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This is really just a matter of maturity and discipline. The OP is unable to say "No" to themself. Having discipline is being able to power through the boring

by steven2012 12y ago

This is really just a matter of maturity and discipline. The OP is unable to say "No" to themself. Having discipline is being able to power through the boring stuff because you know it's important. OP does not need ADD drugs, all they need to do is commit to finishing a task, and not to pick up anything new until the current task is completed, no matter how "fun" the other tasks seem.

Magpies 12y ago
I agree. I wasn't like this before. Now I have no more backbone, no discipline.
- flurpitude 12y ago
  Maybe you've overdone it a bit and lost track of what originally got you into all of this. If you scatter yourself and chase every shiny thing your core motivation gets kind of burnt out but you don't notice it for a while because all those more superficial obsessive drives keep going once the main engine has run out of gas. Perhaps take it easier for a while until you feel a deep urge to do a particular project. I got like this after many years of study. So much to learn, I turned everywhere at once and learned many things. After several years I ended up feeling lost - this forest was infinitely deep and infinitely broad, and I didn't know where in it I wanted to go. Though I still had personal identifications that said "this is what you do, you're good at this" and the superficial curiosity to keep learning new things, the deep sense of direction was gone. The only thing I've found that lets it regrow is to give yourself a break, do something different with your life for a bit. When a deep motivation grows, the shiny things won't distract you from it. When they do distract you that's a sign that your deeper drive has withered somewhat. You can't force it to regrow; you have to wait for it to do that on its own.
- steven2012 12y ago
  Now is as good of a time to start developing this. All you have to do is just stick with a single task and complete it. Then do this over and over again and it will turn into a habit.
- paul_milovanov 12y ago
  Consider this: you mentioned a history of depression. Depression doesn't have to be at the level of a major depression to affect your functioning. And moderate chronic depression will certainly affect your focus. I hope I'm wrong, but you should really go and talk to a good psychiatrist/psychologist and see what kind of help you can get and whatever else you might be dealing with. And don't imagine that it means that you're fucked up in some kind of way: last year 13% of Canadians sought services of mental health professionals. That doesn't include those that aren't getting help for their conditions.
NathanWilliams 12y ago
I have a problem with your "OP does not need ADD drugs" comment. How do you know? ADHD is a real condition. You wouldn't tell someone with bipolar that they don't need anti-depression medication and instead just need to "stop being depressed". You clearly don't know how hard it is to push through daily even with medication. Please be more empathetic regarding mental conditions you personally don't experience.
- inDigiNeous 12y ago
  I am bipolar, adhd, add, whatever. "Stop being depressed" definitely doesn't work, but I dont really believe descriping mind altering drugs is the solution either. Especially to little kids as they are doing these days. There are better ways. Drugs only block the problem, but there are methods to overcome this dis-ease. Believe me when I say I have been there. About 15 years depressed, always full of energy, but very difficult to concentrate it on any one thing. At some point self medicated for years with natural remedies, but ultimately only got addicted and had to let go of it completely, which vas very difficult and dont recommend to anyone. Only thing truly that has helped me is meditation and yoga. Those two. They require no drugs, only discipline. Through this practice I am now able to focus, I am now able to relax, let go. I believe ADHD is a condition which rises from the fact that our society and systems have become ever more complex, while our methods of working have not been adapted to this, and we are trying to cope with old methods of just "grunting it" through, when we need more of just letting go, relaxing, stopping and letting our systems be at ease. Just to offer an alternative view on this condition, from someone who has suffered with this for the better part of my life and finally realized how to cope with it. It requires work, yes, but all good things in life do. The medical companies know how easy it is just to sell some drugs and make a buck, and get people addicted.. so we are being bombed with false information also, which makes this very difficult, but I would recommend yoga & meditation & mindfulness to anybody who is suffering from this.
  - falcolas 12y ago
    > but there are methods to overcome this dis-ease. No, no there are not. The ADHD brain does not produce the dopamine they need to allow the neurons to transmit information properly. Medicines address this in a way that no amount of meditation or Yoga or fru-fru dieting can. > Just to offer an alternative view on this condition, from someone who has suffered with this for the better part of my life and finally realized how to cope with it. It requires work, yes, but all good things in life do. I'm glad your ADHD was mild enough that coping mechanisms were enough. Never assume that this is the case for everyone, just because it's the case for you. The difference is pretty major - for someone who does not have ADHD, the medications make them high. For someone with ADHD, it just makes the brain work the way it should in the first place. It doesn't make us hyper, it doesn't make us high, it doesn't give us boundless reserves of energy. What it does do is let us think about things in the future in a way which impacts what we do today. It lets us connect intention to action, which is really hard without it. It lets us concentrate for more than a few moments at a time. > get people addicted The clinical dose for Adderal is typically in the 10-90 mg per day range; addicitive levels are around 350 mg per day. Stop spreading FUD.

Magpies 12y ago

I agree. I wasn't like this before. Now I have no more backbone, no discipline.

flurpitude 12y ago
Maybe you've overdone it a bit and lost track of what originally got you into all of this. If you scatter yourself and chase every shiny thing your core motivation gets kind of burnt out but you don't notice it for a while because all those more superficial obsessive drives keep going once the main engine has run out of gas. Perhaps take it easier for a while until you feel a deep urge to do a particular project. I got like this after many years of study. So much to learn, I turned everywhere at once and learned many things. After several years I ended up feeling lost - this forest was infinitely deep and infinitely broad, and I didn't know where in it I wanted to go. Though I still had personal identifications that said "this is what you do, you're good at this" and the superficial curiosity to keep learning new things, the deep sense of direction was gone. The only thing I've found that lets it regrow is to give yourself a break, do something different with your life for a bit. When a deep motivation grows, the shiny things won't distract you from it. When they do distract you that's a sign that your deeper drive has withered somewhat. You can't force it to regrow; you have to wait for it to do that on its own.
steven2012 12y ago
Now is as good of a time to start developing this. All you have to do is just stick with a single task and complete it. Then do this over and over again and it will turn into a habit.
paul_milovanov 12y ago
Consider this: you mentioned a history of depression. Depression doesn't have to be at the level of a major depression to affect your functioning. And moderate chronic depression will certainly affect your focus. I hope I'm wrong, but you should really go and talk to a good psychiatrist/psychologist and see what kind of help you can get and whatever else you might be dealing with. And don't imagine that it means that you're fucked up in some kind of way: last year 13% of Canadians sought services of mental health professionals. That doesn't include those that aren't getting help for their conditions.

NathanWilliams 12y ago

I have a problem with your "OP does not need ADD drugs" comment. How do you know? ADHD is a real condition. You wouldn't tell someone with bipolar that they don't need anti-depression medication and instead just need to "stop being depressed". You clearly don't know how hard it is to push through daily even with medication. Please be more empathetic regarding mental conditions you personally don't experience.

inDigiNeous 12y ago
I am bipolar, adhd, add, whatever. "Stop being depressed" definitely doesn't work, but I dont really believe descriping mind altering drugs is the solution either. Especially to little kids as they are doing these days. There are better ways. Drugs only block the problem, but there are methods to overcome this dis-ease. Believe me when I say I have been there. About 15 years depressed, always full of energy, but very difficult to concentrate it on any one thing. At some point self medicated for years with natural remedies, but ultimately only got addicted and had to let go of it completely, which vas very difficult and dont recommend to anyone. Only thing truly that has helped me is meditation and yoga. Those two. They require no drugs, only discipline. Through this practice I am now able to focus, I am now able to relax, let go. I believe ADHD is a condition which rises from the fact that our society and systems have become ever more complex, while our methods of working have not been adapted to this, and we are trying to cope with old methods of just "grunting it" through, when we need more of just letting go, relaxing, stopping and letting our systems be at ease. Just to offer an alternative view on this condition, from someone who has suffered with this for the better part of my life and finally realized how to cope with it. It requires work, yes, but all good things in life do. The medical companies know how easy it is just to sell some drugs and make a buck, and get people addicted.. so we are being bombed with false information also, which makes this very difficult, but I would recommend yoga & meditation & mindfulness to anybody who is suffering from this.
- falcolas 12y ago
  > but there are methods to overcome this dis-ease. No, no there are not. The ADHD brain does not produce the dopamine they need to allow the neurons to transmit information properly. Medicines address this in a way that no amount of meditation or Yoga or fru-fru dieting can. > Just to offer an alternative view on this condition, from someone who has suffered with this for the better part of my life and finally realized how to cope with it. It requires work, yes, but all good things in life do. I'm glad your ADHD was mild enough that coping mechanisms were enough. Never assume that this is the case for everyone, just because it's the case for you. The difference is pretty major - for someone who does not have ADHD, the medications make them high. For someone with ADHD, it just makes the brain work the way it should in the first place. It doesn't make us hyper, it doesn't make us high, it doesn't give us boundless reserves of energy. What it does do is let us think about things in the future in a way which impacts what we do today. It lets us connect intention to action, which is really hard without it. It lets us concentrate for more than a few moments at a time. > get people addicted The clinical dose for Adderal is typically in the 10-90 mg per day range; addicitive levels are around 350 mg per day. Stop spreading FUD.