Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi everyone,
I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for me to help me with studying and just staying "concentrated"? I've always struggled with this sometimes I'm fine and sometimes I'm not, (but most of the time I'm not).
I think most people on here who know who I am, know that I was diagnosed with ASD(Aspergers) in march but there was a suspicion that I could have ADHD as well although I was never 'tested'. I think it could quite possibly be true and it would account for a lot of the things I experience on top of being on the spectrum as well, but it's hard to tell which is which.
P.S. I know I haven't been active on here recently I've just had a lot happen to me in a very short amount of time that has both taken a lot of energy out of me and throw me back into bad 'depressive' habits so I haven't really had the time or energy or 'want' to be on here.
Thanks in advance, I hope everyone on here is ok.
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Yeah I just wouldn't feel comfortable taking drugs like that myself but go for it and come back to this post if you can get it and tell me what it's like
I'm drug seeking from the N.H.S. at the moment for Adderall. Got my telephone Dr's appointment booked for this week.
It's essentially amphetamine tablets like they gave to bomber command in WW2, and used sparingly & under supervision it looks to be a very useful tool indeed. I tried the illegal version once in the eighties and it made me feel very, very "normal" and crisp and "up to the job" at the time, so it seems worth a shot at trying it again under medical supervision IF they will let me.. I want to see just how much I can get done if I can retain my focus for more than five minutes at a time...
One half of me thinks I am trying to game the system to get an unfair advantage, the other half thinks I am trying to get the system to help me with my disability..
I am in a similar situation, in having a maybe flag on my ADHD. I share a bunch of the symptoms, and concentration is an issue. I don't have many answers (I'll be checking this thread for some), but there are two things that work for me. Unfortunately both have limited application.
First, if your job/life allow it, if you enter times when you cannot concentrate, try to allow yourself time and space to do whatever feels comfortable and don't try to force it. Try to put the effort in when your mind lets you. Essentially, if you can, allow your schedule to flex around periods of difficulty. I am lucky to have a job which can afford me a bit of latitude in this regard. Downside is you just have to wait for yourself to concentrate again (though I do find the break/rest, and not pushing myself, can help bring this about).
Second, adrenaline. The music I listen to most is stuff which gets my adrenaline going. Exciting stuff, strong beats or dramatic scores. The sort of stuff that peppers combat scenes in movies. My (limited) understanding of ADHD and how it (or related symptoms) affects me is that your executive functions struggle because the part of your brain is understimulated. Adrenaline can counteract this to a degree, and the right music helps me to get to that state. The down side is you're putting your body under strain, likely contributing to stress, and probably not wise to keep doing it/depend on it. So I try not to do this too often. I mean, you find once you've done it you get diminishing returns without rest anyway.
I had a similar question for one of my posts from the other day.
Then I found a recent video by Andrew Huberman about ADHD and focus, but it's not just for people with ADHD.
It's very long, 2 hrs 18 minutes, but is time stamped and split into sections. Very informative.
Maybe it will be of help to you.
www.youtube.com/watch
Minimise time needed to concentrate: allow yourself to only have to do 1 second then you can stop; In order to reduce pressure on self.if you find you want to continue do by all means but have the shortest time or least effort as the goal.