Losing focus

[mszl]

Anyone struggling with focusing on … basically anything? I feel like my mind is slipping off every topic. I can refocus for a short period of time, but then it goes away again. I link that to medications, as since they actually kicked in and helped with constant anxiety, my brain said: “Uff, what a relief, I need a holiday now … see you, bye!”

 

[Sideways]

Poor concentration - big big issue when mental health is compromised. Extremely common, and can be associated with loads of different disorders.

Some of the common causes that folks here often have going on include Depression, PTSD, Dissociative disorders.

Then you add in meds. The side effect of many meds prescribed for mental illness also make it really hard to concentrate.

Then you add the consequences of other symptoms: for example, poor diet, and poor sleep, make it almost impossible for our brains to concentrate well, even if the disorder, or the meds we’re taking to treat it, haven’t already done the job.

If you’re taking meds for anxiety:
1) if the meds are a benzo, then yup, you can kiss your ability to concentrate goodbye, because they work by relaxing the body and brain, and Brain tend to stop being anxious because it’s on the verge of checking out and going to sleep. Or

2) if you’re taking an SSRI antidepressant, google the info sheet for the medication. There’s a good chance that poor concentration or focus is on there as a potential side effect. Even if it isn’t, have a chat to your prescriber about trying an alternative.

If it’s a dissociative issue (which is the forum you’ve put the post in, so it warrants special attention!), Ground Ground Ground! Learning to practice mindfulness throughout the day will potentially be really helpful, because it’s a gentle but craaaaazy effective way to train your brain to focus. I also highly recommend Yoga Nidra (google-worthy - it’s not what you probably think it is, and it’s super cool). Any of the skills that wake up that frontal lobe in your brain!

But the simplest path for dissociative lack of focus: learn what grounds you, and put together a Grounding Kit: A smooth stone you can hold in your palm (notice how it goes from cool to warm). Mints you can suck on to wake you brain up. An essential oil like lavender. A stress ball. Get creative!

The grounding kits can work really well for people with ptsd, because our brain can decide it’s going to avoid all the potentially triggering stimulus around us by just hitting the off switch and not focusing on anything at all. Grounding tools can help retrain our brain that some stimulus is actually calming to focus on.

 

[arfie]

inability to focus for long periods is a symptom of several things in my own psychotherapy. i don't have enough experience with meds to have much insight there, but avoidance is probably my own most common cause. when i am attempting to repress memories and/or emotions, my focus goes to hell.

when the symptom hits, i work on identifying whatever it is i am avoiding. repeat as needed. once i have identified the avoidance spot and have allowed myself to process whatever is hiding there, it typically becomes easier to set ^it^ aside and get on with the business at hand.

 

[mszl]

@Sideways Thank You for exhaustive response. My meds are SSRI, but I bet on dissociation being the culprit here. Even as a child i was "head in the clouds" type of kid. Unfortunately this escapism was put to the extreme and fires up for any problem I come across. I will work on my grouding :-)

 

[mszl]

The stone technique helps some, but I need more grounding tools and practice. Today, dissociation was really strong, causing me to forget many small things which build tension in my relationship. I feel both ashamed of letting it take over and helpless at the same time.

 

[Ecdysis]

Have you tried starting a thread about this with the forum's AI? It's specialised on trauma/ PTSD/ trauma therapy and comes up with surprisingly helpful ideas and you can keep asking and asking and asking it, to find new aspects/ different approaches/ other explanations...

I don't mean this as opposed to asking us humans here, but additionally.

 

[Sideways]

I need more grounding tools and practice

You can have so much fun with this. My go-to is origami. I carry an emergency pack of origami paper into team meetings at work, but any piece of paper will suffice. I can do that for hours to help myself stay present and focus. I carried a teeny little teddy in my handbag for years that I could just reach in and grip hard or run my fingers over…

But these days, there’s stacks of stuff out there you can use. Mostly marketed to kids for some stupid reason, think fidget spinners, those rubber trays of circles that you can pop back and forth (tactile - very helpful!), little clear containers that you can tip upside down and watch the coloured dye float its way down (visual), sour lollies (taste)…the list is endless.

It doesn’t need to keep making you feel like shit. Make it fun. Personalise with blissful abandon!

I did a trauma group therapy for a long time, with a large group (up to 15 of us in a session). And we would walk into the room and a whole range of this stuff would be set up along the tables for people that didn’t bring their own grounding stuff. Loads of people brought their own stuff, and adult colouring books were a crowd favourite.

People around you don’t need to know that this is a ptsd thing. If anyone ever notices and asks? Just shrug and say “it helps me focus”. It’s normal, super functional, and can definitely fun rather than problematic.

 

[Friday]

I have ADHD, which means that lack of focus? Is because it’s SPLIT, amongst 50-300 different things. At least half of which are faaaar more interesting/important.

Depression, meanwhile, makes staring at a blank wall the most interesting thing I have ever done, completely unable to focus on anything else.

Illness, meanwhile, means no matter how basic/simple a thing is? I. Just. Cannot. Keep. My. Attention. On. It. Reading the same line over, and over, and over, and it still not parsing.

PTSD means I often jerk back, and f*ck that, NO! My mind refusing to focus. Until it’s like there is a blank white wall between me & what Inam attempting to focus on. (Hullo, avoidance.)

Figuring out what’s/what? Priceless. Because it gives me the tools to circumvent.