Let us help you cope with absent-mindedness and inattention! Simple techniques and actionable tips you can start using right now. Do exercises to develop attention, regularly consume foods that increase concentration, and the results will not keep you waiting! Read the article for details.
What is attention?
Attention, from the point of view of psychology, is a process in which a person’s consciousness is directed and focused on a specific object. In order to look at a picture or a car passing by, we use our attention. This process is part of life. If a person did not have attention, we would never have learned about Newton's theory, or about Mendeleev's periodic table of chemical elements.
The senses “show” us information about the outside world, but without attention we would simply not have time to notice this flow of information, and our cognitive sphere would remain undeveloped.
What are the properties of attention?
Attention as a mental process includes the following properties:
- sustainability
- switchability
- distractibility
- volume
- concentration
- distribution
Concentration is the most important property for those who constantly use the intellectual sphere in their work. When you are focused on a specific task, you easily see possible solutions, are able to quickly assess the current circumstances and make the right decision.
It’s not for nothing that many executives and managers specifically attend training to improve concentration. The exercises that are demonstrated there help you think clearly, notice any details, and use them to achieve your goals.
How to increase concentration?
To increase concentration, special techniques are used. They are not very complicated and do not require special materials. On the contrary, their simplicity may surprise you. But remember, it takes time to achieve results. Doing them once will not give you anything; regular exercises are necessary.
Exercises to develop concentration
1. Exercise “Clock”.
To perform this you need a watch with a second hand. Place them in front of you, sit comfortably, and watch the second hand. As soon as you realize that you have been distracted, or extraneous thoughts have entered your head, record how long you managed to concentrate and start monitoring again. A good result would be to maintain attention for 2 minutes.
2. Exercise “Cardiogram”.
To complete this, you need a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Sit so that you are comfortable writing, begin to slowly draw a line on a piece of paper. Just follow it; if you get distracted, make a peak upward (as it usually looks like on a cardiogram), and return back to the straight line. Continue for 3 minutes. When finished, count the number of peaks (distractions). At a good level of concentration there will not be a single peak in 3 minutes.
3. Exercise “Reflective reading”.
When you need to understand uninteresting or difficult text, use this technique. Work in it is not on quantity, but on the quality of perception of the material. Sit comfortably, read, thinking about every word. As soon as you are distracted, make notes in the margins with a pencil. A couple of deep breaths - and start from the place where the mark is. For the first time, read 1 page, look at the number of distractions. If you read regularly like this, then after 1-2 weeks you will already see that you are much less likely to be distracted, and the material is remembered better.
4. Exercise “Color words”.
To do this, print out the names of the colors on a piece of paper in different colors. For example: Black , White, Green , Red , Blue. Place this sheet in front of you, name the colors of the words, not what is written. It is difficult to do this the first time, but daily training will increase your concentration and complete the task without errors.
5. Exercise “Beads”.
To complete this, you need beads with a large number of beads. Sit comfortably, look at the beads. Select one and count the rest from it. As soon as you get distracted or lose your way, record how many beads were counted and start again.
Remember, a problem is solved faster when an integrated approach is taken to it. If you notice yourself absent-minded and inattentive to details, then you should not only complete tasks to increase concentration, but also... How much time do you spend sleeping? Are you eating right? Do you include vitamins in your diet? Do you go out into the fresh air?
Adequate sleep and a balanced diet are also means of increasing attention. Consuming certain vitamins, or foods that contain them, improves brain function, making it much easier to concentrate. In addition to what is presented in this article, find out that they also perform a similar function for our brain.
What vitamins affect concentration?
- B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12)
- vitamin E
- vitamin C
- vitamin D
- vitamin P
Products that increase concentration:
1. Sea fish (salmon, pink salmon, hake, sardine). It is rich in saturated fatty acids Omega-3 and Omega-6 and contains vitamin D.
2. Natural, unrefined oils (olive, corn, sunflower). They contain vitamin E, which improves the perception of new information.
3. Products that contain whole grains (rye bread, oatmeal, whole grain porridge). They contain sufficient quantities of B vitamins, which are most important for the brain.
4. Peas and legumes. Contains B vitamins.
5. Animal products (eggs, liver, red meat, dairy products). Contains B vitamins.
6. Fresh fruits and vegetables (orange, kiwi, currants, sorrel, cauliflower). Rich in vitamins C, R.
If you are seriously aiming to increase your concentration, act comprehensively in all directions:
1. A balanced diet, including vitamins necessary for the brain.
2. Regularly perform special exercises.
3. Control of physical condition. Be calm, unhurried, erratic movements and fussiness do not contribute to concentration. Regular exercise will suit you to relieve stress.
4. Setting priorities. Decide for yourself what is important and what can wait. Act according to your chosen priorities.
Attention deficits can occur in both children and adults. Many cases of the development of this problem in childhood with its subsequent deepening in older age have been recorded.
Experts characterize attention impairment as a process of narrowing the amount of attention (a person is distracted by side irritations), as well as a decrease in the coordination of actions performed.
Types of inattention
Impaired concentration and attention can be divided into 3 categories:
- "Fluttering attention» or absent-mindedness can be described as a process of uncontrolled switching of attention to stimuli, as well as poor concentration. This type is usually present in schoolchildren, but can also occur in older people, usually when they are very tired.
- "The Scientist's Inattention"- difficulty switching attention from one process to another, as a result of very deep concentration on the process or on one’s thoughts. A person with this type is characterized by the presence of obsessive thoughts.
- "The Absent-mindedness of Old Men"- a condition characterized by poor concentration of attention and the ability to switch it. The disease occurs in cases of constant overwork, oxygen starvation of the brain, and also in people, mostly elderly, who suffer from cerebral atherosclerosis.
Attention deficit in adults
Not only a child, but also an adult can have this syndrome.
Constant absent-mindedness, poor self-organization, forgetfulness - this is what this can lead to.
To overcome this psychological disease, you must first understand its root cause.
Basically, this diagnosis is made to children at school age, and then it manifests itself at an older age. But sometimes the symptom is first diagnosed in adulthood.
The process of the disease is also unique; the symptoms of adults are categorically different from those of children.
With Vikium you can organize the process of training concentration according to an individual program
Diseases that cause concentration problems
The list of such diseases includes:
- depression;
- hypoprosexia;
- hyperprosexia;
- paraprosexia;
- epilepsy and head injuries.
Epileptics and people suffering from depression have so-called slow and “stuck” attention. In this case, there is a decrease in the activity of nervous processes and an inability to switch attention.
Hypoprosexia causes decreased concentration. Its variety is aprosexia, in which, in the case of numerous distractions, concentration and the ability to concentrate are completely absent.
Excessive concentration of a person on one thing, for example on just actions or thoughts, is characteristic of hyperprosexia. This is the so-called one-way focus of attention.
With paraprosexia, concentration deviations may occur, which are characterized by the appearance of delusions and hallucinations. This occurs due to the fact that the human brain is constantly tense, and this leads to such consequences.
This effect can be observed even in a completely healthy person, for example in athletes who experience enormous moral stress.
So a runner, waiting for the “start” signal, concentrating very much on this, can hear the signal in his head, even before it sounds in reality.
Symptoms of poor concentration
Poor concentration in adults has different forms:
1) Inability to focus on one task or matter. You can easily be distracted by an object or sound, causing you to switch to another object or perform another task. In this case, there is “freezing” and “wandering” of attention. A person is unable to concentrate on completing a task, does not pay attention to details, and cannot focus, for example, when reading a book or when conducting a dialogue.
2) Another manifestation of the disease is the ability to concentrate on one thing. An example is listening to music or reading a book, during which we do not notice anything around us. In some cases, this disadvantage can be used for work purposes, but we should not forget that this can sometimes cause inconvenience to you and those around you.
3) Poor self-organization, as well as constant forgetting, are a sign of poor concentration. The consequences are:
- Constantly postponing work tasks;
- being late for work, etc.;
- systematic loss of things, forgetting their location;
- poor time orientation, inability to estimate approximate work time, etc.
4) Impulsivity is another sign of the disease. This may be accompanied by not understanding parts of the conversation, or experiencing the interlocutor. You are able to say or do something first, and only then think about the consequences. Tend to perform actions that can cause addiction.
5) Emotional problems can cause anger and frustration in patients. Symptoms of this form of the disease:
- constant change of mood;
- inability to motivate yourself and stay motivated;
- low self-esteem, lack of acceptance of criticism;
- hyperactivity;
- constant feeling of fatigue;
- frequent nervous excitement.
Hyperactivity in adults occurs much less frequently than in children, and this symptom does not always indicate a violation of concentration.
If these symptoms are present, you should contact a specialist in this field for examination and clarification of the problems.
The main doctors who can determine the degree of morbidity are a neurologist, psychologist and psychiatrist.
Only after consulting doctors can the problem and treatment methods be fully determined, since this can only be specified in an individual case.
Prevention
In connection with the reasons stated above, it is clear that the factors influencing the violation of concentration are quite numerous and varied, and therefore it is impossible to give monosyllabic advice on how to avoid this.
At the same time, prevention is in your hands. After all, we know that it is better to prevent than to eliminate the consequences. On our resource you can take a course of exercises to concentrate your attention, with the help of which, if possible, you can avoid situations that require the participation of doctors.
Surely you have encountered the fact that you need to work, but you can’t concentrate. The brain switched off. Of course, such an isolated case suggests that you should take a break. But doctors call a recurring one a cognitive disorder.
Cognitive dysfunction is a condition associated with decreased concentration and absent-mindedness. As a result, short-term memory suffers.
Memory and attention are the most important human abilities, which consist in obtaining information and storing it. Attention is responsible for receiving information, and memory is for storing it. However, often these necessary skills undergo changes not for the better. Many adults and even children periodically suffer from cognitive impairment. But we won’t leave it like that?!
Therefore, in order to understand how to prevent and treat such conditions, it is worth knowing their “roots”. That is why our topic today concerns such widespread memory deterioration in people and the reasons why there is a decrease in concentration; of course, we are also interested in what to do about it. Let's begin our review.
Causes of cognitive impairment
Memory is the preservation of what a person once experienced through the senses: saw, heard or felt. After the stimulus disappears, a person puts the received “grains” of information into special “boxes” in the brain, thereby not forgetting what happened to him.
Disruption of this mechanism occurs for a variety of reasons. The ability to remember may be lost in the following cases:
Asthenic conditions: daily stress turning into depression, overwork, hypovitaminosis;
- strong nervous outbursts and worries;
- dependence on alcohol, damage to brain structures due to its use (poor or impaired blood circulation in the brain);
- effects of drugs;
- Poisoning of the body with aluminum, mercury, cadmium, pesticides, carbon monoxide, cigarette smoke;
- Susceptibility to electromagnetic fields of the TV screen, mobile phone, Wi-Fi.
- digital amnesia (not wanting to remember).
Why does a person’s attentiveness decrease?
Attention and memory are interconnected, since the former plays a significant role in memorizing and reproducing acquired information and knowledge. The second follows from the first: people who have a decreased ability to concentrate and notice what they need suffer from memory impairment. A person misses current actions, words or sensations, and as a result, remembers what is happening much worse.
There are several types of attention disorder:
Insufficient concentration
Switching slowness
Reduced stability
With insufficient concentration, a person cannot concentrate on something for a long period of time. In this situation, purposeful cognitive activity becomes very difficult for a person.
When switching is slow, it is difficult for the patient to transfer his attention from one object to another, to be distracted from the topic, or to distribute his attention between different types of activities.
Attention span is characterized by the fact that a person is unable to concentrate on a task that requires a long-term perspective or prolonged concentration. This can often be seen in children who become distracted while trying to complete homework or sit in class.
Since attention and memory are closely interrelated, the causes of their impairment are largely similar. Attention can also be impaired due to negative emotions, nervous breakdowns, mental exhaustion, stress and overwork. These changes are functional and take place in a short time. No treatment is required here.
Organic disorders are much more serious. They are expressed in damage to the nervous system and cerebral cortex by various pathologies. These could be tumors, traumatic brain injury, mental illness. This most often occurs in older people. This phenomenon is quite stable.
What to do?
In case of organic lesions, it is impossible to delay treatment, and therefore it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor.
With everything else, “everything is simple”: just get more rest, drink alcohol in moderation or eliminate it altogether, learn to resist stress and take care of your health, want to remember. I’ll decipher what was said a little.
So, in order to remove stress, you need to perceive everything as a game of “adult guys”.
To improve blood circulation, regular exercise and yoga are required.
You need to detect sources of poisoning in the body by renting various dosimeters and taking a blood test.
Air purifiers-ionizers “super-plus-eco-s” will protect you from your neighbors’ cigarette smoke
Try to keep your mobile phone 1.5 meters away from you most of the time. Communicate using it as little as possible.
Using the same smartphone, measure the levels of Wi-Fi networks around you at home and at work. Determine the place where the signal is minimal.
Take into account the research voiced by Yuri Namestnikov, an expert at Kaspersky Lab, which reflects the fact of the emergence of “digital amnesia”. The survey showed that current Russian and European gadget users do not want to remember information. It’s more convenient for them to remember where it can be found on their “brain extension” (digital device)... You can independently study the photo accompanying the article depicting this research. Let me just say that only 40% of people try to remember the answer to their question they once read, but the rest immediately look for it on the Internet, read it, make a conclusion about the situation and immediately forget it as something extra clogging the brain. As a result of this attitude towards his brain, a person becomes absent-minded and may forget something really important. This phenomenon can be fought, but first it must be recognized. Next, you need to find motivation for yourself to remember.
This is something you can do at any time.
Why is motivation important?
Motivation is an important component in remembering information. A person understands that the information he has received in various ways will still be needed for one purpose or another, so he simply cannot forget it. In the 20s of the last century, this was proven by conducting an experiment: a group of experimental subjects better recorded in memory those actions that had not yet been completed. They needed to finish them later - this was their motivation to remember the information. If a person is in asthenic states or depressed, then his thought processes slow down, and the motivational component almost completely disappears, which causes problems with memorization and reproduction.
Short-term memory
This part of the mechanism has a small volume and, accordingly, its ability to store information is also small: at most - 3 seconds, maximum - three days. However, it is much more vulnerable than long-term memory. The reason for this is that her role is key. A person’s perception of what is happening here and now will depend on how it functions. If it is affected, then the person will have difficulty performing everyday activities and learning anything.
What to do if attention and memory become worse?
Before you begin to return your ability to remember what you need and notice everything around you to its previous course, you should identify the root of evil and only then begin to eradicate it. Many diseases and conditions are a source of further problems, including human abilities. If you do not start working in this direction, it will be difficult to achieve lasting results. Some of what you can do has already been said above.
Special regime and prevention of deterioration of attention and memory
For those who suffer from memory and attention disorders, it is important to lead a healthy lifestyle, walk in the fresh air more often, play sports and do not forget about feasible work. Active activities promote blood flow to the brain and also improve health, which is important in order to train lost skills.
You shouldn’t isolate yourself from the world and stop communicating with people. If a person maintains relationships with close people, then he will become motivated because everything he sees, feels or hears will be important to him.
Intellectual activity has a positive effect on a person’s ability to think. This includes solving crossword puzzles, reading, studying the computer and various hobbies;
If memory impairment is closely related to emotions, then you should change the psychological climate in the family and at work, try to avoid stressful situations and get enough sleep;
Pay attention to your health and limit the use of medications.
Nutrition and memory loss (what to do to eliminate cognitive dysfunction)
The main rule is a balanced diet. The patient’s body must receive all the necessary vitamins and microelements, proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Under no circumstances should you go on a low-calorie diet - a lack of necessary substances will cause a reverse process and you will not be able to achieve positive results.
The most useful products for memory and attention disorders are those that contain polyunsaturated fatty acids and iodine. These are:
Sea fish (fatty varieties);
bread made from coarse grains;
pumpkin seeds;
broccoli;
tomatoes.
Do not forget about water consumption, as its lack negatively affects the activity of the nervous system. The consumption rate is 2 liters per day.
If you do not forget about these simple rules, then you will never have to face this problem and consult a doctor. The main thing is to always remember a healthy lifestyle and try not to overstrain the nervous system. We also recommend contacting an endocrinologist and neurologist. Know that doctors have transcranial therapeutic magnetic stimulation in their arsenal - a method that will help “wake up” inactive parts of the brain.
Remember school. Any lesson, let’s say geography. Maryivanna is working - with a concentrated look she talks about something important, pointing at a map on the board with a pointer. What about the audience? Someone is listening diligently. Someone is looking out the window. And someone (usually in the back desk) has fun folding paper airplanes from notebook sheets and flying them around the class, or “unnoticed” sneaking across the row to pass a note. The teacher is indignant - is it really difficult to listen?
It turns out that it can be difficult. Inability to sit still for a long time or concentrate on some process may be a sign of the so-called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, sometimes also called absent-mindedness syndrome). Previously, this was talked about only as a problem that occurs in children, usually no older than 16. But in the last couple of decades, researchers have recognized: a problem that caused problems in learning at a tender age can also manifest itself in adults, preventing them from living and working and build relationships.
What is it?
ADHD is a neurological-behavioral disorder With like this symptoms:
- difficulty concentrating,
- increased activity,
- poorly controlled impulsivity.
Again, it was traditionally believed that ADHD was 2 times more common among boys than among girls. Modern research shows that this is not entirely true. The fact is that young ladies, as a rule, are more diligent. In other words, they strive more to be good - obedient daughters, good students. Therefore, some of us may have experienced this syndrome in childhood without even knowing it - it happens that girls, trying to behave correctly and study better, somehow overcome the symptoms of ADHD. And - lo and behold - difficulties with concentrating may go away forever. But in some cases - according to various sources, this happens in 50-60% of those who encountered the syndrome in childhood - problems can remind themselves when we become adults.
“According to statistics, the frequency of ADHD among schoolchildren ranges from 3 to 12% in different countries, and 4–5% in the adult population. It is known that both genetic predisposition and the environment in which the child grows and develops are responsible for the development of the syndrome. Considering that the generation of the difficult 90s has grown up, it can be assumed that the prevalence of the syndrome is increasing among adults, however, no epidemiological studies have been conducted in our country,” says Konstantin Makhinov.
“The syndrome arises due to certain features at the level of the brain structure,” continues Mark Sandomirsky, Ph.D., psychotherapist of the European Registry. – In such children, the development of coordination of the activities of its different parts proceeds a little differently: the left, “logical”, and right, “emotional” hemispheres are not sufficiently coordinated with each other, and some “distortion” may arise in their work. In addition, the activity of the cerebral cortex, its higher parts (with which we, so to speak, think) and deep structures (brain stem), which activate, “awaken” these higher parts, are not fully coordinated. If such a child or adult sits still for a long time, focused on one thing, he may simply fall asleep, so he “disturbs” himself by restlessness or switching attention.”
What happens to the child: he cannot sit still for a long time, having started to complete a task, he is quickly distracted, interrupts in conversation, tries to answer a question without listening to the end, has difficulty waiting for his turn in anything. And those who have already left childhood often have an even more difficult time.
What are the disadvantages
“On the inside, it feels like driving a car in the rain with broken windshield wipers. Or how to listen to a radio where all channels are broadcast simultaneously,” is how, for example, people with ADHD describe their condition on the Internet. Lost or forgotten things somewhere, unpaid bills on time, chaos in the house and on the work desk, delays, unfinished tasks, unfulfilled promises... Plus another kind of “adult” problems associated with emotional instability are added.
“Such people have not only sudden changes, but also long periods of low mood and a tendency to depression,” says Mark Sandomirsky. According to Konstantin Makhinov, citizens with ADHD are at risk of developing various types of addictions, including alcohol and tobacco. Psychotherapist Sandomirsky also agrees with the neurologist: “They sometimes use alcohol or other substances to cope with emotional difficulties. We must keep in mind that this is not alcoholism or drug addiction in the usual sense, but an attempt to help oneself.” And we’re not talking about possible problems with excess weight: sitting down on the sofa with a large bag of chips or cookies, a person may not even notice how he eats every crumb, although he didn’t plan anything like that at all.
Let's continue the list with possible difficulties in relationships with others. Thus, children are usually forgiven for spontaneity and emotional instability. But now the little girl has grown up - and what is everyone watching around her? People with ADHD touchy, conflictual, they feel that they are not understood, – and sometimes this is true. Well, it’s true that extravagance of behavior, originality of thinking, and mood swings will not cause puppy delight in everyone you meet. And then, people around have no idea that all the described “horrors” of behavior are simply human characteristics, and not, roughly speaking, indifference and unwillingness to be collected. “Add here an understandably difficult relationship with yourself - and all this will lead to problems with self-esteem, most often to its underestimation,” says Mark Sandomirsky.
All this also does not contribute to an “easy” personal life (or rather, maintaining a stable relationship). “Serial marriages are common, where people create and dissolve unions every few years,” Mark reports. – Men suffer less from this. In women, self-esteem drops even more. “There’s something wrong with me, I can’t start a family,” the lady thinks.” What about at work? Even being good specialists, people with ADHD often change jobs. If relationships in a team do not work out, colleagues do not understand and do not accept their behavior, then women worry especially strongly - for them this microclimate is more important than for men.
There are advantages
However, let's not continue to exaggerate. Moreover, this state also has excellent advantages. First, a person with ADHD is often a bright, unusual person who (ironically) attracts attention to himself. “The brain has powerful compensation mechanisms,” explains Mark Sandomirsky. “In trying to overcome difficulties, features become strengths.” Such people often find themselves in creative work or, conversely, in the IT field (remember the bias towards the left hemisphere). They make good crisis managers or startupers. These characters are unlikely to enjoy doing routine, monotonous work, but doing a new project or finding an interesting solution is a task for them. True, having quickly (as a rule) achieved success in their next business, these citizens just as quickly lose interest in it and strive to search for the unknown.
What should I do?
First of all, how can you tell if you or someone close to you has ADHD? “The diagnosis of this condition is based on the clinical picture (however, sometimes additional examinations are required to confirm the diagnosis). The disease is manifested by two main symptoms: inattention (a person is easily distracted by extraneous stimuli, it is difficult for him to concentrate, he often loses things) and hyperactivity-impulsivity (talkative, cannot calmly stand in line, answers a question without thinking and without listening to it), – explains Konstantin Makhinov. “At the same time, these signs are detected not only at school, at the workplace, but also at home.” Since the first symptoms appear before the age of 7 years, a pediatric neurologist should be a specialist who can help deal with this. For a mature person, the strategy changes a little - it is better to be under the supervision of a psychotherapist/psychologist and plus the same neurologist.
In adulthood, ADHD only manifests itself if it was already present in childhood - even if the diagnosis was not made then. Therefore, when visiting a doctor, you will have to remember whether there were similar problems at school and before. It is interesting that their reappearance can be triggered by some change in life: for example, marriage or, conversely, divorce, a transition to a more responsible position, or the acquisition of offspring.
“There are a number of treatment approaches, including medication, behavioral and educational therapy,” says Konstantin. – The second usually complements medication and includes work on organizational skills. It may also be useful to teach the patient a number of techniques aimed at focusing attention. But sometimes all this is a long job.”
Mark Sandomirsky gives some advice.
- Turn childhood difficulties into adult advantages, develop your own characteristics.
- Work with self-esteem, get rid of the inferiority complex (you don’t have to be “like everyone else”, everyone has the right to individuality).
- Combat mood swings, develop skills and techniques of emotional self-regulation, learn to relax.
- Age regression helps. These are exercises in which an adult feels like a child again, relives his childhood states - the work is usually carried out under the guidance of a psychologist or psychotherapist.
Concentration
These tips from doctors, psychologists and people living with ADHD are designed to help anyone who sometimes has difficulty concentrating.
- Write it down
Make lists of all your tasks, important and unimportant, urgent and not so urgent. In this case, it is better to start with global opuses (for example, for a month), then break them down into weekly ones, and then into every day. You should check your to-do list for tomorrow the night before, and then check off what’s done item by item. Some people find it helpful to have a fancy board with post-it notes or squares of paper attached with thumbtacks. It can be hung in front of your desk or by your bed. The task is completed - the piece of paper is removed from the board. - Divide
As you take on each new task, break it down into several simpler goals and determine in what order it is most logical to complete them. A primitive example is to dismantle a littered table. First: put away unnecessary papers and trash. Second: collect the necessary pieces of paper. Third: sort the last ones, and so on. This way, a task that seems difficult at first - that is, one that you don’t want to start at all (and the table remains cluttered for weeks) - ceases to look inaccessible. - Take breaks
While working, rest every hour and a half (some people need breaks at intervals of 30 minutes). Not in order to be distracted from things even more often, but with the goal of learning to do them not when you have to, but when you need it. In this “free” time, it’s better to get distracted, take a walk, and finally do some exercise. When plunging into work again, evaluate what has been done and remains - this will cheer you up. - Remind yourself
Are you afraid to leave your home, leaving it unlocked or with the appliance not turned off? Hang a note on the door: “Iron, light, keys, window, water” - and check it when leaving the apartment. The main thing is that the piece of paper does not flash past your eyes on the way out. And from time to time, rewrite the list on a piece of paper of a new color and in a new order, so as not to get used to it and not perceive the action as a formality. - Show some forethought
Find out (and write down in several places) the telephone numbers of the Lost and Found Bureau of the metro and ground transport. Try not to take documents with you unless necessary - use copies. - Rely on others
Let's say you often lose phones, wallets, notebooks and other important things. Sign all the items that you would not want to lose. Public experience shows that in most cases, a person in whose hands a lost item ends up will be happy to return it to its owner if he finds a contact to contact. - Throw away everything unnecessary
If you find it difficult to concentrate while working, try to neutralize distractions before getting started. Close tabs with social networks and instant messengers on your computer. Remove unnecessary books and papers from the table. Colleagues' conversations are distracting - use earplugs to distract yourself. For some, music disturbs them even more; for others, a calm melody in their headphones helps them avoid listening to their neighbors’ conversations. Set yourself a certain time when you will check your personal mail and read your friend feed - say, three times a day: in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. - Find an outlet for excess energy
This is if your obsessive friends are impulsiveness and hyperactivity. Try to find a hobby that gives you an outlet for energy. This could be dancing, running, or other physical activity. Our expert Mark Sandomirsky recommends kundalini yoga and dynamic qigong. However, if you have ADHD, before you seriously engage in any sport, you should consult a doctor. - Ask for help
If you are worried that you will forget an important thing, ask a friend to call you at a certain time and “make sure” that the item is in your bag. If you are afraid to think and pass the desired stop, ask a pleasant-looking neighbor on the transport to tell you when to get off. And at the same time, it is not at all necessary to tell everyone the details of your subtle mental organization. Some adults with ADHD admit that they do things that require special concentration better when someone close to them simply stands nearby, as if silently reminding them not to be distracted. But, of course, if something fails over and over again, despite all the tricks and tricks, you should seek advice from a neurologist, psychologist or psychotherapist.
Hello. Please help me determine whether what is happening to me is the result of prolonged stress, or something else.
Next I will write in detail about what happened to me.
I experienced stress for quite a long time, periodically falling into depression. It started when my parents separated. Moreover, this was not all the time; there were bright moments, moments when depression disappeared and moments of joy came. In general, everything could have ended well, but something went wrong... Over the last 2 weeks, depression has intensified due to the fact that grades at school were not very good and at the end of the quarter I had to strain myself and study a lot. There were strong stresses on the brain + experiences. As luck would have it, at the same time some personal problems occurred, which caused obsessive thoughts and increased depression. The tension grew and eventually reached its peak. On Sunday the 28th, my brain just stopped and seemed to turn off. This happened while watching a funny, stupid video (I don’t know if this is important, I’m writing this just in case). Concentration has greatly decreased, memory and general ability to think have deteriorated greatly. Things that had previously made me happy stopped making me happy, my sense of humor almost disappeared, my body became relaxed, and muscular joy disappeared. After that I was very scared and the next day I almost went into a panic because of all this. Thoughts began to swirl in my head that I might become disabled, etc. Emotions disappeared. I just stopped caring about everything. I stopped liking music (this is important for me; I do it professionally). There were no thoughts in my head at all. It happened that I just looked at one point and didn’t think about anything. That same day, I immediately went to see a neurologist. After examining me, she, after thinking a little, said that I had a panic-phobic disorder (sort of). She prescribed the sedative Atarax and injections of Cortexin and Mexidol. She said it was just a side effect of the depression and would go away soon. It seems to me that this is not so and the matter is something else... . I injected Cortexin for 2 days. It has 0 effect. Injected mexidol. It caused severe excitability, which only worsened my condition. "Atarax" helped. At the moment I have managed to overcome depression. I calmed down, but my mental abilities did not improve.
Concentration, memory and the banal ability to think are mainly affected. It’s impossible to take it and make a plan for something, for example. My intellect has decreased and, as a result, my emotions have dulled. Now only the most banal things (delicious food) bring joy. It became difficult for me to talk to people. I can sit and just look at one point without thoughts in my head. The sense of humor, which was previously simply excellent, has disappeared. Sexual desire has decreased. And what’s most important is that when I try to think about it, “to shake my brain,” heaviness begins in the front part of my head. It’s like a brick in my head that crushes all my thoughts and which I can’t move. Based on the symptoms, I prepared several theories as to what happened to me. Once there was a throbbing pain in the left front part of the head.
I would like to note that I write all this intuitively. For example, I can’t think about something, think about the plan for this entire essay. I am naturally literate and my good training in the Russian language also helped. NEVER USED DRUGS, NEVER DRINKED, NEVER SMOKED. I lead a sedentary lifestyle (I know that I’m trying hard to eradicate this in myself) and often sit at the computer. At the same time, I exercise at home. There is sports equipment. As for mental activity, it is very uneven. Basically there are 2 options: either I work as hard as I can to do something, or I play the fool. I would like to say that my memory was getting worse before that, and there were moments when I could look at a book and read, while thinking about something else and not understanding what I was reading. I have strange habits: washing my hands often, twirling my hair, smelling my fingers after I touch something with them. THERE IS A DISPLACEMENT OF THE CERVICAL VERTEBRES.
I know that I may have turned to the wrong place and that such problems are mainly dealt with by neurologists, but on the neurologists’ website, for some reason unknown to me, the moderator refused to publish the message. In addition, the neurologist I went to advised me to see a psychologist. I ask you, please help me as much as you can. I don't know who else I should turn to. Moderator, I ask you to publish this.
Below I give possible reasons for this. You don’t have to read it, although I recommend reading it.
1) I have a displacement of the cervical vertebrae. Diagnosed a long time ago. At first I received treatment, did exercises, wore a corset, but later I forgot about it. I have been bothered by pain in the area of the spine and cervical vertebrae lately. It happened that the pain flared up, and it was severe, but it went away quite quickly, so I didn’t attach much importance to it. It is possible that something happened to the blood vessels of the brain and blood circulation and blood flow to the brain were disrupted. I haven’t read a lot about this disease. And from the very beginning it seemed to me that this was the most likely assumption.
Even before this unfortunate event, I had such a thing that I could simply look at one point and, as it were, turn off my brain in order to remove all bad thoughts. But I didn't know it was so serious.
ZY I shook the dust off the corset and began wearing it again. Although it may already be too late.
2) Acquired dementia or early stage of this disease. My concentration has gotten very worse. attention, intelligence abilities and memory. Nevertheless, I am still able to adequately do everything, do things that are familiar to me. I just can't think about it all like I used to.
3) Neurosis. At first I could say I was 100 percent sure that it was him. The symptom is obvious. However, now everything has more or less improved. Depression is gone. And in general, at the moment (at the moment. Maybe the medications worked) psychologically everything has settled down. I managed to muster up the remnants of willpower and stop thinking about things that scare me (what if the brain does not return to its previous normal, and what if everything gets worse and I become disabled) What remains is a decrease in performance.
