As an ADHD Coach and a woman with ADHD, I’ve known many people who are hypersensitive and I’ve experienced it myself. Heightened senses are one of the benefits of ADHD, and yet, if not managed properly, they are also annoying and hard to handle.
Hypersensitivity is one of the most unidentified traits of ADHD. Usually, the person with ADHD isn’t even aware of how hypersensitive he is. He might experience an unpleasant reaction to sound, light, and texture but not identify it as the one thing that is taking his mind in another direction.
Super-sensitive to sounds, light, and texture; we have a hard time staying focused. Our senses are little magnets in our brains, pulling us in many different directions, all at the same time.
Tuned in to sounds, light, textures, and colors, we see what others can’t even imagine. That’s why so many people with ADHD are creatives. We are the inventors, artists, musicians, composers, entrepreneurs that see, hear, and feel what others do not.
Often labeled oddballs, weirdos, whackos, space cadets (to be polite); we are quite the opposite. Born with a vision that non-ADHDers can’t experience, we have heightened senses to see- not only the person standing in front of us- but every little thing that’s the background behind him- every piece of his hair that’s out of place, every button on his shirt, and every movement his mouth makes as he speaks.
Struggling to stay involved in a conversation, the ADHDer is faced with a tremendous because of this heightened awareness (aka hypersensitivity) to every single color, sound, movement, texture, and light that is pulling his attention in the opposite direction. This is no easy feat!
For example, during a conversation, a person with ADHD will stay tuned in to the first four words, but soon the ADHDer notices the painting on the wall. The bright, neon colors pull his attention away from the speaker’s words. His mind is involved in the painting, not the person he’s talking to. Now the ADHDer is faced with a brain challenge. It might sound like this: How am I going to bring my mind back to what this person is saying? C’mon brain, get away from that painting. Come back to this person who is standing in front of me. What is he saying? Don’t worry. It’s ok. I’ll catch up and fill in the blanks. Or maybe, I’ll ask him a question that he already answered. He’ll stare at me, roll his eyeballs, and say, “I just told you that.”
Yes, ADHD distraction is closely related to our hyper-sensitivity to light, sound, and texture- and anything around us that involves our senses.
If your hyper-sensitive senses are interfering with normal functioning (relationships, work, family, friends, social activities, or sleepless nights), find a therapist or ADHD Coach who can help you.
As seen on quora.com
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