Learning to focus on objectives is necessary to carry out the daily activities that arise on a daily basis. However, both lack and excess of attention can be harmful and have unfavorable consequences. Specifically, people who suffer from hyperprosexia have difficulty stopping paying attention to a specific stimulus, that is, they focus their attention excessively.
Maybe you know someone with this type of difficulty or you may have experienced it yourself. Therefore, it is important to find out what you can do to address this problem. If you want to know more about this condition, in this Psychology-Online article we will talk about the Hyperprosexia: what it is, causes, symptoms and treatment.
What is hyperprosexia
Hyperprosexia is an attention disorder characterized by a excessive focus on certain objects, people and/or situations during a particular moment. When a person suffers from hyperprosexia, their attention focus is directed towards an external stimulus and it is impossible for them to change it towards another situation or person, so the same stimulus on which they pay attention distracts them.
Although it is a disorder that is not completely defined, according to the DSM-V classification, hyperprosexia is part of the group of . Next, we will show you the diagnostic criteria of these types of disorders:
- Difficulty paying attention to details in school or work settings.
- Inability to maintain attention on other tasks or recreational activities.
- Complexity in the organization.
- Frequent forgetfulness.
- Duration of six months or longer.
- The alterations cannot be explained by the intake of medications or the presence of another mental disorder.
Causes of hyperprosexia
When diagnosing any problem, it is important to understand why it has arisen. Therefore, below, we will resolve the question about what causes hyperprosexia:
- Environmental factors: Over the course of life a person may experience situations related to physical or verbal violence. As a consequence, it adopts various involuntary mechanisms to escape from unpleasant situations in the present. For this reason, one of the aspects to take into account for people diagnosed with hyperprosexia is having experienced traumatic situations during childhood related to lack of attention.
- Genetic factors: The genetic inheritance of each individual also influences the emergence of attention disorders, that is, parents can transmit genetic alterations to their offspring. For this reason, if any of them has been diagnosed with this pathology, there is a high probability that the person also suffers from hyperprosexia.
Symptoms of hyperprosexia
To detect whether it is hyperprosexia or another attention disorder, it is necessary to know the symptoms of this condition and see how it affects the emotions and behaviors of people who suffer from it. Therefore, in the following items we will expose the most relevant symptoms presented by individuals with hyperprosexia:
- Recurrent ideas about the same stimulus.
- Inability to vary attention focus with speed.
- Frequent distractions.
- .
- Distress.
- Feeling of strangeness.
- Variable mood.
It should be noted that, despite the description just made, the diagnosis must be carried out by a mental health professional who must evaluate the clinical characteristics of each patient in a personalized way.
Treatment of hyperprosexia
Today, there are different ways to improve the quality of life of people who suffer from hyperprosexia. Discover the most effective methodologies to treat this attention disorder below:
- Psychological therapy: a space that allows you to find the best strategies to face situations of stress and/or anxiety in a more enjoyable way. In cases of hyperprosexia, one of the alternatives is to develop guidelines that make it possible to shift the focus of attention. In addition, it also allows us to identify the causes of the pathology and determine the best approach in each case.
- Pharmacological medication: There are medications that allow the person to focus their attention on certain situations. They alter brain chemistry, so they must be administered under the clinical indication of a health professional.
Examples of hyperprosexia
If you want to better understand what difficulties suffering from hyperprosexia entail, don’t miss these examples:
- Example 1: A girl attends school weekly. Although she has good academic performance in most subjects, she has difficulty with the subject of mathematics. If she is presented with a mathematical problem to be solved in a series of four steps, her attention is fully focused on solving steps one and two and that prevents her from continuing with the problem. In turn, she does not pay attention to other details of the class.
- Example 2: A young adult works in the IT sector of a technology company. When he is given the report of tasks that he must perform, his attentional focus is focused on some detail that distracts him from work objectives. For example, he focuses on the organization of time and schedules to be met without taking into account the importance of the tasks.
It should be noted that this exemplification does not seek to emphasize any particular situation in reality, but rather we only present it for illustrative purposes.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: Panamericana Medical Publishing.
Bibliography
- Mantilla, SP (2006). Neurological diseases and attention problems. Colombian Neurological Act Magazine, 22 (1), 190-194.
- Meneses, S. (2004). Attention disorders. Sinéctic Electronic Magazine, 25 (1), 67-74.