INTRO:
Hello and welcome to Still Me, The Beautiful Paradox of ADHD.
I'm Kelly Kingman. I am an artist and the author of this blog and I'm starting to do podcasts. I'm not a pro, so there you go.And eventually I'll do videos if I ever decide to go there, but I...As you'll understand, as you start to listen to my podcast, I struggle with rabbit holes and I already see myself going down the let's learn how to record a video of ourselves.
And I can't go there. I've got too much stuff to do with my business and whatnot.So anyways, without further ado, today I'm going to be reading my article called The Sweet Pull and Exhilarating Anticipation for ADHD Hyperfocus: The Rise and Fall,Two Sides of the Same Beautiful Maddening Coin.
ARTICLE:
When I sit down to do something that captivates me—like working on a blog post—I don’t want to stop. I forget to eat, fueled by the magnetic pull of ADHD hyperfocus. Once I’m in, I’m in. Hours disappear. I’ll put off laundry, errands, messages, even basic needs—because I’m lost in this delicious tunnel of thought, swimming in ideas that feel too alive to leave.
And yet—sometimes I’m intoxicated by the delicious delay of diving right in. Like saving the frosting on the cake for last, savoring the anticipation, because putting it off is its own kind of intoxicating reward. ADHD 2.0 describes this as anticipatory pleasure—the brain’s ability to get a dopamine hit just from imagining the joy of doing something we love. In those moments, I might circle the task in my mind for hours (or days), basking in the thought of it before finally giving in.
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But when I finally begin the work, I am consumed completely. Hours pass in a blink, and the rest of the world slips away. Emerging from this state can feel like coming up from deep underwater. As I transition back, I often find it difficult to communicate with others—it’s as if I’m stuck between two states of consciousness. I’ve even had moments where I try to talk to my husband and can barely form sentences, like I’m caught mid-shift between that vivid internal world and the living, breathing world beyond the edges of my thoughts.
Emerging from the Spiraling Rabbit Hole
That in-between state can feel like a fog—my thoughts still whirling behind me, my body here but my mind not quite caught up. The transition is jarring, sometimes even disorienting. I’ve learned that moving my body can help me re-enter the present: pacing in the living room, stepping outside for fresh air, or tidying the kitchen.
Which makes sense—research shows that physical activity increases dopamine and norepinephrine, two neurotransmitters that help regulate attention and alertness in ADHD brains. In Your Brain’s Not Broken, Tamara Rosier, Ph.D., points out that the ADHD brain often needs a “reset” between tasks, and movement can be that bridge. For me, walking or doing something physical isn’t just a distraction—it’s like flipping a switch that helps me come fully back into the moment.
Recommended Reading
ADHD 2.0 by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. & John J. Ratey, M.D. – Insightful explanations of ADHD traits, including hyperfocus and anticipatory pleasure.
Your Brain’s Not Broken by Tamara Rosier, Ph.D. – Practical tools and compassionate strategies for managing the ADHD brain.
Coming up next…
In the final blog of this series, I’ll dive into the aftershocks—the emotional reboot that follows, why it can feel like falling off a cliff, and how I soften that landing so the creative high doesn’t turn into a hard crash.
Until then—have you ever felt pulled by hyperfocus or swirled out of it into disorientation? I’d love to hear how your mind moves between those worlds.
Still Me. Still You. Always learning to live in the in-between.
