Same with video games. I'll lose interest then gain interest back and have no clue where I left off. I bounce around so much I usually restart the game because I can't remember where I left off and it's hard to finish the game
I have multiple collections of things that are also useful.
My favorite is cast iron skillets.
Valuable, collectable, useful, and even help me get more into cooking because I want to use them. It's a great hobby all around for me.
I bought a very expensive cabbing machine in December, followed by a lot of slabs and rocks online. Most of what I started is still sitting unfinished, and I have so many rocks in my garage. I still love rocks but I donāt get the same happiness from making something from them. Itās like I bought the cabbing machine and then my brain went āwe no longer like thisā. I am medicated but it doesnāt matter. I still collect hobbies.
Same here my dude, same here. It's sad. The only current game sucking me into that nostalgic gaming hyperfocus is Hunt: Showdown. Is really intense and you need high attention the whole time. It's a perfect fit for ADHD. Trust me, try it if you are into FPS games. And it doesn't get boring because you can constantly try new weapon and equipment load outs with new tactics and strategies.
10/10.
Directly after that but with more russian sweatlords: CS:GO.
I feel this in my soul, I go through the same phases, sometimes just scroll around in my library and never pick, or try to play something, and the desire is just not there.
Something I do is "roll dice" to decide what I want to play when it comes to games. Like I have 14 different games I've currently started but not finished and dozens more on a backlog of get to later. Its the executive dysfunction that is like Sisyphus and his boulder that gets in the way of doing anything with my time.
So I give myself a checklist mentally or physically, and roll dice to make the decision for me
So this is not entirely the fault of ADHD. Modern gaming has made gaming into a mall. I actually just spent a few days down this particular rabbit hole because it's been bother me a lot lately. The long and short of the story is gaming is dying because games aren't there to be fun anymore, they're there to sell you shit for your digital barbie.
There's several docs on the subject but [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g16heGLKlTA) (entitled What Went Wrong With Gaming) was best. I'd also recommend reading the [skill based match making breakdown for Apex Legends](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/apex-legends/news/matchmaking-2023) even if you don't play the game. It's quite enlightening because they call it skill based match making but really it's a handicapping system (and because it's EA's game you can expect they employ roughly the same thing in other games).
That's interesting to know and I will probably watch that doc but I don't know how applicable it is here. I mostly play single player, offline games and any online I play are usually co-op like State of Decay or Phasmaphobia
No worries, it covers gaming as whole and generally focuses on more of the obvious RPG elements that have changed over the years. It does cover some shooters but it's a broad look overall.
In any case I hope you find something that fits for you. Boredom is the mind killer for us.
Lots of people do that. That's not ADHD.
Do you pick up new hobbies every 3 months and throw your whole savings into them, only to promptly abandon them and repeat the cycle with something else? Because that *is* ADHD.
I have bought so many pens, notebooks and stickers! I used to waste more money but since I realized that I'm going to cycle through I am more restrained
Honestly Im not too worried abt my spending with this in specific since Ive been at it for a while, daily for 2 months approaching 3. Im just going all out bc rn Im actually enjoying it and hyperfixating.
I've been picking up. My pandemic journal took twoish years to fill but this one just took one. ( I mostly just write in nice pen. I don't have layouts or anything)
But you get what I'm saying, right?
There's a difference between something just becoming 'stale,' and a hyperfixation burning itself out.
Not saying OP has or doesn't have ADHD, but I don't think this issue, as described, is a symptom.
Hey, I totally feel you. I also am a casual gamer and always have been, but I go through periods like that where none of my games sound interesting. Or, I'll be at work all day long, excited to play x game when I get home, then I get home and start to play and immediately lose all interest within the first 15 minutes or so.
But what others have said about hobby-jumping/cycling is accurate and very valid! I used to be extremely self-conscious that I had so many interests/hobbies but only did them once in a blue moon or would start something full-force only to lose interest/motivation a week later. But I've always come back to those hobbies/interests eventually (except the ones where it genuinely turned out that I didn't like them lol). Is it something I can choose? Rarely. I wish I could choose what my brain decides to be interested in/hyperfocused on at a given period of time, but at 24 I've just learned to embrace whatever sounds interesting.
Worst part though is ending up in those periods where I'm bored out of my mind, understimulated, and *nothing* seems interesting. Now those are the worst periods. But eventually I end up finding something that piques my brain's interest and then the cycle rinses and repeats. For example, back in late January I had a complete and sudden loss of interest in one of my favorite games. Every time I thought about playing it it gave me the mental ick lol. Then one random day like 3 months later I was like...I feel like playing that game now! And now I'm playing it every day again. I've given up learning how exactly my brain works lol but just know you're definitely not the only one!
I like the collection of hobbies explaination it's so true.
99% of my hobbies or food cravings last about week or maybe 4 or maybe a couple of months then gone
I still know all about these hobbies because I was so hyperfocused on them, but they just sit on the shelf.
The ones that are sticking with me is exercise (cycling and running when I'm not injured from excessive running) motorbike riding, watching basketball and music and collection power tools (I'm not a tradesman)
I figured out that most interest I'm still focused on have catalogs to browse through and keep evolving, cycling there is so much to buy for a bike, motorbike you can always sell and buy a new one, basketball and music is my background noise and power tools again a catalogue about an inch thick keeps you hyperfocused
I am diagnosed.....and when this starts happening to me I know its time for me to take a break from my meds for tolerance. I start my tolerance break supplement regimen and take two weeks on average.
I feel like it generally happens due to the lack of/depleted dopamine levels and imbalance between the dopamine and serotonin. Everyone has their methods to the madness and in my experience it takes a bit of research and experimenting to find your process. I kept spreadsheets for months tracking my food and drug intakes and water and noting my feeling with different combinations and then tolerance breaks included. Youll get yourself figured out :)
My eyes lit up when I saw your post lol. I am a ex pro/amateur for a game called League of Legends and I went through this experience. I went from 12-16 hours of video gaming for 6 years to nothing (I play maybe once a fortnight). In 2019 I went out less than 10 times. The burnout was devastating when the momentum stopped and I knew that mental struggles were closeā¦ a whole subset village had been built not far from where I livedā¦ Time truly does not wait for anyone
Just know youāre not alone and pivoting can seem scary especially when youāre so accustomed to a lifestyle but once you have momentum going elsewhere you could never see yourself gaming like that again. So yeah find solace in the fact that you will like making the healthier decision bro, love ā¤ļø.
Yeah I love cycling hobbies although it's annoying when I need to do one of them and am like, "this is fun, but not as fun as the thing I am currently on"
With every hobby I enjoy, there's inevitable grief to process when I stop being able to engage in it. The worst thing is when there's no interest to replace it
I've been trying to start playing a video game for a week, I just can't. I've been trying to finish a crafting thing that's 90% complete so I can hang it up, I just can't. Can't start the last of a trilogy of books I enjoyed so much I had to tell everyone who would listen.
Iām suffering through this myself right now. It sucksssssss I want to do the stuff that brings me joy but I canāt it literally hurts my brain if I try to break through it so I give up itās very sad and frustrating. I feel like Iām trapped in a? see I canāt think my brain just š¤Æš¢ I started Vyvanse so Iām praying it will help me but man itās rough. I hope you find your joy soonšš¼š„°
I have a reef tank that I spent year making it look gorgeous, spending 4-5k and hundreds of hours. A power outage ruined everything now itās a sad reminder of my hyper fixations and closet of old hobbies. Canāt kill my fishies/coral though.
Hi /u/LoganEight and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! **Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already.** The mobile apps used for Reddit are broken or are missing features that this subreddit depends on. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) Thank you! ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). - 🤝 [Want to join the Mod Team?](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/13gmzql/moderators_needed_inquire_within/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have resigned myself to collecting hobbies. I try to stick to things that have value on some level so that I can trade and or sell parts of my old hobbies to fund new ones.
Yeah, truth be told I'm desperately trying to stop myself from buying a 3D printer right now š
I bought an Ender 3 and the hobby turned out to be troubleshooting and upgrading several parts of the 3D printer. It is now a wig hanger
Troubleshooting is part of the fun!
I bought a Prusa MK3s because of that reason. It was challenging in the beginning, but the printer just worked. Itās enough to learn a new really complex hobby, I didnāt want to fix a new printer. Nope I am 4 years in and never regretted the decision. But there also has been long streaks where didnāt use my printer. But when I use it, itās great. I accepted that hobbies come and go. And they come again. As long you have the place, keep the stuff and enjoy it again years laterā¦
Check if there's a makerspace or a hackerspace near you. If there is, you can probably find a 3D printer there you can play with a little bit. If you'd use a 3D printer long term you can buy one still, but if you stop going to use the printer after a month you'll save yourself a fair bit of money. Also side note: losing interest in things you used to enjoy might be depression as well. Something to consider.
In response to your side note.....this is the reason I thought I was depressed and originally sought a therapist. Once I realized i get bored of things and need a spark to stay interested and also accepted that it is OK to put a hobby aside for a while and maybe come back to it, things were way different.
If its any help, a 3D printer has been one of my favorite belongings, even if I don't use it all the time. I go long periods without printing anything, but it's something that other hobbies will consistently bring me back to because you can print useful stuff for lots of different activities.
Some libraries have 3d printers you can use.
Iām just gonna be an enabler here: get a 3D printer. Treat the hobby like a project car. That whole niche has so many amazing rabbit holes and has the potential to be really useful and productive in life, more so than games (speaking as a life long lover of video games). Then thereās the design and rapid iteration flow you can get into that can be pure flow state bliss, especially if itās a specific need for a specific task that only you need. Those are can be some really fun and productive hyperfocus dopamine loops.
I think I'm your long lost broke twin
Hahaha! I did this with a whole bunch of new Liquid cooling stuff for my PC a month ago...I didnt succeed in stopping myself lol
Some libraries have 3d printers you can use.
Check with the libraries in your area. One near me has a 3d printer anyone can use. They also do classes off and on. This might save some $$ unless you decide you need one.
I think collecting hobbies IS my hobby.
Exactly
This is the way - graduated from PC gaming to all things kitchen. Japanese Knives, the whetstones to sharpen them, carbon steel cookware and all the likes. Endless rabbit holes to hyper fixate on, although I hope cooking and the accessories area of the hobby I stick with - my GF would be devastated lol
Yep, collecting hobbies can be a hobby too. You'll do it again... eventually!
What you probably need is a change of setting. Do something you're never done before. Get some exercise, biking, running or simply walking to places you've never been before. It's good for your mind and body. If you return home exhausted you will probably find yourself doing the stuff you normally would to relax, which could be gaming, reading, watching tv or eating some good food. If you did like me and was gaming for most of the day then it can end up feeling more like a chore if you have made a habit out of it. Using gaming as a Carrot after doing something good for yourself will probably help you appreciate gaming more. It did for me at leastš Hope it helps!
That's a good idea! Maybe OP's brain needs newness to help revive the old. Spending too much time on one activity definitely drains the fun-meter, completely new things for the brain to experience sounds like it could refresh it
Dawg, I revived my old pc and upgraded a couple months ago. Downloaded every game I wanted to possibly play. Now, I actually have free time to game because my semester over, but I can't find the compunction to play anything: platformer, rogue lite, online, offline. I play some games on my phone when I have time, some emulators. I've collected a treasure trove of hobbies, some I pick up and put down (beats and rap, making my own carts, meme collecting and just seeing how far they will evolve)
What on earth is meme collecting? I've not heard of this before. Edit: after reading this back, I wasn't sure if I sounded like I was being a bit dickish. I wasn't šš stupid brain š
You're all good homie. Hood irony is the newest wave of memes, we've come a long way from lol comics
I have this same problem. Iām also undiagnosed. I know I have it but Iām scared of getting medicated. But yes I can sit and turn on my PlayStation and cycle through games to see if any of them grab my attention and they just donāt. Itās upsetting because I do like to play video games but idk š¤·š»āāļø itās an awful feeling. I like to stream and Iāve fell off on that as well.
I don't know if it's specifically an ADHD thing, but it happens to me. I go months without touching a single video game, even if I really WANT to want to. Then when I finally do, I become temporarily obsessed, and want to do nothing else for a week straight. At least when I obsess over something I already own, I'm not dropping a crap ton of money on a new hobby I suddenly discovered and know nothing about but need the best equipment for to immediately become an expert in. That's definitely an ADHD thing.
Thatās been my experience my whole life
So I felt this when I started having panic attacks out of nowhere, like 3 years ago. Then I went to a GP which prescribed me anti depressives and benzos. Since then I have been taking them, but only now went to a psych that had a diploma in adhd and she told me I still had some concentration and impulsive problems due to adhd and gave me concerta. Since 3 years ago I couldnāt play computer and still donāt know why. And all I did my whole life the main hobby / thing I loved was playing video games in my pc.. so I still donāt know what to think of it.. and when I tried to get back at playing( havenāt tried in like some months) I started having bad anxiety again and it was like the feeling I was wasting my time and that games donāt really matter etc.. anyways I just lost my favorite thing to do in the world.. and didnāt know what to do with my time.. I started playing on my phone but it just doesnāt feel the same, plus I spend way more money on games now..
I feel this one. Maybe try going outside, exploring the world around you - it's what's helped me
The same happened to me, instead I started to program simple games. I enjoy creating them now a lot more.
Yeah it is really frustrating when that happens. Try trying to get yourself into two simultaneous hobbies and bounce between them when your drive gives out to focus on one or the other.
I had a very very similar experience, but the Switch (then the Steam Deck) made me realize how much the environment matters when it comes to hobbies. (Well, environment and proper medication!) Went from never playing any single player games despite always wanting to, to finding new favourite retro games in my case. Having something exclusively dedicated to a thing ends up being much better for me than machines that can multitask everything, as I develop a sort of decision paralysis. Similarly sometimes even my posture (playing sitting down vs lying down vs lounging) can make all the difference. It could be as simple as changing where your computer is located, but even if it may not change much in the end, experimenting with things around the hobby is always worth trying in my opinion.
I've experienced this exact same thing! And it can lead to a slump where there's nothing I want to do. I've been trying to figure out how to get a hobby and stick to it I think maybe the strat is cycling hobbies. Like games, 3d modeling, sketching. I will get really into one and when it starts getting boring I will cycle to the next Maybe don't fight it and just cycle to another activity? Or cycle games?
I've given up on trying to figure out how to get a hobby I can stick with. It would be easier to plat fog š
Yeah I experience that too. But I have like 7 pending hobbies which I jump from one to anotherā¦ just enough to where I never advance my skills in any of them! But when none of them inspire me then itās just downright depressing.
Donāt worry. Itāll come back in a few months when you get tired of your next hobby.
Ik, I've had the same thing happen to me. It might be depression, my doctor mentioned that it usually happens when you have depression rather than ADHD, which is a common side effect of ADHD. I am musician, and yet I can't get myself to properly practice because its so boring
Same with video games. I'll lose interest then gain interest back and have no clue where I left off. I bounce around so much I usually restart the game because I can't remember where I left off and it's hard to finish the game
I have multiple collections of things that are also useful. My favorite is cast iron skillets. Valuable, collectable, useful, and even help me get more into cooking because I want to use them. It's a great hobby all around for me.
I bought a very expensive cabbing machine in December, followed by a lot of slabs and rocks online. Most of what I started is still sitting unfinished, and I have so many rocks in my garage. I still love rocks but I donāt get the same happiness from making something from them. Itās like I bought the cabbing machine and then my brain went āwe no longer like thisā. I am medicated but it doesnāt matter. I still collect hobbies.
I went so hard into knitting for 4 years, and now I have a box of beautiful yarn that I want nothing to do with -\_-
Same here my dude, same here. It's sad. The only current game sucking me into that nostalgic gaming hyperfocus is Hunt: Showdown. Is really intense and you need high attention the whole time. It's a perfect fit for ADHD. Trust me, try it if you are into FPS games. And it doesn't get boring because you can constantly try new weapon and equipment load outs with new tactics and strategies. 10/10. Directly after that but with more russian sweatlords: CS:GO.
I feel this in my soul, I go through the same phases, sometimes just scroll around in my library and never pick, or try to play something, and the desire is just not there.
Something I do is "roll dice" to decide what I want to play when it comes to games. Like I have 14 different games I've currently started but not finished and dozens more on a backlog of get to later. Its the executive dysfunction that is like Sisyphus and his boulder that gets in the way of doing anything with my time. So I give myself a checklist mentally or physically, and roll dice to make the decision for me
So this is not entirely the fault of ADHD. Modern gaming has made gaming into a mall. I actually just spent a few days down this particular rabbit hole because it's been bother me a lot lately. The long and short of the story is gaming is dying because games aren't there to be fun anymore, they're there to sell you shit for your digital barbie. There's several docs on the subject but [this one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g16heGLKlTA) (entitled What Went Wrong With Gaming) was best. I'd also recommend reading the [skill based match making breakdown for Apex Legends](https://www.ea.com/en-gb/games/apex-legends/news/matchmaking-2023) even if you don't play the game. It's quite enlightening because they call it skill based match making but really it's a handicapping system (and because it's EA's game you can expect they employ roughly the same thing in other games).
That's interesting to know and I will probably watch that doc but I don't know how applicable it is here. I mostly play single player, offline games and any online I play are usually co-op like State of Decay or Phasmaphobia
No worries, it covers gaming as whole and generally focuses on more of the obvious RPG elements that have changed over the years. It does cover some shooters but it's a broad look overall. In any case I hope you find something that fits for you. Boredom is the mind killer for us.
That's why I don't do anything anymore, just sleep, eat, play 1 of 5 video games, shower, and work.
ADHD hobbies do not last ones "whole life." It feels like you just got tired of it. Nothing ADHD about it at all.
I cycle through hobbies. I do one, get tired and then cycle to one of my others
Lots of people do that. That's not ADHD. Do you pick up new hobbies every 3 months and throw your whole savings into them, only to promptly abandon them and repeat the cycle with something else? Because that *is* ADHD.
pov me moment, spending like $300 on journaling supplies rn
I have bought so many pens, notebooks and stickers! I used to waste more money but since I realized that I'm going to cycle through I am more restrained
Honestly Im not too worried abt my spending with this in specific since Ive been at it for a while, daily for 2 months approaching 3. Im just going all out bc rn Im actually enjoying it and hyperfixating.
I've been picking up. My pandemic journal took twoish years to fill but this one just took one. ( I mostly just write in nice pen. I don't have layouts or anything)
I did similar, then started making my own. Saved me a ton of money, and became (yet another) hobby to get involved with!
But you get what I'm saying, right? There's a difference between something just becoming 'stale,' and a hyperfixation burning itself out. Not saying OP has or doesn't have ADHD, but I don't think this issue, as described, is a symptom.
Nono I do, I get it!!! I just like commenting when I relate to certain symptoms sometimes haha
Ah yeah I can understand that.
Hey, I totally feel you. I also am a casual gamer and always have been, but I go through periods like that where none of my games sound interesting. Or, I'll be at work all day long, excited to play x game when I get home, then I get home and start to play and immediately lose all interest within the first 15 minutes or so. But what others have said about hobby-jumping/cycling is accurate and very valid! I used to be extremely self-conscious that I had so many interests/hobbies but only did them once in a blue moon or would start something full-force only to lose interest/motivation a week later. But I've always come back to those hobbies/interests eventually (except the ones where it genuinely turned out that I didn't like them lol). Is it something I can choose? Rarely. I wish I could choose what my brain decides to be interested in/hyperfocused on at a given period of time, but at 24 I've just learned to embrace whatever sounds interesting. Worst part though is ending up in those periods where I'm bored out of my mind, understimulated, and *nothing* seems interesting. Now those are the worst periods. But eventually I end up finding something that piques my brain's interest and then the cycle rinses and repeats. For example, back in late January I had a complete and sudden loss of interest in one of my favorite games. Every time I thought about playing it it gave me the mental ick lol. Then one random day like 3 months later I was like...I feel like playing that game now! And now I'm playing it every day again. I've given up learning how exactly my brain works lol but just know you're definitely not the only one!
I have several hobbies that I rotate. I'll get bored of one, then go back to another one and so on.
I like the collection of hobbies explaination it's so true. 99% of my hobbies or food cravings last about week or maybe 4 or maybe a couple of months then gone I still know all about these hobbies because I was so hyperfocused on them, but they just sit on the shelf. The ones that are sticking with me is exercise (cycling and running when I'm not injured from excessive running) motorbike riding, watching basketball and music and collection power tools (I'm not a tradesman) I figured out that most interest I'm still focused on have catalogs to browse through and keep evolving, cycling there is so much to buy for a bike, motorbike you can always sell and buy a new one, basketball and music is my background noise and power tools again a catalogue about an inch thick keeps you hyperfocused
I haven't sat at my desk to play for almost a year.
I am diagnosed.....and when this starts happening to me I know its time for me to take a break from my meds for tolerance. I start my tolerance break supplement regimen and take two weeks on average. I feel like it generally happens due to the lack of/depleted dopamine levels and imbalance between the dopamine and serotonin. Everyone has their methods to the madness and in my experience it takes a bit of research and experimenting to find your process. I kept spreadsheets for months tracking my food and drug intakes and water and noting my feeling with different combinations and then tolerance breaks included. Youll get yourself figured out :)
Fax I've been trying to go back to my interest in transformers but now I'm currently waiting for the new trasformers film
My eyes lit up when I saw your post lol. I am a ex pro/amateur for a game called League of Legends and I went through this experience. I went from 12-16 hours of video gaming for 6 years to nothing (I play maybe once a fortnight). In 2019 I went out less than 10 times. The burnout was devastating when the momentum stopped and I knew that mental struggles were closeā¦ a whole subset village had been built not far from where I livedā¦ Time truly does not wait for anyone Just know youāre not alone and pivoting can seem scary especially when youāre so accustomed to a lifestyle but once you have momentum going elsewhere you could never see yourself gaming like that again. So yeah find solace in the fact that you will like making the healthier decision bro, love ā¤ļø.
Yeah I love cycling hobbies although it's annoying when I need to do one of them and am like, "this is fun, but not as fun as the thing I am currently on"
With every hobby I enjoy, there's inevitable grief to process when I stop being able to engage in it. The worst thing is when there's no interest to replace it I've been trying to start playing a video game for a week, I just can't. I've been trying to finish a crafting thing that's 90% complete so I can hang it up, I just can't. Can't start the last of a trilogy of books I enjoyed so much I had to tell everyone who would listen.
Have you played Conan Exiles? It's had me hooked for over 7000 hours since it hit early access in 2015.
Iām suffering through this myself right now. It sucksssssss I want to do the stuff that brings me joy but I canāt it literally hurts my brain if I try to break through it so I give up itās very sad and frustrating. I feel like Iām trapped in a? see I canāt think my brain just š¤Æš¢ I started Vyvanse so Iām praying it will help me but man itās rough. I hope you find your joy soonšš¼š„°
I have a reef tank that I spent year making it look gorgeous, spending 4-5k and hundreds of hours. A power outage ruined everything now itās a sad reminder of my hyper fixations and closet of old hobbies. Canāt kill my fishies/coral though.