Interest is an interesting topic. It is individually unique, but groups of people share interests. What I find interesting might not interest you at all.
It’s much easier to talk about things that interest you. It’s easier to make conversation by raising a topic of interest to the person with whom you are conversing.
What we’re talking about here, however, is the kind of interest that gets us to do things. What is interesting enough to get you moving? To get out of bed, or off the couch, and take action.
Interest can be impetus. It can be the energy of activation required to actively engage in conversation, work, hobbies or recreational activities.
Interest can be fleeting. Fascination can quickly fade to boredom as novelty becomes familiar.
The type of interest that gets you going might not be the type of interest that keeps you going.
Sometimes interests become obsessions. We recognize that as unhealthy. It is possible to be too interested in something or someone. Of course, this is also a blurry line. Sustained, intense interest can lead to expertise and mastery.
The problem for most people with ADHD is that interest is often intense but ethereal. They start something with gusto, and then they’re just not doing it anymore.
Interest has something to do with novelty. When something is new to you, it is more likely to be interesting. Every day, we encounter something new, because nothing is ever exactly the same. New must be different enough, however, to qualify as interesting. Even something never seen before might not be interesting, however. Surprising maybe, but not always interesting.
Interest has to do with identification. That is, in order to be interested, we must identify with whatever it is - topic, object, activity, person. There must be some relevance to us, or we must feel something toward or about it/them. There must be some association in our minds with the thing, some shared quality, history, or similarity in our minds.
Problem solving is a bit different. Problems are puzzles to be solved. This type of interest is derived from intuition that points toward a solution. Almost like a word that is on the tip of your tongue, the resolution to a problem is sensed, but not fully visualized. The process of investigation provides the next clue, leading you along, sustaining interest. Once the problem is solved, there is nothing to sustain interest. The quest for the next problem begins.
Problems are most appealing when the solution can be reached without significant delay. When many steps are required, and especially if the steps involve the agreement of other people, paperwork, phone calls and uncertain response times, the problem is far less appealing.
Fixing something that is broken is a good example of an appealing problem. Even if what needs fixing is fairly complicated, like an engine or electronic device, as long as it is tangible, visible and able to be manipulated, it will hold interest. A lot of parents of children with ADHD complain that their kids take things apart and try to put them back together, even if the thing they take apart was not broken to begin with. Adults also like to take things apart and put them back together. There is satisfaction to be found not only in fixing, but in finding out how something works and what’s inside.
-Thor Bergersen M.D.