How do you deal with reduced attention span?

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My attention span is severely reduced when talking about something that doesn't interrests me (pretty much everything
else than my special interests).

When listening to a friend talking about something not interesting, I can usually listen for about half a minute or two to three sentences, before my mind stops paying attention, and my mind begins to sidetrack. I continue to listen, but it's like the words don't make any sense anymore, and I almost don't remember what has been said after that.

My only solution so far is to ask something, or make a comment to break down the conversation into smaller parts, and buy some time to be able to listen again. I know that it annoys people when I do that.

As I wear out during conversation my attention span suffers even more.

Do you have any tricks that works without annoying people?

Im terrible with this too, it makes small talk and conversation with most people really hard. theyll start talking and Ill zone out, then before you know it theyve finished their piece and Im expected to chime in with something, but realise i have no idea what they have just said. then they think im not listening on purpose just to be rude. I hate it. Ive gone to the doctors about it before but they couldnt offer anything to help. If i lived in america i would have got a script for adderall of vyvanse or something by now. British doctors dont prescribe such drugs to hardly anyone though.

My only way to deal with it is to take homeopatic meds. There's no other way.

Ive been thinking about doing that, what sort of stuff do you take? Does it really help?

I have an appointment with a new psyciatrist next month. Maybe I should ask him about it.

Im not sure what the danish stance is on controlled medications (adderall and vyvanse are basically legal speed) but its worth a shot. by all accounts it definately helps.

It seems like Ritalin should work almost like adderall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylphenidate), and I know that Ritalin is commonly prescribed even to children with ADHD in Denmark. Mayby it is worth a try.

Offtopic: Pretty anoying that "The war against drugs" seems to be so important, that even people who need certain drugs to be able to functioning are denied treatment just because someone COULD be abusing the medication ....

The way to deal with a short attention span is...



Oooh, the stars look pwetty...


=P



No but seriously, I have such a short attention span it's unreal. I once spent a two hour lesson trying to think of a good analogy as to how easily distracted I am XD

Mostly I force myself to do something when it needs to be done

I have trouble with my attention sp........................ oh look... a butterfly.

I'm afraid you'll find that I just beat you to that joke =P



My favourite though is the classic my older brother uses: "I suffer from ADHOLAB: Attention Deficit Hyperactive, Oh Look A Bunny!" XD

Damn! We must have both been typing at the same time and you hit 'submit' before me.

Somebody needs to be quicker on the trigger! =P

I take the path of avoidance.

The biggest problem is listening exercises because then you have to pay attention since it's for your exams.
I can't concentrate on it for more then 1 min before being sidetracked by either my thoughts, a cloud, a flickering light ....
What helps a little is when i keep telling myself to pay attention, but then i start thinking about the fact that i need to focus instead of listening to what is being said. XD

( the same applies for normal conversations about things that don't interest me)

Exactly... I've tried to force myself to listen by telling myself to do so, but multitasking is a no-go. Can't listen and think about what to do at the same time.

Actually I have to utilize most of my attention just to understand the meaning of the words and sentences. Semantics tends to overthrow me. Especially common words, which meanings varies depending on context.

It's a good advice, but I really like to communicate with NT's (actually just af few of them).
By the way. I read your blog a few weeks ago. You way of thinking is really very merry berry fascinating!