The Second Scroll: Why You Read the Same Paragraph Five Times
Your brain isn't broken, the content is just boring for you right now
You know that thing where you get to the bottom of a paragraph and realize you have absolutely no idea what you just read? So you scroll back up. Read it again. Get to the end and... still nothing. Third time’s the charm, right? Nope. Now you’re just staring at words that have lost all meaning, feeling like the world’s worst reader.
Maybe it’s a work email that’s definitely important. Or an article someone sent you that you really want to understand. Or instructions for literally anything. It doesn’t matter what it is. Your eyes moved across every single word, but your brain was somewhere else entirely.
And here’s the worst part: you start spiraling. “Why can’t I just focus? Everyone else can read this. What’s wrong with me?” You feel guilty for not being able to do something that seems so basic. Reading. The thing you learned in first grade.
It’s not you, it’s the content
Here’s what’s actually happening: your ADHD brain is a interest-based nervous system. It doesn’t run on willpower or “trying harder.” It runs on engagement, novelty, and interest.
When content doesn’t grab your brain’s attention, it’s like trying to pour water into a cup that’s already full. The words are going in, but nothing’s sticking because your brain is busy doing something else. Maybe it’s thinking about that conversation from three days ago. Maybe it’s wondering what’s for dinner. Maybe it’s just... elsewhere.
The content isn’t interesting enough for your specific brain in this specific moment. That’s it. That’s the whole problem.
And we’ve been taught that this is a personal failing. That if we just concentrated harder, we could make ourselves care about anything. But that’s not how ADHD brains work. You can’t force interest. You can’t willpower your way into engagement.
The guilt is worse than the rereading
The shame spiral takes more energy than the actual reading ever would.
You tell yourself you’re lazy. That you’re not trying hard enough. That everyone else manages to read boring things just fine, so what’s your excuse? You spend five minutes beating yourself up for something that took 30 seconds.
