Problems Concentrating

Problems Concentrating
S

sadanddown

Registrant
I'm having problems focusing on things that I need to be focusing on. I can't stop thinking about my SA. It has been preoccupying my mind constantly. Maybe it's because I am studying psychology, but it seems lately like it's the only thing I can think about. I have a test tomorrow and I can't even concentrate on it for more than about 5 minutes.

I don't know, maybe it's because I have done such a good job at supressing it for so long that I finally am thinking about it and it's all hitting me at once.

Anyways, I was wonderin if anyone else has had this problem, or if you guys have any suggestions. Even my hobbies like was posted just a while ago, guitar, car audio etc...can't take my mind off of it.

I'm startin to drink everynight now too, it helps me go to sleep but that's not good seeing as I had some major problems with alcohol the last 2 years, that I thought I got over.

I don't know...I'm looking for any suggestions or help. Thanks
 
Hi,

Yes I can relate to that, there are times when I really find it hard to think of much else. I think it is something we have to go through at times. I have found it useful to put it to one side even when it pops into my head, its feels like everything can be connected to it. As you say after suppressing it for so long it seems to be there all the time.

I do try to do fun things, concentrate at work and leave it for a bit to give myself a break. In the past when I couldnt sleep or just needed to be out of my head I did use alcohol or cannabis to relax. I am not much into physical exercise, but working in the garden or long fast walks help me these days.

Hope you get some helpful suggestions and wishing you well with the test tomorrow.

Rustam
 
Actually big preoccupation with our problems is one of the symptoms of the SA.

There is no easy answer what should you do to make better concentration. You have to be positive and relaxed. Do not give up easily from focusing on studying.
Insomnia can be really problem too. When we do not have enough sleep the brain can not function normally.
I am not judging you but I think that drinking could push you into bigger troubles quite easily.

Did you tried with the exercises?
It can help you to feel much better (I can not function at all without it :-))

Let us know what happened to your test.

I wish you the best.
Ivo
 
I was surprised to discover that having a hard time staying focused, insomnia and having repetitive and intrusive thoughts were among the chief symptoms of depression.

My shrink always talks about "ruminating", which having obsessive thoughts about emotionally charged situations. Hmmm...like abuse?

Breaking that cycle of rumination, which is a hallmark of depressed people, is a big part of my treatment.

Now when these things become problems in my life, which they all do from time to time, I can approach the solution from the proper angle. That is, work on the depression, instead of treating each symptom individually.

In fact, simply recognizing these as symptoms of a greater cause, depression, helps me relax some about it. I'm not getting all stressed out thinking, "Gee what's wrong with me?". I know what's wrong, so I can turn my thoughts to relieving my discomfort, soothing myself and treating myself with more kindness, which is a good thing to do no matter what is going on, but is vital when I'm feeling down.

I agree with Ivo. Using alcohol to treat depression is like pouring kerosene on a fire to put it out. It only makes it worse. Many people are confused about the use of alcohol because there is an initial sense of relaxation or escape that comes with the first few drinks.

But alcohol is a bi-phasic central nervous system depressant. Following the first sensation of feeling better, inevitably comes an even worse feeling of depression, because alcohol is essentially a depressant.

I would venture to say it would be counter indicated for most of us with emotional/psychological disturbances.

But sometimes that's the best we can do at the time. It took me over 20 years to learn better ways to treat myself.

I hope it never takes anyone else that long!

You're in the right place and asking the right questions. I'd be glad to discuss this more if you'd like pm me.

Regards,
 
As Ivo said, I found the only thing that can take your mind from it is exercise and relaxation. I do a lot of walking and cycle riding, I am lucky to live in a rural area.

Use google to search for other relaxation techniques, there are so many out there, some of them are brilliant, the one that does it for me is to listen to relaxing music.

Numbing with alcohol can be dangerous if you are not careful, I still use it, but with much more care than I did in the past.

Going to the gym and having a workout will really hurt the first time you go, but doing weights and really working out can give endomorphins a boost, giving you a natural "high".

I know how hard it can be, but it will get better for you, hope you do well in exams,

ste
 
Well....lets just say that my test didn't go smooth.

dwf, it's funny you mention ruminating, cause that was one of the things I studied...too bad it wasn't a question on the test tho. :( I remember also reading about the cycle that one can get into when depressed, but if you break one link in the cycle the rest will come as well.

So, since I can't break any of the mental parts of my depression right now, I think exercise will do me some good. I will try that out tomorrow, especially since it has helped a lot of you out already, maybe it can help me too.

I'm feeling a bit better ever since I finished with my test this morning, even though I did poorly on it. Night time is the hardest for me though, I can normally find something to try to keep my mind off of it during the day, or someone to hangout with, but at night I start to get more sad and lonely, with nothing else to think about.
 
Like everyone else has shared, I face this problem from time to time. The only tip I have is that it has helped me to figure out when to indulge the urge to focus on SA and when to bypass it.

When it's just an exercise in self-pity, it's better to shove it aside with whatever means you choose. Meditation has done wonders for me in this. But when I find that I'm having productive thoughts about it, I make time for it even if everything else is collapsing around me. And one tip off for me that I should not ignore it is when it shows itself as anger. For me, anger usually means an important thought is just below the surface that I need to focus on. When it's sadness coming up, I'm better off just turning on some music, smoking a cigar, going for a walk, calling a friend, whatever, just to move past it.

Take care and good luck with your studies.
 
For almost fifty years there was this big question hanging over my head, "why do I feel and act the way I do?" It is no wonder to me, having received a partial answer to it in only the last several years, that I am fascinated by it.

After so many years of desperate confusion, an explanation is an extraordinary thing.

I'm not surprised, after all, that the experience of trauma results in some really unpleasant things. The question for me is, can I find ways to live with them or not?

It must be hard for the person who remembers what life was like before depression set in. I have no such thing to remember so I suppose, for me, that depression is its own useless benchmark.

Until the abuse was identified all we (a therapist and I) would ever work on was just getting by, staying alive.

I self-medicated with alcohol and other drugs for about 15 years. Needless to say, it didn't work. I ended up in detox with the other bums. 15 years of denying I had a problem with alcohol seems incredible to me now.

The extra pressure of going to school, passing tests, getting sleep, using drugs and alcohol may be magnifying an inability to focus and other symptoms of depression. That sounds likely to me.

Give yourself credit for making it to classes and tests. Within the context of experiencing depression that is a very big thing, I think.

I had a free education practically handed to me on a platter and I messed it all up within 6 months.

We all take the best care of ourselves as we can. Even people who haven't experienced abuse in their lives have recurring problems that they seem never able to solve.

I like the advice to try meditation. I have found in it a way of being that is radically different from the way we usually live. The way most of us live is built upon a ridgid framework of expectation and desire. Within meditation there is no such hanging on, nothing to cling to.
 
My levels of concentration are very limited, especially when reading something like a text book or instruction / technical manual. I can read a novel from end to end in one go.

If I'm reading a text book, and it's something I've done more of in the last few year than I ever did when I was supposed to be learning, then I read for 10 minutes - or a chapter - then break off for a few minutes.
I also found that I was speed reading / skimming the pages, and not fully understandin what I thought I had read.
My friend who teaches adults with learning difficulties told me to try using a plain piece of paper and cover the lines below the one I was reading. What a difference that makes!
I even do it when reading novels or the newspaper, and I get so much more from what I read.

Dave
 
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