Reading Comprehension With People Around

[greentea21]

I noticed since middle-school I had trouble understanding what I read when there are people around me. I hated it when teachers tell the class to read something silently. No matter how hard I concentrate, its extremely difficult to understand the material. Times up and discussion begins. I start crossing my fingers and hoping teacher doesn't call me out. This still happens up to this day.

What does this mean, and does it have anything to do with PTSD?

 

[Bethan]

Pre-PTSD I was a very avid reader and writer, largely in the academic sense. Post- PTSD, I can't concentrate enough to read, it's far worse when there are people around. Anything too serious, too academic, with any substance, with paragraphs that are too long- it's a no go. Lately I've found that fantasy books with absolutely NO substance and a very low reading level are manageable and help my brain focus on something besides triggers and paranoia.

 

[janej32]

This happens to me too, I also feel anxious when I have to write in front of other people. Not sure if it,s PTSD related because I have a social anxiety disorder so I have just attributed it to that.

 

[Meadowsweet]

I don't think I've ever been able to concentrate on reading when there are people around, even before PTSD.

With PTSD I can't take the written word in very well at all. I have to take bits from academic books, and I do that by reading for short periods and writing down key information as I go.

 

[maddog]

Stupidly, sadly, I'm finding it really hard to step up and acknowledge that I too can relate to this problem. For some reason I think I've held onto denial for a long long time around this issue.

I used to be an obsessive reader, both personally and professionally, and had what was really an extraordinary ability to absorb even very complex information, analyse and synthesise it and to retain that information. I could perform similarly in a written context, again both personally and professionally. My work has always demanded the ability to both read and write at a very high and analytical level, and I could...

Those days are further away now than I want to believe. Often I struggle to concentrate or focus on what I am reading at all, made all the worse by distraction or human observation in my physical environment, but real enough even in the absence of these things. I can read a document a dozen times and have no, or limited, ability, to comfidently summarise or be sure of its content or meaning.

Sometimes I'm ok... but not that often.

The same goes for writing. The lengthy detailed documents I could churn out at light speed are a thing of the past. Sometimes writing anything at all is impossible. The cognitive paralysis and the loss of linguistic mastery scare me.

Is it PTSD? General stress? Anxiety? Depression? Extreme fatigue? A combination of all of the above?

I don't know. I just know it's real.

Maddog

 

[Bethan]

Trauma happened while I was working on my Masters degree in Mexico- at the time, I thought the lack of focus was just due to massive amounts of reading in my second language. Since then, I've realized that it wasn't reading in Spanish that was the problem, just reading in general. At this point, I've put off starting my phd for over a year because I'm just not sure I would be capable of concentrating on so much reading and writing.

No therapists specialize in PTSD where I'm living now and I haven't been able to find any help for this particular problem. If anyone has any tips or suggestions, I'm open to trying anything at this point!

 

[Gamereign555]

It could be an anticipation thing. You aware that others' are waiting on you word for word. That kind of thing might bother me as well. It's not always a reading thing. It's going to take some practice and awareness of what exactly is at work here.

There are others that read and have no idea what they have read also, try to imagine emotion and a voice to the words in your mind and the words will flow with understanding. Reading aloud is hard for me because showing emotions in this way is embarrassing to me, it takes practice but has to be achieved on some level to prevent your words from sounding monotone to others and yourself.

That idiot in the front of the class that reads like a dork actually knows what he/she is doing though. The annunciations and subtle way the words are said by this person not only helps the audience understand but helps the reader by allowing the brain more reference points to remember, understand and then read on with confidence in a way that makes it seem like he/she knows what is coming up next though he/she might not.

 

[Barberian]

If I have someone "over my sholder" while I am reading, or someone waiting on me, I can't do it for the most part. If I'm alone here in my computer room, it depends on my stress level and the expected length of what I am reading. The longer threads with the larger posts, I have to skim them at best regardless of my stress. That is why I have to put an intro in the post to relate it usually to the OP's post, not to where the thread has wandered off to that I couldn't read and/or follow. Hope that made sense...

 

[Grama-Herc]

Well, now I know why I can't read with people around AND why I retain NOTHING of what I read. I am also unable to understand written instructions and instruction manuals. This is while at home. This has to be ptsd related.

I have so many books I want to read and yet I just can't. If I try, I forget the characters of the book and always need to search back to find a name(character) and identify it and it's relationship to others AGAIN>

This certainly explains why I had so much trouble in school. But what is the actual reason this is going on? Is this just another part of the "Full Cup" theory?

 

[Triun3]

I can relate to everyone's problems. The pre-PTSD reading reluctance and meager comprehension..etc. Indeed I can also remember the what little reading comprehension I possessed evaporating (of course it was wasn't all of the sudden but it kinda was and it was a hilariously absurd situation in the lobby of a hotel in Munich). Since then, in the clawing and climbing from the depths I learned to use the raw energy of PTSD mixed with intellectual rage to read on unprecedented levels. I found a field of truth that was personally most important as well as collectively (I could elaborate if your interested, basically Ken Wilber writings).

To Bethan and the query for suggestions I have many (a few essentials and multitudes of nuances). Firstly I'd suggest looking into the vitamin Niacin. I cannot rave enough about it. I strove in every means conceivable for progress and found it in many forms but few as bountiful as Niacin. It was suggested to avoid the flush free kind because its biologically less effective. And since many people find the flush too much the time released version is preferable. Size of dose is of concern because a PTSD sufferer may require high-ish doses but too much without the proper diet can cause increased stomach acidity or ulcers-I know from experience (and other side effect, yes even vitamins have side effects, so does everything when you think about it).

Other than that find outlets and people you can relate to -digitally is nice, organically is better :)!!!

Regards,

Austin