Concentration Vs Distraction - What Is The Difference

[ghotiff]

I would like to understand if there is a difference between difficulty in concentrating or difficulty not being distracted.

Since starting therapy (which went bad for a bit), I have found that I keep getting distracted by thinking about my past, my current issues, what to do with respect to therapy etc. On bad days I struggle stay focused on the task I'm meant to do as menial tasks all seem so trivial to my 'larger' issues.

Is this a concentration issue. To me it feels more like I'm distracted. For example, when it comes to researching or diary writing about my current issues I can concentrate fine....so its not really a concentration thing, its just that I can't keep my mind focused on anything else cause I get too distracted by trying to manage my issues.

Its not really intrusive thoughts either (I think), because I'm not having negative images of my past or anything like that...

 

[shimmerz]

@ghotiff. I have recently been working with the 'is this helping me move forward' phrase. When I do something I try to assess (although not always successfully) whether this is helping me move forward or keeping me stuck. Any gut feeling on that? Distractions keep you stuck in my opinion. Others may feel differently and hope there is more feedback there for you as it is an excellent question that I would be thrilled to see more input on.

 

[ghotiff]

'is this helping me move forward' phrase

Nice quote. Yes, this is helping me move forward because I'm not looping around aimlessly....I'm getting somewhere. But its hard forcing myself to concentrate at work, and my house is a mess.

 

[shimmerz]

And I bet that will change as you move forward with this stuff. All that matters to me is your statement

I'm getting somewhere.

That means things can't help but to get better. I am cheering for you @ghotiff. Always.

 

[Justmehere]

I struggle with both - to the point I've been repeatedly diagnosed with ADD. My therapist thinks it's more trauma related.

I think maybe you are experiencing a difficulty with both. It sounds a little like your mind keeps wandering and is struggling to concentrate in the middle of distracting internal stimuli.

Sometimes it gets do hard for me I can't even read a sentence without my mind wandering to some other subject. It is frustrating.

When my other PTSD symptoms get better and as I process more trauma, I find that my ability to concentrate in the middle of internal or external distractions gets a lot better. I hope it gets better for you too.