I need to do the thing, but I don't know how. Disclaimer: I'll try to keep this short but I tend to ramble, a lot... I have exams coming up and I desperately need to study, I want/would like to study but whenever I try to it's like I'm stuck and can't move myself to actually do it. This is pretty much ruining my academic life and my every day life by extension. I've been diagnosed with depression and generalized anxiety, and was told that the "not being able to sit down and concentrate and do stuff" would disappear as my mental health improved, but so far that hasn't been the case. (My latest blood work has come back with normal levels for everything but noradrenaline, which was high.) All attempts at removing distractions and just sitting down to work result in me staring at my desktop or at an empty page without actually doing anything and feeling awful for it. Trying to write a list with steps or tasks leads to me just staring into space as I try to figure out how to even go get paper and a pen for it and completely terrified. Whenever I bring this up with my doctor he tells me it takes effort to study and concentrate and to keep trying that it'll get better as my health improves. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. If anyone has an advice on how to actually do the thing or any clue to help me figure out why I can't do the thing I'd be immensely, immensely grateful because I am very frustrated and tired of this and this is fucking up my life.
Yeah I have ADHD and I can concentrate more when my mental health isn't going to shit, but like... I still have ADHD. I can't just magically will myself to concentrate. That is not how brains work. So I mean I am not gonna diagnose anyone, but you sound like you are at least having some seriously problems with your executive functioning, specifically your ability to focus on a task and start it. Like, this? Executive dysfunction. All of the executive dysfunction. All of the "I need to DO A THING and the thing should be simple but HOW DO I EVEN DO IT???" Yes that is executive dysfunction, welcome to the club. We'll get jackets when someone manages to get to the order in. Things that might possible help: Break each subject into sections. Use your syllabus to see the topics, and just look at one topic at a time. Have you tried standing up while writing? Or sitting on a bouncy exercise ball? Sometimes moving can help you concentrate If studying with other people is an option, it could help keep you on task COFFEE CAFFEINE Talk to a psychiatrist about potentially having ADHD bc seriously I don't even know how I study. I was incapable of studying until like 2 years ago. It's a mysterious skill that I still struggle with Speak your notes aloud and record them so you don't have to write? You can use an app like Dragon Dictation to turn it into text if you don't want a sound file Draw pictures? Mindmaps? Things that are not just writing? I have no idea if any of these suggestions will work or if you have tried them already but uh yes I hope that is somehow helpful???
Don't think ADHD is it. Last year I was prescribed Xanax and it helped me with concentrating and actually doing stuff, not just studying, (but screwed with my short term memory) and from what I understand stimulants are what helps with ADHD, which Xanax isn't? I used to walk around while studying before college! I never realized that was actually a thing that might've helped. Unfortunately moving while studying isn't much of an option now, but I'll try the rest, talking out loud specially might help. Thank you. This was very helpful, just knowing that HOW DO THING is an actual thing gets me some sort of starting point that isn't "you're just being lazy". Thank you for that and for the advice!
Ruling it out based on one medication helping when you haven't tried anything else is not a good idea! An ADHD diagnosis is based on a set of symptoms, not on what helps with those symptoms. Also, not all ADHD medications are stimulants anymore, and more than one kind of medication can help with a particular set of issues.
