Can't Focus

[Wolvescry]

I have summer classes, and I am so frustrated because I can not focus on my readings. I keep reading the same sentence over and over again, and my brain just cannot retain the info. I have an appointment to possibly get on meds, but thats not until two weeks. I am hoping to get something to help me focus, but I am also so scared of how I will react to them, I feel like shit.

 

[KwanYingirl]

I have been trained to help readers overcome their difficulty reading and comprehending what they read. There are tons of strategies but I'll just mention a couple. Read aloud, as if you're reading to a child. Do one paragraph at a time then paraphrase it in your notebook. When you master one paragraph, try reading two, and so on.

This one requires two or more people. Put questions on index cards-who?, what?, why?, You take turns reading the paragraphs then each person takes a card, and take turns composing a question (orally) about what you just read. You can do this alone, too. But until you feel clearer, reading orally will engage your prefrontal cortex which is linked to short and long term memory.

I have used these strategies with college students and they have all improved their comprehension significantly.

 

[Wolvescry]

Wow thanks! I will try that, I will let you know if it helped tonight

 

[KwanYingirl]

Good luck! It's all about multi sensory input-kind of like grounding techniques that involve all the senses

 

[Wolvescry]

Do you have any grounding techniques you can recomend

 

[Wolvescry]

The tips did help alot, but today was a tough dissociative day. But pushing myself to follow some guideline and study aids helped a bunch.

 

[KwanYingirl]

That's great. Don't expect perfection, every new perspective takes time.

I wish I was better at grounding. I am dissociative. Getting up and moving helps me. Getting involved in anything productive. Running my hands under cold water. Sucking an Altoid. Reading affirmations (or from memory if you don't want to read-visualize comforting scenes).

What's up? Do you have any idea what's behind the dissociating? Triggers?

 

[greenleaf]

Can you exercise, and do you have access to something where you can exercise and read? I've found that at times I can take in reading best if I get on a treadmill or exercise bike, get my heartrate up a bit, and spend an hour or so on the material. Some machines have platforms for reading material. I put the "speed" pretty low so it's easy to balance, but crank up the angle/resistance so my body is getting rid of stress.