Short Attention Span

So I was diagnosed with ADD as a child at the age of 5 or 6. Whether that is a real condition or "disorder", as it's called, is up for debate, but the fact is there are certain types of people who exhibit certain characteristics, and inattentiveness is one of them. I do a lot of reading (mostly non-fiction), and it's very hard for me to read a book from beginning to end, so I usually just end up skimming through it at random until I come across something interesting. I do this until I've read the "entire" book (or so it seems), and some parts several times over. There's other parts I don't end up reading at all; either because it covers something I already know, or I am just not interested in a particular section (usually because I've already read about it somewhere else).

Some nights when am online, I am basically just wasting time bouncing around from page to page because I cannot seem to focus on one thing for too long. I even find it hard to sit through a YouTube video that's any longer than 15 minutes. I sometimes can only watch a little bit at a time, and then sometimes I end up only half watching something, either forgetting to go back to it or just not interested in going back to it.

I am very good at articulating my feelings and opinions in writing, but at times I feel my attempts to articulate in spoken words results in a jumbled, unintelligible mess. I feel it's because my thought process is so internalized, and spoken words represent a connection to that exterior world I am in many ways shut off from. For me there is more of a connection to what I am saying when I am writing or typing it out, vs. speaking about it. However, sometimes times I can come across extremely well and very much put together, especially when it deals with something I am interested in or passionate about.

So my attention span has always made it hard for me to get shit done, even though the things in life I have managed to achieve have been done quite well. I often wonder what I would be capable of if I was more able to, as they say, "get my shit together."

Part of it also has to do with the fact that I am cognizant of the fact that, as the late Bill Hicks said, "it's just a ride" (referring to life).

 

i don't recall the term "add" existing, outside of math class, when i was 5 or 6, which would have been in 1953 or 4 (born in 1948 if i have the subtraction right).

i did have attention span problems, and i sometimes think my life would have been better had i staid impatient and kept my attention span short.
then again, seeing how today's world is so thoroughly mismanaged by the short attentions spans of many if not most, of the people who rise to having the greatest influence, maybe not.

my attention span problem was culturally rooted. in what adults assumed would be of either benefit or use to children.
without of course, ever taking their children's own actual perspective on the matter very seriously.

perhaps they can be excused by their culture at the time, and that of their parents.
at any rate there was so much wrong, there's really no beginning to begin at.
a not that unusual problem really, but i digress.

we are all capable of attention spans both long and short.
what holds our attention does and what does not does not.
and the problem, the mistake really, is to try to generalize that into a one size fits all, from one person to the next. which there really isn't.

jane can run was a pointless soap opera. no i'm not talking about a 90s something, whenever it was made, b-class movie,
i'm referring to the textbooks we actually had in primary school, before dr suess came along, which was a couple of years too late for me.

fortunately my father taught me how to read, from emerson and therou, before i started kindergarten, or i seriously doubt i ever would have.

spelling and math, unfortunately were not his forte, and while i have no aversion to what higher math can do, i was held back needlessly.
as was my pursuit of science classes in high school deliberately sabotaged.

i've also never entirely gotten over emotionally, the neo-feudalism that was inflicted on at that time.

 

very recently ive gotten into speed reading and other reading techniques. one reading technique that ive read about was "skimming" through books to get their main ideas. books dont have to be read from front cover to back cover. i think someone who can skim through 10 books and get their main ideas will have more knowledge than someone who can read a whole book cover to cover and understand it perfectly. but thats just my opinion not based on any studies or anything.

there is alot of debate about adhd and add being real, in my opinion its just being over-diagnosed. people have to realize that focusing on anything is really hard. just sitting and trying to meditate for more than 15 minutes is hard so of course reading boring school shit that doesn't interest you is going to be hard.

but i definitely believe that you can strengthen this "muscle" if you work it out and reading and meditating are probably the best exercises. i have personal experience with this, spending some time living with monks in a monastery. at first i was only able to meditate for 15-20 minutes at the most, and i would end up falling asleep alot of the times. after a few months i was meditating for a good 90 minutes straight.

it took alot of work to be able to build up to that level. i remember i had to completely let go of the outside world and focus "inward". im sure you know what im talking about, any little thing that pops into your brain will distract you. just thinking about my cellphone back in my room would throw me off, or thinking about what im going to eat for breakfast, or maybe somebody said something important that kept poping up in my head. its hard to turn off thoughts completely, but this skill has helped me immensely. definitely helps when im coding for long periods of time.


on a side note, i recommend getting into speed reading. it has changed my life. i used to think that speed was a trade-off for comprehension, but i have noticed that speed comes first and eventually comprehension follows. in other words, reading faster was easier and at first my comprehension and recall went down, but after i kept practicing my comprehension and recall increased. it makes reading alot more fun too. i used to read a little every day and by the time i finished the book, i would have a hard time recalling what happens in the beginning of the book. the last book i read was gone girl, and i read it in probably 3-4 hours in the span of 2 days. now im reading big 'ol thick books that i was scared to read back in the day. i dont think this would work very well with very technical books like physics books or when you are studying, but for fiction books, it kicks ass. it literally feels like a superpower. like im in the matrix and i can download stuff directly to my brain! (im gonna start a thread on this)

also, when im doing really boring shit, i smoke some weed. ive noticed that i can focus on boring stuff like homework and math way better when im high.

 

kind of funny how the thread titled "short attention span" contains nothing but long posts. until now anyway.

 

I was reading some mental health journals today, and one of them mentioned that ADHD seems to be a cultural thing, a sort of overcompensation by the brain, adapting to cultures where information is typically presented in short, fast paced snippets. Video games, television, even things that we read are getting shorter and shorter. So the brain sort of specializes in this processing fast moving, small information, but struggles to focus on longer things, like reading or paying attention for too long.

 

i read about a hypothesis that ADD type "symptoms" or traits could have been beneficial at certain points in human history / evolution. if food is scarce, or if you are in an otherwise poor environment, displaying ADD type behavior would be a good idea and help you find a better place or more food.

i think ADD also has a lot to do with what youfreeme just said.

 

My thoughts exactly. I didnt have the attention span to read it.

 

if I told my father I have ADD or ADHD he would throw me out in the work world and say fucking deal with it. Do you need a hospital for add? No you need some fucking balls. Grow a pair.

fucking deal with it...

add, adhd,,, lol please that's all a bunch of bullshit, label yourself more so people can feel sorry for your selfish individual.

l

 

jesus....lol^

I don;t know what all of those terms mean either....

 

With so much in the world to grab someone's attention....you better grab me within the first few minutes.....

joking....it took me quite a few chapters to really get into War and Peace...not a sensational beginning there.

 

add means I don't pay attention because I don't want to pay attention now I have add.

add the H and you get hyper... so the person has energy.

put the fucker in a boxing ring and the add will go away.

 

lulz

0:52-1:16.

http://youtu.be/4QoUz8zvIn0

 

right....I don't pay attention when I don't want to either.....

 

I have to be really interested in something to actively study it. my attention span is only about an hour before I get tired and have to take a break. I think some topics are truly challenging and I'm interested in highly technical things but I think I have adhd because I was diagnosed as a child which could have been wrong but sometimes when I get tired of studying a certain thing I can switch topics and that helps. even if it's a different subtopics within the same larger topic as long as I get fresh information I can get a little bit more out of my attention span.

 

What was this thread about?

 

truth is seldom simple enough to be expressed briefly. i won't say never. but seldom. thus ignorance and superstition rise once again to feudalistic dominance.

 

i was diagnosed with autism. but for a long time i think i was missed diagnosed and i am actually have ADD, because everything you just said resonates with me. i totally understand where you are coming from too. I find it hard to focus and i get easily bored with people too, and its nothing personal. i just lose focus very quickly. my tolerance is short to. and i ask a lot of questions, which seems to always piss people off. i cant come to this conclusion though that life is just a ride. i love bill hicks. but i am more of the sarte school of thought.

 

Then why don't you heal yourself?


Hotwater

 

heal what? cant change what i think is right.

 

PR, these AD things are very real I know......short attention span. Is it any wonder with what the world has become that it is becomming an epidemic...almost new wave epidemic....Did you hear much about these conditions in the olden days when things were much more slow paced. Look at this fast moving world, the internet, tv, etc....so much can come at a person in this day and age without any time to take for oneself to just enjoy the simple things anymore......and be of mind and spiritual health.....
I have also heard that toxins in the environment and in our foods do not help either. i am sure you know these things, though.