I frequently find myself losing momentum at the end of things that I enjoy. For instance, I’ve been playing Baldur’s Gate 3 and loving it. I recently got into the last act (Act 3) of the game, and I’m finding myself a bit burned out on it and gravitating towards other games. I’m also in the last episode of Dimension 20’s Neverafter (yes, I’m a geek haha) and finding myself not interested in finishing it.
Does this happen to anyone else? I started on medication earlier this year, and lots of other symptoms of my ADHD have gone away, but this one seems to be persisting.
A lot of times, I’ve mentally completed it. Even if I haven’t physically. Like video games. I usually get to the final boss, I’ve solved all the problems, done all the side quests, got all the items, upgraded all the things, leveled up to be super strong. Now it’s just… do the task. But mentally, I’ve “beaten” the game. I’m a high enough level it won’t be a challenge and I already know how the story ends.
I’ve only have had this problem more recently. Can ADHD get worse as you get older? If I was into something, I would finish it pretty quickly. In the last few years, I find myself doing the same. Be really into a game, get close to the end and then just stop playing without seeing the end.
I don’t know about getting worse as you get older but this is my experience exactly. I didn’t use to have this issue.
That’s what makes it hard for me to know if this is simply my ADHD or if I just don’t like modern games as much. Or perhaps even a little of both! BG3 I was able to complete 3 times, despite not really feeling like playing games like that these days. Meanwhile, I can’t even force myself to play Starfield, and I usually would sink thousands of hours into previous Bethesda games that are really no different.
Yes, though I’m unmedicated
I haven’t finished a game in 15 years :( also running out of steam on baldur’s gate 3 rn unfortunately
Yeah. Finishing things I love sucks. Since I’ll no longer get to actively do that thing, and now have to look for the next thing to be obsessed about.
This happens to me all the time. It’s a phenomenon I’ve known about and explained to people, but never seen in anybody else. Thanks for sharing!
Yes all the time! Books and TV series are the worst culprits, but games too, especially long ones.
I don’t know if it’s poor object permanence or just a lacking working memory, but it’s not just that I burn out on things/move to another interest but how quickly it can happen.
If I don’t actively engage with something almost daily my interest in it starts slipping almost immediately, and if I go four days without watching an episode of a show for example I typically find my motivation or drive for finishing it almost gone already. It’s as if only the current moment exists and anything I’m not doing right now might as well not exist, or at least feels very intangible and unimportant.
Same goes for other hobbies and projects, and games of course.
With books when I used to read more, very frequently. I’d be going strong until the last 50-100 pages and then set it down and not pick it up again. Then I’d forget wtf was happening and usually just give up. Games are similar too.
I don’t have an answer for you, but I’ve dealt with this same thing my entire life. It’s not a conscious decision, I just find that I never fully complete a task I set out to do. The number of games I’ve dropped 80-90% of the way through is staggeringly high. My home projects always get about 75% done and then are left alone, doomed to be unfinished. The only solution I’ve found is to set smaller goals. Tasks that require multiple sessions of activity before completion are very difficult for me and I quickly lose motivation. I also struggle with completing tasks if I have any sort of interruption, such as getting a phone call or stopping to make dinner. This is why I gravitate toward esports for gaming. I can complete a session within an hour and nothing is left open-ended. The problem there is that I actually prefer playing longer, story-driven games, I just can’t keep myself focused on them over multiple sessions
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I didn’t even get to Act 2 in BG3 lmao!
Right now I’m trying very hard to complete an app that I’ve already spent a few weeks on and I’m not even half way with. My mind is looking for anything to distract me.
Look dude, I don’t know if I have ADHD, I’m not going to self-diagnose. I’m at 71 hours in BG3 and I’m still on Act 1. Getting to Act 3 is an achievement in that game. There’s so much shit to do, so much to explore. My friend is on his 4th playthrough.
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Thanks for sharing that article. Fun to read that in general, and especially since it’s from a different culture.
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I don’t have ADHD (so far as I know) and I also found finishing the final act a little difficult. There’s so much stuff! And the order you do things in kind of matters. And it has one of the hardest sequences (imo)
Finishing things is way overrated. I hate the endings of things in general. I’ve completely stopped watching TV shows to their competition. The end is often unsatisfying. And the last seasons are often a let down. Also most games are just way way way too long. I don’t need a 150 hour game. There are just so many great games to play out there to be spending months playing one.
