How can I restore my attention span?

[Metalhead]

I feel like I do not have the attention span to watch movies or play games or even read a book unless I smoke some weed first.

Otherwise, I just feel depressed and restless with only my thoughts keeping me company.

 

[jsilver256]

I've only recently been able to do that again. I think it was alcohol screwing with my brain.

That you feel "normal" only with substances is probably a big sign as to the cause.

 

[thejuice]

You might be in dopamine withdrawal

 

[Metalhead]

Yeah, I have been using more indica since I quit drinking alcohol. I hate being alone with my thoughts. I need to get out more. I have been getting out more but being social every waking second just is not possible.

 

[thejuice]

Same it's lonely when no one wants to talk to you

 

[Metalhead]

Same it's lonely when no one wants to talk to you

And I have had 12 step sponsors flat out tell me that I have to learn to be comfortable with being alone most of the time, those yellow bellied blue waffles.

 

[Fino]

Being sober for a long time should gradually restore it.

 

[thejuice]

And I have had 12 step sponsors flat out tell me that I have to learn to be comfortable with being alone most of the time, those yellow bellied blue waffles.

I'm alone but I rarely am alone with my thoughts I am always engaged with some kind of distraction.

 

[Magna]

That would be cool if people, all of us, could lengthen our attention spans. I think we're well into actual evolutionary rewiring in that regard. I'm amazed when I see old Tonight Show (Johnny Carson era) episodes on Youtube and the interviews with guests can easily last 20 minutes and are painfully slow to watch. Back then, no one thought that.

 

[Fino]

I have had the exact same problem since stopping benzos, which have a lot in common with alcohol.

 

[Metalhead]

I spend way too much time hitting refresh on Internet forums and not enough time doing more enjoyable things. I need to get out more. I think I will take the bus to Seattle tomorrow and see a museum.

 

[Kayla55]

I used to gradually manage to get attention span back, lately it's just not there concentration, patience and then I quietly looked up my age issues, and I don't tell family to avoid being looked down on...
They say I have low IQ and gosh awful things about hormonal imbalance. So suffering in silence I'm figuring this out...
And at my age it's because of dopamine levels and all kinds of hormone production that slows down

 

[NB79]

This is media use related right?
i guess if you get some discipline in watching/reading lengthy stuff instead of jumping from one thing to another all the time it could lengthen the attention span.

 

[Judge]

Interesting question.

Interesting answer: A Neuroscientist's Advice On How To Increase Your Attention Span | mindbodygreen

 

[thejuice]

Interestingly reading a book is easier than reading long articles for me as there is the distraction of endless novelty on the internet.

I had to take the article above in a few goes whilst checking other things. Which the article explicitly says not to do. It mildly hurts my frontal lobes to concentrate.

Meditation is a big one. Sometimes my brain needs a factory reset to get focussed again.

I remember a weak sugary liquid helps with focus for those with ADHD. Like an orange squash for example. It's a mild dopamine stimulant If I recall correctly (the motivation chemical)

If your blowing out your dopamine receptors with highly stimulating hobbies, you'll be temporarily less sensitive to dopamine with a corresponding decrease In motivation and focus. That is until you reset.

 

[Storm Hess]

Have an outer focus. A hobby...I write music, exercise and code. Get back into the habit of reading a good book. Write...don't even think about what you're writing...just write. When you go back and read it, you maybe quite surprised at what you see. Try not to watch loads of videos...clear your head. Walk outside. Walking and mental health: understanding the benefits