Gamers and ADHD

[ArcossG]

So I've been reading the "Your five flaws" thread http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.402462-Your-five-flaws

And I noticed that the majority of the problems listed there are either symptoms of ADHD, problems related to ADHD or side effects of ADHD

As a gamer and ADHD myself I can tell that video games are one of the few things that I can focus on for long periods of time


It does make sense as the problem of ADHD people is that their mind works better when focusing on multiple things at once and in a video game there are always several things you should be aware of( For example in Skyrim you need constantly look at your health bar, mana bar, stamina, your compass and what's happening on the screen at the same time)

Also here's the wikipeduia entry for ADHD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder

 

[Euryalus]

Yeah I have ADHD too. I don't think its that its so much "being good at focusing on several different things at once" as much as it is being able to shift focus rapidly. There's a theory that this evolved to facilitate hunting.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_vs._farmer_hypothesis

Mrbtongue has a neat video on how this can help one to more naturally appreciate the story telling style of video games.