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does anyone else have trouble concentrating, sometimes when I read its like I'm just looking at words and nothing clicks like its supposed to and my attention span is very short, I will sometimes zone out if someone is talking for more than 5-7 seconds. my memory sucks too, I will read an article and latter that day I forget the key points and if I'm suppose to do something and don't make a reminder in my phone I will forget all about it. it gets very frustrating and in my last interview I forgot the answers to simple stuff I should know, I don't know how the hell I made it out of college.:frown: any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Have you ever been evaluated for ADHD? I have it really bad, and this is similar to what happens to me at times, especially when it's not something I'm very interested in (or something hard to begin with).
Eventually, I get--SQUIRREL! ;-)
...
Seriously, though, I will check back in the morning to see if I can help at all. I make jokes about it, but it really isn't a joke. And for some people (me), you get through school, maybe even on the honor roll, but then fizzle in "real life." Short version: That was me. They said I couldn't have ADHD because I was an honor student. Wrong. I happen to love learning. People with ADHD (inattentive type, aka ADD) can and do focus well on their interests. School work just happened to be one of my dearest interests.
Hang in there, bud. There's hope for you yet!
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I really does sound like ADD or ADHD. I have it too, I will be reading and it ends up in my brain something like:
The rebuilding of New Orelans was going well, business and homeowners were [hmm, should I work on my boat, or my new gun shop, or maybe go get a pizza. Hey I could....] with the arrival of Hurricane [oh, I need to do a quest in my game, or check the forums.] but today, New Orleans {[oh, interesting new topic on GaySpeak.]
And by morning that article will be nothing but "blah, blah, blahbitty, blah." in my brain.
Now get me in my playroom, discussing things I know or care about, playing a game I am into, etc... and I'm the most focused person you've probably ever known. And I am a fantastic mufti tasker that will remember every detail when there are two or more things that interest me going on at once. Like now, I am focused on interesting topics here and, the coverage of Hurricane Isaac. I am interested in this forum and, that hurricane that will probably be hitting my home around noon to 6 pm tomorrow.
That's how ADD/ADHD works, if it doesn't interest us, our minds go off to the million or so things we can think of that do interest us but, if it interests us, we are there 150%.
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This usually happens when I indulge in alcohol and other drugs, and I mean for days after and long after I've sobered up. It's one of the main reasons I stay sober.
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@GossamerMoon & Blue - YES, that's exactly what its like  when I read it's like my mind drifts off onto 10 other things, and I guess since I loved learning about technology in college I had an A-B average. studying sucked though, but thanks to my highlighter I could re-read the important sections and not the whole chapter. now if only I could find a way to improve my memory, has anyone ever tried vitamin E for memory?
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Yes on the vitamin E, I find it more helpful when combined with Ginko, and if I need to focus on a boring subject, Valerian helps it calms me enough that I don't feel so "flighty"
Another thing, repetition and memorization are generally a huge fail for me. Say I use the last of the toilet paper and repeat all the way to the store "Must buy toilet paper." I guarantee you, I will not remember toilet paper because I will stop to look at something that caught my eye first and, stop repeating, and of course forget it entirely. Now if I think "Oh, last roll, I'll grab some of my favorite brand next time I happen to get into town." It might be 3-4 days later, but I will get the toilet paper home without another though save seeing my favorite brand in the store.
Same with someone repeating the same thing to me. My mind tunes it out with "Shut the hell up already." and I probable won't remember the conversation five minutes later. Tell me it's important and tell me once and, I remember, you got it in before I lost focus.
The key is that I know I have about 2-3 seconds to get something that isn't of much interest to me in my brain, or it isn't getting there at all. I just have to work with that and, get those around me to understand that and, try to keep things concise and to the point if they expect me to actually remember it and act on it.
When it comes to book learning, it find it best to read one or two paragraphs, take a break for a few minutes, then paraphrase that bit into my own words, which is one or two sentences. Cut all the useless gibber jabber out of it and put the key points in concise, direct sentences.
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Blue Wrote:When it comes to book learning, it find it best to read one or two paragraphs, take a break for a few minutes, then paraphrase that bit into my own words, which is one or two sentences. Cut all the useless gibber jabber out of it and put the key points in concise, direct sentences.
good idea, I don't know why I didn't try that before, and I think I'll start off with some vitamin E and ginko tomorrow hopefully it will help me out too.
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I rely on Post-It notes and my Droid to yell at me to go places. ;-)
What Blue said about Ginko... I'm not up to date on all of those, but I will say to make sure if you try natural supplements, do research to make sure you -- the train of thought jumped the tracks... resetting... okay--... to make sure there are no interactions with anything you might be taking, or with an existing health issues. For example, there are herbs I don't use (Echinacea) because they're not good if you have autoimmune disorders. It's a minefield. [Ooh, I haven't played Minesweeper in a long time; wonder if I can still kick ass at it.]
There are ways to cope, but it takes time and effort. And not all meds work. I tried most of them, and they had different side effects, all dramatic.
By the way, on a technical note: ADD has been reclassified as ADHD, Inattentive Type. I guess that's because your mind can be hyper w/out your body being such?
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Ceez, maybe you should tell your doctor about it?
Lay off the drugs (if you do drugs); lay off the booze, if you do booze... and eat fish... full of phosphorus.
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Just to point out... I know you all keep adding "...if you do drugs/booze," but believe me, ADHD can be bad even if that was never an issue. I have it really bad, but I have never in my life done drugs, and I hardly ever drink. Since ceez didn't say either way, I'm just adding my two pennies. ;-)
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