issues with staying on topic/focused

[Topgunben]

just curious what you guys have done to help with this.

Years ago during my freshman year of college, I was in a pinch to finish a semesters worth of creative writing assignments in 3 days. It was like 100 pages worth of content.

Of course i was supposed to be working on this as i went along, but i put it off, and was about to throw in the towel, but a girl i knew had some Adderall she sold to me. I cant remember the dosage, but it worked so well that i sat down at 2pm in the afternoon on a Friday and worked until 6 am in the morning on Saturday. I was in a non stop focused state and was able to slam it out without any distractions. It was the last time i took it, i felt like it could be addictive, but mostly felt like i was cheating/cutting corners by taking it.

Looking back i wonder if i was wrong. I wonder if Adderall would have had much of a negative effect at all. Ive been able to do pretty well career wise, but its still been a struggle to stay focused. i find myself spending more time trying to keep myself on task then actually accomplishing the task. If you havent experienced what i am talking about, you just wouldnt understand.

Anyway, now i am thinking of leaving my current job to start a business of my own. I know it will require a great deal of focus and dedication. Adderall tempts me as i feel like i can accomplish weeks worth of work in just a few hours.

Thanks for reading Questers

[loramin]

What Are The Long-Term Effects of Heavy Adderall Use?
People who abuse a great deal of Adderall over a long period of time may experience:


Sleep difficulties
Inability to concentrate
Lack of motivation
Depression
Irritability
Lethargy
Fatigue
Aggression
Thoughts of suicide
Mood swings
Paranoia
Hallucinations
Anxiety
Panic attacks
Heart disease
Weight loss
Headaches
Tremors
Constipation


Maybe try seeing a professional psychiatrist and get them to recommend what's appropriate?

[Irulan]

Technology is good.

Paranoia is real fun.

I agree with Loramin. Tell them what ur deal is.

[Mead]

Watch Take Your Pills on Netflix

[Swish2]

Not as anything prescriptive but the movie "Limitless" is worth a look based on this thread.

[Cecily]

I’m gonna see if I can get script for it near future. Pretty positive I’m ADD, minus the hyper.

[ScaringChildren]

Classic ADD.

Try some ADD medication. It'll either work wonders or it'll feel like you're being hamstrung because you can't multi-task as well.

[Cecily]

I’ve been trying to write papers for weeks and I’m either going catatonic or doing something else.

[ScaringChildren]

Adderall will definitely help with that, but it's also addictive.

[Cecily]

I’m ok with a meth addiction if I get a career out of it.

[Cecily]

Each of the ADD subtypes has its own set of symptoms as a result of the abnormal blood flow patterns in the brain, but for the most part, they all share the same core symptoms.

Core Symptoms of ADD

A short attention span for regular, routine, everyday tasks (homework, chores, etc.)
Distractibility
Organization problems (like having a disorganized room and/or always running late)
Procrastination
Problems with follow-through
Poor impulse control (saying or doing something before thinking it through


Inattentive ADD is the second most common type of ADD. Those suffering with this type are usually quiet, more introverted and appear to daydream a lot. They may be labeled as unmotivated—even slow or lazy. Inattentive ADD is common but is often missed because children with this type tend to have fewer behavioral problems. They don’t draw the negative attention to themselves as do those with Classic ADD.

Common Symptoms in Inattentive ADD Include:

Trouble focusing
Easily distracted
Disorganized
Poor follow through
Trouble listening when others talk to them
Problems with time management
Tendency to lose things
Making careless mistakes; poor attention to detail
Forgetfulness
Excessive daydreaming
Complaints of being bored
Appearing unmotivated or apathetic
Being tired, sluggish or slow moving
Appearing “spacey” or preoccupied
Inattentive ADD is the perfect example of why the general term “ADHD” does not fit all ADD types. If clinicians and parents are looking for hyperactivity to reach a diagnosis, those with this type, which is absent of hyperactivity, may be left untreated and go on living life below their true potential.

Inattentive ADD SPECT scan findings show normal activity at rest, but during concentration there tends to be decreased activity in the underside of the prefrontal cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia.

[Cecily]

I’m a good listener but every single other thing applies.

[America]

i contemplate an amphetamine scrip every year. if i wasnt a teeth grindr wood be all over it

[ScaringChildren]

grindr

heh

[beargryllz]

Most doctors write Vyvanse now. It's amphetamine bound to some amino acid so it slowly gets released throughout the day instead of one massive hit that fades in 4 hours requiring another dose

I was on it and it helped me immensely in medical school. I used the same dose the entire time.

[Irulan]

Physiopharmaceutical Augmentation (http://deusex.wikia.com/wiki/Physiopharmaceutical_augmentation)

Going for WiB myself personally. What's not to like about decreased pain response and explosive self termination?

https://i.imgur.com/53t7aZM.png

Also the Dragon Tooth nanotech sword!

[Cecily]

And just got ADHD diagnosis, yay :(

[mickmoranis]

just curious what you guys have done to help with this.

Years ago during my freshman year of college, I was in a pinch to finish a semesters worth of creative writing assignments in 3 days. It was like 100 pages worth of content.

Of course i was supposed to be working on this as i went along, but i put it off, and was about to throw in the towel, but a girl i knew had some Adderall she sold to me. I cant remember the dosage, but it worked so well that i sat down at 2pm in the afternoon on a Friday and worked until 6 am in the morning on Saturday. I was in a non stop focused state and was able to slam it out without any distractions. It was the last time i took it, i felt like it could be addictive, but mostly felt like i was cheating/cutting corners by taking it.

Looking back i wonder if i was wrong. I wonder if Adderall would have had much of a negative effect at all. Ive been able to do pretty well career wise, but its still been a struggle to stay focused. i find myself spending more time trying to keep myself on task then actually accomplishing the task. If you havent experienced what i am talking about, you just wouldnt understand.

Anyway, now i am thinking of leaving my current job to start a business of my own. I know it will require a great deal of focus and dedication. Adderall tempts me as i feel like i can accomplish weeks worth of work in just a few hours.

Thanks for reading Questers

Society suffers from this, becasue of the internet. Until world war 3 happens and we re-boot society, we will continue to protect people who have genes that allow them to become distracted instead of having a strong work ethic being how you survive.

After the war we will continue our progress towards the super human our evolution wants us to become.

But for now we are stuck in this phase where the least valuable people have created a system that protects and elevates them above the most valuable people.

So dont feel bad, try to help push the world towards the brink of war as best you can, and hold onto your butt!

[loramin]

And just got ADHD diagnosis, yay :(

Be careful Cec: ADHD is extremely easy to misdiagnose.

Source: There was literally just an article in the news yesterday about how kids born in a certain month were diagnosed with ADHD far more. Was it because being born in that month gives you ADHD? No, it's because that month is the cut-off point for school entry. In other words, the youngest kids in each class were diagnosed with ADHD far more than others, but it wasn't because they had more ADHD, it was because they were younger kids acting their age (as is 100% normal).

Also, I was diagnosed (by a therapist I'd seen for several years) with ADHD at the end of high school. Went to college with Adderall, and at first I was like "this is great, I can finally be productive". But then the side effects began to get to me, so I stopped taking it.

Fast forward to my senior year of college, when I had my first true manic episode, wound up in a mental hospital, and learned that I had Bipolar, not ADHD. If anything the Adderall was making my condition worse, not better, so it's a good thing I stopped taking it.

Even with Bipolar drugs I'm still not perfectly productive. I have many days when I want to do something, but just don't have the motivation to do so, and I know that I could pop an Adderall and be productive. But that would just make me more likely to have Bipolar swings, and what I really need to do is instead deal with the depression that looks extremely like ADHD but is caused by a different underlying condition. I need to clean, or exercise, or meditate, not pop a pill (and then go to bed at my normal bedtime that night).

Not saying that you don't have ADHD; you very well might. And whether you do or not, I'm not saying that taking Adderall is the wrong solution: it's a really good drug for motivating you. I'm just saying be careful: this your brain, literally the thing that defines who you are as a person. You don't want to fuck it up, and Adderall can make things feel better when its actually making them worse (just like speed, which it is fairly similar to).

P.S. But at the same time, when it comes to mental health, you can't self-diagnose, so you do need to trust mental health professionals like the one that diagnosed you. I'm just saying, keep in mind that they're fallible humans too, and don't just think "I 100% have ADHD and it's perfectly fine to take as much Adderall as I want", think "I've been diagnosed with this thing, and I'm going to follow the doctors advice on drugs ... but also be skeptical/cynical and monitor myself too."

P.P.S. If you do have ADHD, Driven to Distraction is a great book. It will convince just about anyone who reads it that they have ADHD, because it describes the very generic symptoms very broadly, but it's also full of helpful ideas.

[Irulan]

Cecily doesn't want antidepressants. She wants speeeeeed.


I don't blame her.

Godspeed...

[JurisDictum]

I’ve been trying to write papers for weeks and I’m either going catatonic or doing something else.

You have to train yourself to just start mindlessly writing out a very boring paper. Then you edit from there. Just get that first terrible draft out.

Most people procrastinate because they want all their papers to be really good. They keep re-writing the opening and deciding they want to do different things or something doesn't sound right.

But college is mostly trying to see if you can write a few pages on whatever topic in a timely matter. Not if your the next big wig intellectual. You don't need a great piece of writing to get an A. You need one that adequately responds to the prompt.

If your essay is easy to read and more simple it will probably get a better grade. The most common problem college students from modest backgrounds have is they don't quite understand this is how you get good grades in college. Not by impressing the pants off the professors with big words and complicated points they never heard before.

[loramin]

You have to train yourself to just start mindlessly writing out a very boring paper. Then you edit from there. Just get that first terrible draft out.

Most people procrastinate because they want all their papers to be really good. They keep re-writing the opening and deciding they want to do different things or something doesn't sound right.

But college is mostly trying to see if you can write a few pages on whatever topic in a timely matter. Not if your the next big wig intellectual. You don't need a great piece of writing to get an A. You need one that adequately responds to the prompt.

If your essay is easy to read and more simple it will probably get a better grade. The most common problem college students from modest backgrounds have is they don't quite understand this is how you get good grades in college. Not by impressing the pants off the professors with big words and complicated points they never heard before.

Excellent advice JD. "Just start", even if it means doing the easiest thing possible (making an outline or writing your ideas as a stream of consciousness with no direction) is a hugely helpful approach to dealing with a lack of motivation. Once you get in the flow doing the harder parts (like editing and organizing) really won't seem hard.

[Irulan]

I just became an expert bullshit artist, then if stuff needed accuracy I researched it and edited. Yall get my unfiltered writing here.

JD is right though. U have to learn to stream dump the files on a topic, header, and filesystem metadata and all.

Then once you've done that quickly and terribly 1-3x u have something to work from. Or towards, with better finesse.

A+ advice from JD

It's also really liberating to be able to mangle the universes metadata thru ur brainbus raw.

[America]

It's also really liberating to be able to mangle the universes metadata thru ur brainbus raw.
i still get wet for u i think i allways will

[Irulan]

i still get wet for u i think i allways will

I always enjoy you. Even when hit with envy. Longing for youth. Your spirit rustling lightly luminously and new. It's like we've always knew. 🥂

[Cecily]

You have to train yourself to just start mindlessly writing out a very boring paper. Then you edit from there. Just get that first terrible draft out.

Most people procrastinate because they want all their papers to be really good. They keep re-writing the opening and deciding they want to do different things or something doesn't sound right.

But college is mostly trying to see if you can write a few pages on whatever topic in a timely matter. Not if your the next big wig intellectual. You don't need a great piece of writing to get an A. You need one that adequately responds to the prompt.

If your essay is easy to read and more simple it will probably get a better grade. The most common problem college students from modest backgrounds have is they don't quite understand this is how you get good grades in college. Not by impressing the pants off the professors with big words and complicated points they never heard before.

You’re making a few highly insulting insinuations I don’t appreciate. I’m a strong writer. I don’t mass produce bullshit like most idiots with degrees.

Fuck off with this “+A” trash.

[JurisDictum]

Sorry about that Cecily. I was kind of using your post as a chance to show off how good my advice on getting A's is. That was impolite.

[Irulan]

You’re making a few highly insulting insinuations I don’t appreciate. I’m a strong writer. I don’t mass produce bullshit like most idiots with degrees.

Fuck off with this “+A” trash.

Maybe u need to be a less perfect writer to get through it and get a passing grade.

Your command of language is commendable. It's the process of creativity you seemed to be struggling with.

Creative ppl do make a lot of random stuff that gets discarded.

[Cecily]

I need to find something compelling and a way to make that argument or I can not write. It’s an executive functioning fuck up, apparently.

I don’t want a passing grade. I want an A. That’s the only way academics appeals to me. I’m gonna turn this diagnosis into extra time and write my quality paper when I fucking feel like it (which will probably be when I’m high on speed).

[America]

didnt read much of tghese posts, but wanted to say, my approach is throw alot at the wall and a few things will stick and look woke. and these bustaz will read it all anyway. ha ha ha

[ScaringChildren]

https://imgur.com/FmwjQfF.gif

[Irulan]

didnt read much of tghese posts, but wanted to say, my approach is throw alot at the wall and a few things will stick and look woke. and these bustaz will read it all anyway. ha ha ha

I just post for myself so I can read it 4 or 5 times to myself after every refresh then I look for another thread.

[America]

https://imgur.com/FmwjQfF.gif

ill have longer hair & plastic surgery budget @ that age

jerk

[maskedmelon]

i have trouble focusing on things that don't interest me, but zero problemo checking out into things that interest me or are simple and repetitive. best way I have found to ingest large volumes of useless information is one piece at a time. reading also helped. used to have to read the same damn page liek 5 times before I'd get the whole thing in even if I was interested in it. my brain just happened to float around. things i have done to improve:

1. work in the dark or with a lamp. fluorescents are too stimulating
2. step back and let go. usually involves exhaling and looking at the texture of the papers on my desk or keyboard or something.
3. take time to stare at the wall every couple hours
4. walk around as often as possible

[Patriam1066]

Take a break for 5 minutes every 2 hours

Listen to classical music, I suggest Chopin

Don’t be a pussy

And Remember, if you don’t focus, you’ll end up working at Walmart with groids

Only needed 4 steps for success, suck it Jordan Peterson

[Wonkie]

my approach is throw alot at the wall and a few things will stick and look woke. and these bustaz will read it all anyway. ha ha ha

[Ahldagor]

Take a break for 5 minutes every 2 hours

Listen to classical music, I suggest Chopin

Don’t be a pussy

And Remember, if you don’t focus, you’ll end up working at Walmart with groids

Only needed 4 steps for success, suck it Jordan Peterson

Chopin is nice. I'm an opera man, Puccini delivers every time. Of course it might be the hand job I got from an ex during Tosca that formed my opinion.

[Mead]

I don't hold it against anyone who uses ritalin, adderall, vyvanse, or whatever your poison is, in order to study. I've tried it myself. It gives no intellectual advantage, and in fact, there's plenty of research to show it hinders you in a couple of ways. But if it works for you, go for it. Just know the risks and accept the consequences if they happen.

[Cecily]

If you have the time, Mead, would you mind posting / Pming some relevant research please? More interested in the hindering aspect.

[Irulan]

If you have the time, Mead, would you mind posting / Pming some relevant research please? More interested in the hindering aspect.

Hey, hey, you addy.

Watch Take Your Pills on Netflix

[Topgunben]

I can say with 100% certainty that Adderall helped me focus. Not sure if it made me smarter, but I think that's splitting hairs.

I guess I'd just like to know how it will affect me 30 years down the road if I do take it religiously. Will it give me short term success with long term problems? Or is it something where I can re-up my med every couple years and be just fine.

Is Adderall like steroids? Taken in small, regulated amounts under the right conditions, are the harmful aspects nominal? Man I wish there were more long term research on this stuff.

[Cecily]

They been feeding kids Ritalin etc for 30 years+

There’s definitely research.