Thread: Do I have ADD? Why do I have to put a book down?
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Old 08-26-2018, 02:27 PM   #15
frahse
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Derf View Post
So I notice that when I watch a movie, I can sit through the whole thing no problem. I actually DESPISE (and I don’t use that word lightly) commercials. I can’t watch made for TV programming with the commercial breaks. I PAY for YouTube red just to avoid commercials like the plague. I also have Netflix, but no cable tv. I can binge watch a series as well as the next guy.

When I’m on a computer, I can focus for hours. Or at least I can sit for hours reading. I read scientific papers, forums, reviews, news. And unless I need to pee I don’t feel the need to get up. I can watch 50 YouTube videos and wonder where the day went.

I don’t use Twitter, or Snapchat, or instagram. I see them as frivolous. I rarely use Facebook, and when I do it’s just to share something I read or saw, not to sit for half an hour reading up on friends and stuff.

I love reading novels. But whenever I get to a really exciting, or thrilling moment in a book, it’s like I can’t process all the chemicals (dopamine? adrenaline?) flowing through my head. And I actually have to put the book down for a bit and do something else. I’ll go the fridge and get a drink. Or make some food. Or go brush my teeth. Or check my phone for who texted me earlier that I ignored. And then in a couple minutes I’ll be fine and want to go back to read what happens next.

What’s wrong with me? I hate it when the suspenseful part of a movie gets going and it breaks for commercials. I imagine most other readers would hate it if they were interrupted just as the going gets good. But it’s like some kind of emotional (?) overload for me, and I need to decompress for a hot minute to process it before I keep going.

Any psychological explanation for this?
My guess is it is just that you can choose to take a break with the novel and your emotions. I am curious. Why not do a little research. Next time with the novel, just stop and close your eyes for a few minutes and see if that releases the tension.

I would speculate that with the work type reading, you don't have the emotional build up.

But all in all, I don't believe it is ADD. I have ADD and I don't see a similar pattern.

My guess is that it is the "fight or flight" syndrome that the adrenaline is bringing about.
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