Tips for Focusing

#1
My depression makes it really difficult to focus. I feel like I have this constant mental fog I lack the passion I used to have for learning and doing schoolwork. Everytime I sit down and say “ok I’m going to make this essay good” or “I’m going to make this project good”, I just can’t. I don’t know how to explain it. I just have no mental energy at all. It doesn’t help that everytime I go to school, I have to put in a a happy face and pretend like my thoughts aren’t eating away at me. It’s really making my dread school because any small, insignificant thing makes me want to break down in tears and I can’t start crying because I forget my pencil case or something. I’ll look stupid and dramatic. It’s not even the small, insignificant things that makes me anxious, it just feels that it’s one thing after another and I always feel overwhelmed. I wonder if any of you have tips for focusing because if I could just focus, maybe I’d be less anxious.
 

Reaver

Wasting away
#2
Finding ways to stop the little things getting in the way so much could be quite helpful in the long run. The less things there are to worry about, the easier it is to focus on the bigger issues and the easier it becomes to focus in general.

What are the main things that bother you?
 

JmpMster

Owner Emeritus
#3
My depression makes it really difficult to focus. I feel like I have this constant mental fog I lack the passion I used to have for learning and doing schoolwork. Everytime I sit down and say “ok I’m going to make this essay good” or “I’m going to make this project good”, I just can’t. I don’t know how to explain it. I just have no mental energy at all. It doesn’t help that everytime I go to school, I have to put in a a happy face and pretend like my thoughts aren’t eating away at me. It’s really making my dread school because any small, insignificant thing makes me want to break down in tears and I can’t start crying because I forget my pencil case or something. I’ll look stupid and dramatic. It’s not even the small, insignificant things that makes me anxious, it just feels that it’s one thing after another and I always feel overwhelmed. I wonder if any of you have tips for focusing because if I could just focus, maybe I’d be less anxious.

It is really just an act of discipline in my experience,. There are huge number of things in life , school, work, etc that i do not have personal vested interest in but are still necessary. Realizing that caring and doing , even doing reasonably well, are absolutely different things is a start. You do not have to care about it to spend 90 minutes actually working on it and getting it done.

Somewhere in the process of actually doing, once are started and involved- the caring and self interest just materializes and and after you have vested time and energy then you do care about the result. But you do not need to care or be interested to get started- just have to exercise the discipline "it is what is expected and I am at minimum going to do it." When you actually get started doing the attitude will change and instead of sitting around dreading it will get a little mental high from doing it and that is far better than dreading and worrying and that changes mood to make it go from pure discipline and effort into tolerable or worthwhile.
 

cclun

Active Member
#4
Do you have any hobby (like music, hiking, reading a book etc.) that can relax your mind in between study? Also, have you talked to a professional counselor about this? I would also suggest you talk It out with good friends who understand you and share your burden. Pretending a happy face in front of others is not good because you end up hiding all your struggles and try to deal with It alone.
 

BarryW

SF Supporter
#5
If you have trouble forgetting your pencil case then pack 2 of them. Or keep a backup in your car if you drive yourself to school. Are you eating right? If you don't eat right you won't have the energy to do what you need to do. What about sleep?
Do you have any long-term goals for life? Having a long-term goal could help you focus in the short term because you will motivated to get to your goal and can't be held up by something small.
 

afterlifepig

Well-Known Member
#6
become a coffee drinker or get a prescription for ADD pills. or use caffeine in another form (i would not recommend energy drinks, they're bad for you because of the other substances besides caffeine they have in them; i use caffeine pills, but starting out they can be easy to abuse and you can do permanent damage to your brain).

with caffeine or probably other stimulants (i've only tried caffeine), like with antidepressants or other meds, it takes time for your brain to adjust itself. so coffee at first might just make you hyper, but as you get used to it you'll find that you can work up the energy to study or do homework when you need it.

cardiovascular exercise could also help. i completely quit caffeine at one point and just did running. it worked, but for whatever reason i ended up relapsing.

basically it's my theory (based on my own experiences) that when low energy accompanies depression, stimulants or exercise can help.
 

Lara_C

Staff Alumni
SF Supporter
#7
I think the best thing you can do is something that clears your mind before you start studying, a walk breathing in fresh air, listening to your favorite music etc. Then take breaks of at least ten minutes for every 40- 50 mins of study because the brain cannot process information efficiently without regular breaks. Listening to slow, relaxing background music can also help you to focus by lowering the heart rate and inducing the right kind of brainwaves (lol). I've tried this and it definitely works.

Here's some study playlists https://8tracks.com/explore/study_music/popular
 
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Lara_C

Staff Alumni
SF Supporter
#9
I'm going to check these out right now thanks.. needing some new tunes.
I found slow classical music works best for me, like some JS Bach, Mozart and Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. It gives the right kind of background atmosphere without distracting from the studying. Something to do with lowering heart rate, blood pressure and inducing alpha waves in the brain -a state of relaxed alertness.
 
#10
How I deal with it is I have to turn this negative depressive energy into something positive, however little. Rather than saying you "can't make this project good," you can instead say "I will complete this project to the best of my ability." the way you think and look at things is key to regaining your focus at least it would be for me. Good luck!
 

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