So frustrated with myself

Fearless

Warphalange: potatoe or potato. It's the question. Running is more effecient, like I was saying "BURN" away the fat. Not just get away some grams of fat, I meant kg.

Are you feeling Like everything is slipping out of control and you need to get your act together? Discipline is your best friend, on the road to getting stuff done. Good hard german discipline.

Evo

Have you been checked for an Attention Deficit Disorder?

pantaz

WarPhalange,
You are describing numerous symptoms I have experienced. My loss of focus/concentration eventually caused me to lose my job. I ended up in a very deep, long lasting, clinical depression. I'm not trying to diagnose you, I'm just relating my experience.

I tried all the requisite tricks -- lists, breaking projects into small tasks, etc. None of it helped in any significant, or long lasting way.

Even if you don't think you need it, please start looking for a therapist. It can be very difficult to find one you are comfortable talking with. For me, therapy was/is very helpful, but it is a slow process. I tried four different people before finding one that "clicked" with me.

In addition to therapy, I spent several months with a psychiatrist trying different dosages and combinations of drugs. The effects can be slow to recognize. Some did nothing for me, others had minor side-effects (most common was drowsiness).

There are lots of scary stories floating around about psychiatric medications. I researched everything I could, and talked to my doctor about them. I also informed my family when I started or changed a medication, so they could watch for any problems. Nothing bad ever happened. Nothing.

One big hurdle for me was trying to follow the logic in my illness. You get the flu, the doctor gives you a pill and you get better! If you break an arm, they put a cast on it for a few weeks! But this... this works on your emotions. There are no "concentration pills", and anti-depressants are no panacea. The medicine helps alleviate some symptoms, but it really requires the combination of treatments.

Evo

There are a number of members here with ADD and ADHD that have benefited greatly from medication.

rewebster

When I was in college, it seemed like a lot of people were that way. Jumping around, doing this or that, and then something else. I think its the time for trying to figure out what you really want to do, and like doing (and it may partially be normal hormones and the changing hormones running through the system of people in that age range).

And then, with all the talk about jobs, 'recession', high costs of this and that, oil, etc. doesn't help adding to some anxiety either.

OrbitalPower

Where do you go to get "tested" for ADHD. I actually called my University once (before I was a student there) to see if I could get tested for dyslexia (as if you have it there are certain protections granted under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or something of the sort related to education, which could mean extra time on tests). However, I ended up forgetting where I called and when I went to look for where to go about six months ago I couldn't figure it out on my University's web page.

I'm not ever sure I'd want to get tested there, anyway. Can you go to any psychologist? Does it cost a lot?

I also figure if I do have it, I might as well just give up anyways because I'm not sure how you could succeed in my field by having it, and by trying to convince myself I don't have it I assume I would be curbing the symptoms.

I pretty much have same problems the OP described, only worse. It's definitely started to affect my school career, to the point where I might just have to give up.

Evo

A lot of scientists/engineers/doctors etc... have it.

Do you have a regular doctor that you see? If you do, I would start with them.

I would try through your University, call the main switchboard if you cannot find anything. There are community mental health listings in the phone book in the blue goverment pages, at least that's what they used to be back when I used to have a phone book. Yes, I used to read phone books, I read anything that doesn't move.

RonL

I'm glad you brought that up, at age 63 I found out about ADD, was tested and it was determined that I was also OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder).
It's more than just self discipline, (I once panned for gold in the Llano river, non stop for 10 hours, in an area not much bigger than 30X30 feet. I brought home about 4 gallons of black sand for further processing, which has not happened almost 3 years later)

I responded to meds, but only in the last 6 months, after increasing dosage have I started to really increase productivity of my early retired life.

Wish I had known to look into this much earlier in my life.

By all means think about this WarPhalange

Ron

RonL

In many cases work insurance (even through a spouse) will cover some, or most of the expense.

WarPhalange

I definitely know I have some symptoms of OCD. I cling to routines and hate spontaneity. I don't have many friends for that reason. They want to do something, but it doesn't fit into my routine and I can't break from it.

Seeing a therapist might not be a bad idea... Honestly, I've even lately considered going to the military after I get my bachelor's if it doesn't get better. I need something to give me the discipline I need.

Cyrus

I think thats a good idea, because when I read your post I said............."thats not normal"....

Chi Meson

My experience is also similar: I had always had overlapping, racing thoughts (still do). This can be to your advantage because you are likely to be the one to come up with more original thoughts that way (to think f the thing no one else thought of). But as was mentioned, these are also symptoms of clinical depression.

I did one year of psychiatric therapy with anti-depressants, and that was 20 years ago. Since then, natural endorphins have had the same therapeutic effect as the expensive drugs. So now I'm hooked on running, biking, and climbing. I've met all my friends thanks to these activities, my wife also.

Choose your own activity, of course, but I think that the human body needs to have the heart working hard for at least an hour each day.

kingdomof

The source of discipline will always be yourself. It may be inspired by the environment, but that is all.

I'm in your boat usually. Whenever I can't focus, I usually just say screw it, and keep on going. Think more in priorities. Once you're focused, you can redo whatever you may not have paid attention to. Also, studying is something, at least in my experience, that requires a sort of motivational basis.

ks_physicist

Not that this helps your stated problem, but I found the schematic of the MXR Distortion+ pedal to be really simple to make, and I actually like the sound a lot.

http://www.diystompboxes.com/pedals/MXRDIST2.GIF

WarPhalange

I was going to make a Fuzz Face like this:

http://www.smallbearelec.com/Project...e/BearFace.htm

Which is based off of this design:

http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folder...ace/fffram.htm

And it is simple enough, just that I don't remember what all those things do anymore when they are hooked up like that. Like, I remember what an op amp is and how a transistor works, but I want to know exactly what is going on in the schematic, so what the op amp is doing to the signal, what's the point of having Capacitor B at point X, etc.

proton

sounds just like me. maybe we both have adhd? i suspect that i may have adhd also because i have a very hard time concentrating on reading and often daydream. for instance, in an hour, i'm usually only able to read a few pages from a fairly easy book