Yeah, it's badly named. It's not so much a deficit of attention but an inability to control attention.

The thing that really clicked for me and lead to me getting my own diagnosis was this: a lot of the way in which we talk about ADHD is from the perspective of those around the person, rather than the person itself. I never really identified with the typical way ADHD is talked about. Attention deficit? I don't have an attention deficit, I can pay way too much attention, and often am, at the wrong thing, and cannot redirect it to what is actually important. Same thing, but two different perspectives. It may seem like I can't focus to an outside observer, but that's not how I experience it at all.

> a lot of the way in which we talk about ADHD is from the perspective of those around the person, rather than the person itself.

This is something that I've been very frustrated with recently, because it's really spot on. A lot of that is because it's a neurodevelopmental disorder, so most people that identify it are parents/teachers/caretakers doing so in children. And so the material is targeted at them.

I feel like it's only been relatively recently that there's becoming more resources available aimed at the people that have it. The disconnect between the experience of those behaviors and how those behaviors may be perceived is...quite large.

re: attention deficit -- it's a horrible term because as you note, there's not always a deficit. The real issue behind it is that there's an inability to regulate attention...so if the brain wants to engage with something, that's what it's doing. likewise if the brain doesn't see any value in something...it'll go to great lengths to avoid it like the boring plague that it is.

A better name is Executive Function Disorder.

Focusing on things you like and procrastinating or finding distractions from things you don't isn't itself adhd. It's that, taken to an extreme that impacts your ability to function socially and/or professionally, along with a full awareness of it and an inability to adjust. There are other behaviors, which all taken together are what determine a diagnosis.

Nail on the head for ADHD hyperfocus. Studying for exams in university I could easily go for 10 straight hours, forgetting to eat in the interim, if I found the course enjoyable.

Clasic ADHD. Literally. This is a diagnostic symptom iirc. (Have a diagnosis myself. It made a biiiiiiig difference.)

That's called hyperfocus. Completely typical for ADHD.

I’m not OP but you’ve just described my experience.