Focusing, concentration, paying attention.. wait what?

[MobCounty]

I am resistant to say I have ADD.. a lot of people seem to use some type of attention deficit as a reason to not pay attention or get the job done. We have conjured up the perfect crutch, and everyone seems to be grabbing hold.. Wait what?

Seriously though, I can't seem to friggin pay attention or follow through, and it's getting worse. I swear someone can say a phone number and by the 4th number I have forgotten the first. I need to have work, xm, tv and music going just about all the time to stay relaxed.

I know it's me though. If it's something I want to remember I can, for instance I can remember every detail of my lady dressing in the morning for the last two weeks, and I can remember the price of every cool LCD tv I am interested in, but I cant remember my stupid hair cut appointment, or to pay the water bill at lunch if I need to..

Maybe it's stress of my growing work schedule, maybe its age, maybe its my flacid lifestyle.. but it's damn annoying for sure.

Has anyone overcome a similar situation? If not, I'm just happy to rant a little bit..


Thx,

[sr71blackbird]

Holy crap, I thought it was just me.
I think it is anxiety and information overload. I am going to ask my shrink today, but it is getting to the point that it effects my work, and if I did not have my blackberry keeping me in the loop, I'd be a dead man.

[Fezzie Fun Fun]

Not surprising...a day after Ron mentions he has ADD...some people on this board want to have it, too. Typical.

[grlNIN]

Not surprising...a day after Ron mentions he has ADD...some people on this board want to have it, too. Typical.

Jokes are all well and good but show a little respect to the posters in this forum.

Thank You.

[Thebazile78]

Sometimes this happens as we age.
Other times, it's a nutritional deficiency...magnesium is supposed to help increase concentration.

Personally, I find that I have more trouble concentrating if I haven't eaten and I'm getting hungry.

Have you noticed when your lack of concentration happens most often? Are you taking any medications that might affect your concentration? Are you stressed at work?

Think about it. Then ask questions and find a solution that you'll stick to.

[MobCounty]

Not surprising...a day after Ron mentions he has ADD...some people on this board want to have it, too. Typical.

Ron invented ADD? I knew he was god :smoke:.

[MobCounty]

Holy crap, I thought it was just me.
I think it is anxiety and information overload. I am going to ask my shrink today, but it is getting to the point that it effects my work, and if I did not have my blackberry keeping me in the loop, I'd be a dead man.

Hahah, my Cingular 8525 is my crutch. I too would be dead without it.

Sometimes this happens as we age.
Other times, it's a nutritional deficiency...magnesium is supposed to help increase concentration.

Personally, I find that I have more trouble concentrating if I haven't eaten and I'm getting hungry.

Have you noticed when your lack of concentration happens most often? Are you taking any medications that might affect your concentration? Are you stressed at work?

Think about it. Then ask questions and find a solution that you'll stick to.

Heh, I'm pretty sure eating is not the problem, in fact thats my other crutch. However, having proper nutrition could very well be an issue. Also I'm balancing more work stuff than normal, so that could be a pretty good contributer as well.

[sr71blackbird]

You might have a point bazile, because I just saw my psychiatrist and asked him about it and he said that part of the effect of my anxiety medication is to dull certain receptors and as a result, I "care less" about things that would normally get me super anxious. Because I care less, I do not commit things to memory as being as important that perhaps they deserve to be. So it becomes a catch 22: you take medication to lower your anxiety about what you remember, but end up getting anxious about what you are forgetting!

[mikeyboy]

Not surprising...a day after Ron mentions he has ADD...some people on this board want to have it, too. Typical.

I just checked IPs on this user.

Typical.

[Ritalin]

I don't HAVE to post a reply in this thread, do I?

[jonyrotn]

Not surprising...a day after Ron mentions he has ADD...some people on this board want to have it, too. Typical.

I just checked IPs on this user.Typical.

No one out runs the long arm of mikeyboy..You been PONED..

[Thebazile78]

You might have a point bazile, because I just saw my psychiatrist and asked him about it and he said that part of the effect of my anxiety medication is to dull certain receptors and as a result, I "care less" about things that would normally get me super anxious. Because I care less, I do not commit things to memory as being as important that perhaps they deserve to be. So it becomes a catch 22: you take medication to lower your anxiety about what you remember, but end up getting anxious about what you are forgetting!

This is a good example of why you should report side effects to your doctor. If it's a known impact, you might have to re-train yourself to handle it.

(Oh, and USA just re-ran the episode of Monk where his shrink put him on anti-anxiety medication yesterday and your post brought the whole thing into perspective. Very interesting.)

[Furtherman]

Ever walk into a thread and forget why you did? Me too.

[Thebazile78]

Found my first source for learning about magnesium deficiency:

Personal Health:
A Dietary Mineral You Need (and Probably Didn't Know It) [NY Times, 18 May 2004] (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/18/health/nutrition/18brod.html?ex=1206244800&en=1a1565f1bf6758e9&ei=5070)

Of course, this doesn't mention concentration. I am trying to figure out where I made that link or if I am confusing magnesium with another element.