What happened to this site

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Helms, I don't think you know how interesting even the most mediocre of things become when you have AD[H]D and know you have something better to do. If I were banned, I would probably waste my time on AIM, or myspace, livejournal, etc. etc. The only thing that helps me to get shit done is to completely avoid computers, or when I have a paper to write just disconnect from the internet.

You have no idea how much I envy you! If I unplug the computer, internet, tv, radio, throw my mp3 player out the window and lock myself in a room with just a desk, a pen and my books, I'd pass out before I'd do any work!

I said it helps, not cures me, lol. When I try learning a subject I don't care about, that's pretty much the way it goes. Have you ever tried studying with someone else? Never helped me, but you never know. Are you taking any meds for it right now?

I've tried studying with others, it just turns them into me. Its never pretty.And no, I'm not on any meds cause I haven't been diagnosed with anything. I went for a psych evaluation last week and they were so shocked by my sleeping and eating patterns that they have set me the task of eating right and sleeping properly for the next month, and then they'll see if there is any difference. I've got another test lined up for some time between now and then, not sure what its for though.But I'm a lot like you, if its something I'm just suddenly interested in I can work on it without any problems (apart from moving onto something else before I finish) but if its homework or some boring crap that I have to do, not because I want to but because I have to, then there is no chance in hell!

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And as for the failure thing: I went to see a psychologist last week for an assessment and he was amazed at how little I am affected by pressure or the danger of consequences.
That's a potentially useful pathology. Have you thought about joining whatever the [whatever word you might use to describe the political entity that contains the Irish Republic]'s version of the Special Forces?

I don't know about your eating patterns, but your sleeping patterns are the strangest I've ever heard of in my life, except perhaps for Java_Addict (what a couple you two would have made).

The Irish special forces are the Irish Army Rangers. I've met a few of them and holy shit those guys are tough! But it would do myself and them little good to join, as it would involve that ever elusive thing called "effort".I miss Java, we used to chat all the time. I wonder how her marriage and travelling plans are going...

Let me ask you bob, and anybody else who deals with it, do you get the impression that the phenomenon of hyper selective focus (as I have dubbed it) is so foreign and alien to them that even the doctors just look at you funny and don't seem able to understand, comprehend or even relate to it?Not even open minded people who deal with ADD seem really able to relate to it. At least that's the conclusion I've come to after the last appointment I had with the doc.

I did get that impression from them. At first I thought I just wasn't explaining it properly but they seemed to dismiss a lot of what I was saying. The final advise I was given, to eat right and sleep properly, was the advice that my parents have been giving to me for months. I was expecting a little more for my money.

The issue isn't that you do those things; it's how you do those things. Did they give you any help with the "how"?

What do you mean?

Apparently not. Usually they will give you tools to help you accomplish the goal. For example a bed time regimen. Or shopping ONLY for healthy food. Lots of times they will offer more specific ideas. No mention of meds?

Yes, that's what I meant. Concrete ideas on how to sleep and eat better.

They said that if I can't get my sleeping patterns back to "normal" in about a month that they might offer me sleeping pills, but as a last resort. But apart from that there was no mention of any meds.

K, but as Steve asked, did they give you any idea of how to get your patterns back to normal?

As for meds, I was thinking more along the lines of ADHD meds,

Concrete ideas. They told me to go to bed earlier and not to sleep during the day on weekends.So far this week I've been in bed by 12 and haven't slept before 3am. Once or twice I've gotten up because I was too awake and bored to just lie in bed.

Nope, they didn't mention any kind of meds. They didn't actually mention anything at all apart from my sleeping and eating patterns. They didn't give me any ideas about what they thought might be wrong.

They just said something like, "sleep better and eat better and call us back"? That doesn't sound very useful.It reminds me of the Monty Python sketch on how to get rich. ("First, get a million pounds....").

Google Insomnia. There are LOTS of tips on how to get yourself into a better sleep routine.

My ex boyfriends daughter had similar issues, and using some of the tools really helped.

But how do you observe any kind of bed time when your wide awake and your mind is going a thousand miles an hour thinking about, for me, designs or ideas or books I have read or books that I'll never start writing. Not only that the thoughts whirling through your head when you should be sleeping or working or doing other things are some of the most pleasurable times you've ever known.ADD meds do help a lot but I find regardless of the side effects, which are bad in me, I don't want to take them because I miss the dark of the night when my mind can escape away in thought unencumbered that's a near ecstasy of creative ideas. Ideas that'll never be realized simply because once I have reached my own conclusion on them they no longer hold any interest for me.It's no simply a matter of discipline because I have set for a straight shot of eight hours trying to make myself work, not letting myself get distracted with other shit and something holds me back. I'll start and then stop or do a little on something then go and hit the undo button till it's all undone and I don't know why. It's not merely a matter of making myself do it because even if I do it, I'll erase everything I did so that I'll be back at the starting point.

If someone has never tried it, how will they know if it will work for them or not?This might be just what Bob needs to enjoy life better, or maybe not, but it is definitely not going to hurt him to give it a shot.