Monday, June 21, 2010

A.D.O.S.

That is, Attention Deficit.. Oh, Shiny!

That's me. I have always been the skeptic when it came to Attention Deficit Disorder, thinking that such a lack of focus was more attributed to a lack of discipline and motivation than a serious problem.

Just in the last year, however, I have been finding myself more and more distracted, unable to focus on one thing at a time, and simply frustrated. My frustration led to me not only leaving projects incomplete, but rarely even starting them at all, knowing the outcome would be ultimately failure to complete it.

This affected a lot of the things in my life - work, relationships, home projects, and even my writing. Something as simple as finishing the laundry would take me days rather than hours, because I wouldn't be able to focus long enough to finish.

I also had serious trouble with multi-tasking. If I started something, it took all my effort to complete it right then. If I should leave something undone to work on something else, I would never return to the first project. And if I was having to focus on one specific task, I had to ignore everything else. I might not even remember full conversations if I was trying to focus on a task at the same time.

My frustration with these problems led me to be more emotional than I knew was healthy. The smallest setback would ultimately lead me to tears or outrage. Absolutely something had to give.

After quite a few conversations with friends and family, I talked to my doctor about my problems. She prescribed me Adderall. Within the first week, I could tell the difference. I felt like a fog had been lifted from my brain, like I was finally awake after long sleep.

I have completed a long list of To-Dos in just the past few weeks that have been there for months. I feel motivated and ultimately successful at the end of the day. I have had to prioritize my goals, starting with the ones at home, moving to work, and then ultimately to everything else.

I feel better about writing. I can sit down and do it. Just let me whittle down my To Dos, and I will get back here. Are you still there?

Note to Self: There are days I feel the need to put my blog out of its misery, but I won't give up just yet!

5 comments:

Aubrey said...

Oh, MJ, keep with it! I love your blog.

Meadowlark said...

Here.
Quiet, but here.

:)

Maki said...

You're the first person who ever taught me how to blog - don't quit! Thanks so much for sharing everything today - I love you even more!!! Welcome back - I'm staying here:)

xoxoxo

teeni said...

We're here. Sometimes we get quiet too so don't feel as though you're alone. I'm glad you found some relief for that emotional rollercoaster you were on. I hope it continues and that you feel better and better with time. I bet it feels good to get some stuff crossed off your To Do list too. Sometimes I wonder if I have some type of attention disorder myself because the way you described it sure hit the nail on some heads over here. But at this point, I'm not sure I want to find out anything else is wrong with me! LOL!

colbymarshall said...

Did we have this talk, or is it completely and ridiculously random that something very similar happened with me earlier this year?