Crippling concentration and memory problem. Anyone have experience with this or know

[mindmap]

I "think" I have identified my biggest barrier in curing my anxiety, and that is my terrible concentration and poor memory.

My current anxiety symptoms plagueing me right now are:

Inability to sleep
Tightness in chest, throat, stomach, and inability to breath properly
Constant fidgeting
Poor comprehension and sense of reality
Poor memory
Terrible concentration

A couple of the things I am trying right now are grounding exercises such as the body scan and some breathing exercises.

But as I have said my concentration makes it difficult to even try these things.

I am wondering if there is anything I can do specifically about this part of my anxiety.

Does anyone know of any concentration exercises, methods, or games to improve it.

Has anyone had experience with this kind of severe concentration problem? If so can you shed some light on it and tell me what is the first thing I should do? What is the second thing I should do and what has worked for you.

I want to get better but I am basically at the mercy of my mindlessness right now.

It was really hard to even type all of this.

Any help or ideas are much appreciated.

[jessed03]

Hey MM,

I think part of this does come solely from depression, and anxiety, and many argue that once you have dealt with those issues, and seretonin is restored to it's correct levels, concentration becomes much more natural again. This is partly true, but low concentration can also become a habit.

I don't want to make this post too long, for the obvious reasons :), but I'll tell you what helped me.

One: Firstly, deal with any depression that's there, and anxiety (which it sounds like you're doing), if this means meds then fine, if it means something else, then that's great, you know what works for you.

Two. Lists. Plan EVERYTHING at this stage. Write down a very specific, yet very simple plan to your day. E.g. 9am Wake up, 9.15 eat breakfast, 10.00-12.00 Go for a walk, etc. Don't eat meals in front of laptop or TV, try to taste food as you eat it. Ensure there is ritual and routine to every day. Not so much that it will be too hard to stick to, but a very concise and simple plan, so you know what needs to be done. Over time, as you find youself sticking to your list, add more things at a slow place, more goals that you want to accomplish during the day. If routine is normal, add hobbies; practice guitar chords for 5 minutes, spend 5 minutes extra with kids, write in a diary. Whatever you enjoy. Make your lists bold, or colourful if need be. Check things off. Highlight things.

Three. Meditation. It's been proven again and again to improve concentration levels. Start as slow as you like, 5 minutes, until you feel it's easy, then to 10 minutes, to 12, to 15, to 20... You get the picture. If you find yourself fidgeting, and restless, that's fine, everybody is. Just gently remind your mind to refocus on whatever your meditation is based upon, perhaps you'll focus on your breath, what helped me was to count my breath slowly, 1.2.3.4 and back to 1 for my meditation time.

Four: Water and nutrition - Eat lot's of fresh fish, or cod liver oil, or if you're vegetarian; Flaxseed. Take a multi vitamin. Ensure you're drinking a minimum of 1.5litres of water per day. These things sound small, but they are massive.

Five. Excersise - Obvious one really. Start as slowly as you like, from a couple of minutes per day stretching. Add it to your list. Those handgrips that you can get in fitness stores have been proven to increase concentration levels. Start with 7 squeezes, 3 times a day.

Six. Limit TV and Internet exposure. Theres no secret that these devices put us in a vegetated state almost, we watch them because we don't have to think or concentrate. Take a walk or read a few pages of a book instead. Eat meals talking with family, or if alone, spend time concentrating on how food tastes.

Seven. Mental stimulation. Crosswords, writing, maths, reading, learning games, all these are great for building up concentration. Again, start really slowly, maybe a couple of minutes a day.(I've posted some below.)

The place I would start though is lists. I've proved it works, because you're still reading, if I wrote a big, long paragraph with no full stops you'd have tuned out long ago. The mind is this way, when things are written down, they are far more manageable, and if consistent days go by when it's too much, lower your schedule a little.

It takes time to overcome, and as you overcome depression and anxiety, this area of your life will come back too. The trick, as with all things, is just about constant practice, and progression. Due to the nature of the beast, start with wherever you are at. If you eat at bad times, make that you're list, plan what times you'll eat and stick to it. When you feel good with that, write down what time you'll shower. Of course you know where things are difficult. Sorry if I sound patronizing, you can apply this through your own objectivity. Don't try to push it too hard. It does take conscious effort however, and often does feel tiring, or 'weird' when trying to push a small barrier.

Below I'll post a handful of exercises I found really helped me. Maybe try them when you have a great routine, and you feel upto things.

All the best :)

[jessed03]

Exercise 1
Take a book and count the words in any one paragraph. Count them again to be sure that you have counted them correctly. Start with one paragraph and when it becomes easier, count the words in a whole page. Perform the counting mentally and only with your eyes, without pointing you finger at each word.

Exercise 2
Count backwards in your mind, from one hundred to one.

Exercise 3
Count in your mind from one hundred to one, skipping each three numbers, that is 100, 97, 94, etc.

Exercise 4
Choose an inspiring word, or just a simple sound, and repeat it silently in your mind for five minutes. When your mind can concentrate more easily, try to reach ten minutes of uninterrupted concentration.

Exercise 5
Take a fruit, an apple, orange, banana or any other fruit, and hold it in your hands. Examine the fruit from all its sides, while keeping your whole attention focused on it. Do not let yourself be carried away by irrelevant thoughts or associated thoughts that might arise, such as about the shop were you bought it, about how and where it was grown, its nutritive value, etc. Stay calm, while trying to ignore these thoughts and not be interested in them. Just look at the fruit, focus your attention on it without thinking about anything else, and examine its shape, smell, taste and the sensation it gives when touching and holding it.

Exercise 6
This is the same as exercise number 5, only that this time you visualize the fruit instead of looking at it. Start by looking at the fruit and examining it for about 2 minutes, just as in exercise number 5, and then do this one. Close your eyes, and try to see, smell, taste and touch the fruit in your imagination. Try to see a clear and well defined image. If the image becomes blurred, open your eyes, look at the fruit for a short while, and then close your eyes and continue the exercise. It might help if you imagine the fruit held in your hands, as in the previous exercise, or imagine it standing on a table.

Exercise 7
Take a small simple object such as a spoon, a fork, or a glass. Concentrate on one of these objects. Watch the object from all sides without any verbalization, that is, with no words in your mind. Just watch the object without thinking with words about it.

Exercise 8
After becoming proficient in the above exercises, you can come to this exercise. Draw a small geometrical figure, about three inches in size, such as a triangle, a rectangular or a circle, paint it with any color you wish, and concentrate on it. You should see only the figure, nothing else. Only the figure exists for you now, with no unrelated thoughts or any distractions. Try not to think with words during the exercise. Watch the figure in front of you and that's it. Try not to strain your eyes.

Exercise 9
The same as number 8, only this time visualize the figure with the eyes closed. As before, if you forget how the figure looks like, open your eyes for a few seconds and watch the figure and then close your eyes and continue with the exercise.

Exercise 10
The same as above in number 9 but the eyes open.

Exercise 11
Try for at least five minutes, to stay without thoughts. This exercise is to be attempted only after all the previous ones have been performed successfully. The previous exercises, if practiced correctly, will endow you with the ability to impose silence on your thoughts. In time it will become easier and easier.

[acasey]

I know how ya feel! your body and mind are stress hormone overstimulated. you have so much going on inside of your head, more thoughts are being generated, and your fear center is heightened, and you are constantly worrying about your symptoms. when you are focused on the symptoms, you are not giving your full attention to the things going on around you. so of course you cant concentrate as well as you use to. to concentrate and rememebr things you have to give them your full attention to whatever it is. Accept it for what it is. your mind is tired of this constant worry, and this is your brains way of telling you it needs a break. accept that this is a normal symptom of stress and when you you decrease you stress it will go away after your mind has had time to heal. I notice that when things are going right for me and im not worrying about my symptoms, my concentration and memory seem to be fully intact again. but the more stress i am under, the more symptoms i get, the more i worry about those symptoms the worse the symptoms get. decrease your stress and overtime your concentration will return to normal. visit anxietycentre.com. its a great website and has helped me sooooo much. best of luck to you.