I can't sit through a movie

Post Reply New Topic

I have this problem too.

I agree, it is difficult to sit through a movie, especially if it is very long. It's okay when it is the first time I watch it, but I have a very hard time watching something for the second or third time. Usually I'll lose interest after a few minutes and do something else instead, even if I actually like the movie. Or I watch it online, and pause every few minutes to do something else and then come back to it.

I can watch movies for hours but only alone. What said FlameKeeper is very relevant.
But if I have to watch a movie with someone else (or eventually a group of people) it's getting chaotic. I just can't focus for long, I need pauses often, which is impossible to beg for when I'm watching a movie with a group, so I need to find another way to "escape", and that way to escape can be : doing something else at the same time, for example play with my phone, read something on the net, answer a message... Of course I will miss some parts of the movie but at least I can continue to watch it till the end. I will also be seen like being impolite or geekish but no matter !
Sometimes when I watch a movie with only one person (friend or family) I just fall asleep after 30 minutes and wake up at the end of the movie... Frustrating !
I also usually don't go to the cinema, I don't like the fact that we have to sit still, I just feel like a prisoner. But if a movie really interests me, I will make an effort but I swear, I watch my phone very often to check what time it is, I always need to take 5 minutes break after approximately an hour of the movie.
One of my friends is pretty frustrated about my problem because he knows I can watch movies for 3-4 hours if I want, but alone. He would love to be able to see a movie without interruptions or without me falling asleep but that's it, that's how I function... Well at least, now I can tell him why I have that problem, positive point !

As an average movie-goer not very much into Tolkien/fantasy stuff, I found all LOTR movies greatly overdone in terms of running time. Especially Return of the King. My gf (back then) and I constantly yawning and looking at the watches 'is this friggin movie ever gonna end?!?'

I can't either. Movies are too boring to attend to for more than five minutes.

I can sit through a movie in theaters because I usually go with someone like my dad. When I'm watching a movie however, I usually will talk through some parts like telling random info or asking what is going on. I will also fidget with items like forks and straws to keep my attention on screen. (The fidgeting actually works for me) When I feel a movie is too long, I will start checking the time and get a bit restless.

When I'm watching a movie at home with other people on the other hand, I will change sitting positions a lot, talk though some parts and fidget with things. Alone, I will pause the movie a lot because I want to look up info or wander around my house to satisfy my stims or the sore legs.

I used to have a problem with sitting through movies. Heck, I used to be so restless that I couldn't even sit through a half-hour TV show! It wasn't that I'd get bored of what I was watching; it was that I'd get too excited by it and become restless. I could only watch about 10 - 15 minutes at a time before I'd have to pause and pace around.

I'm not sure how I finally managed to overcome my restlessness and actually be able to sit through movies. I think it was probably a gradual process - at first sit through 10 minutes before taking a break, then 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, etc. It helped that I had the drive to watch movies and shows that actually interested me, ie Johnny Depp movies* and Doctor Who (which is an hour-long show).


* Although I usually have no problem watching most of Depp's movies since I'm such a big fan, I have always had trouble watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Two and a half to three hours long is just too much!

On the rare occasion I may watch a movie (so far, only five such occasions), I must be lying on the bed or couch.

In many cases, I'll watch a few minutes of a movie, decide it isn't for me, and delete it.

For others where I'm interested in finding out what happened but don't want to watch the movie, I'll look it up on the Internet. Occasionally, I'll go ahead and watch the movie after reading the description.

If it is a really good movie and i like it i will sit through for the most part. This is usually rare.
Most movies i can't sit through i get bad adhd and will easily distract away from the movie. Pet the kitties, stim, start doing something else in the room. Worst off i will talk which is annoying to those who try and watch the movie.
My gf knows how i do and loves me anyway

It would be hard for NT folks though who truly love movies to have me over while watching one. Especially if i were trapped in the same room. That would be bad for me. I won't go to the theators i can't go to those i get nauceous there. Theres too many people there same as the malls.

The thing that usually turns me off on a movie real quick is when the plot is so absurd and unbelievable that it is just stupid.