![]() ![]() “I’m a distance runner, and I have ADHD, and the best analogy I can think of to describe it is that it’s like a runner’s high. My friends had a lot to say on the subject. I decided to open up the conversation by asking people about their experiences with hyperfocus and what it felt like to them. I’m lucky enough to have several friends who understand the importance of mental health and actively work to end stigmas and normalize talking about mental illness, and my friends and I have openly discussed a wide variety of mental health topics, but for some reason, hyperfocus has never really been one of them. Gordon Graham signing off.I wondered: If hyperfocus is so common, why is this the first time my friend and I are talking about our experiences with it? We aren’t exactly shy when it comes to talking about mental illness – my friend is even a graduate student in psychology. It can mean missing pre-assault cues on a suspect because we’re too focused on what we’re trying to do rather than paying attention to his furtive movements.Īlthough w e can’t take away those traits that are part of our DNA, we can take steps to minimize their negative impact by understandi ng what they are and taking the weaknesses into ac count when developing strategies that make us more effective and safer when performing our duties.Īnd that is Today’s Tip from Lexipol. ![]() While thousands of years ago hyper-focus may have helped a hunter keep his eye on the prize and worked to ensure a successful hunt, today, focusing on one bad guy can be at the cost of missing the other one waiting for us in the corner of the room. The problem lies in the fact that thousands of years ago, the periphery wasn’t as dangerous as it can be today. As a result, an officer may respond to a situation today the way our ancestors did tens-of-thousands of years ago, focus ing on the center of a given s ituation, without adequate attention to the periphery. I n his book ‘Processing Under Pressure: Stress, Memory and Decision-making in Law Enforcement’, Professor Matthew Joseph Sharps explains that the human brain in its current form is somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 years old and still operates in the same manner today as it did back then. Tunnel vision can result in a tendency for us to focus our mental faculties on the main facet of a stressful event, while virtually ignoring the possibility of additional threats. Tunnel vision affects us cognitively as well. Studies indicate it is a common side-effect of the survival-stress response and that we can experience up to a 70% decr ease in our ability to see things in the periphery. We’ve all heard of tunnel vision, which is basically the loss of our peripheral vision, brought on by the fight-or-flight response. Tunnel vision can result in a tendency for us to focus our mental faculties on the main facet of a stressful event, while virtually ignoring the possibility of additional threats. And Today’s Tip deals with hyper-focus more commonly known as ‘tunnel vision’. Gordon Graham here with Today’s T ip from Lexipol.
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