amelia
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Posts: 23
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Post by amelia on Feb 12, 2017 13:56:09 GMT
I'm curious to hear techniques of how members here manage their symptoms (non medicinally). We've all built up our own coping stratagies so sharing them likely will help each other.
The main thing I do is put everything in my phone calander, appointments etc. Otherwise I forget. Forgot a dentists appt last week and still haven't gotten around to calling them to sort out another, I keep saying to myself I will, then I forget.
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jakk1e
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Posts: 18
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Post by jakk1e on Feb 14, 2017 17:47:42 GMT
Ahhh. Well I'm genuinely not sure how much these things help but at least it makes me feel like I'm making a bit of effort.
I stop what I'm doing and reply to messages straight away otherwise I'll forget I even got them.
Work wise I have started leaving my mobile with a trusted colleague so I can't get distracted by texts which always end up in long drawn out conversations taking me away from work.
I have turned off my email alerts and only read them first thing in the morning and I've reverted to old fashioned paper files which helps me just do one thing at a time.
I use the electronic post-it function (I'm dyslexic so pen and paper are my nemesis) and whenever I think of something I've forgotten I jot it down. In theory this also helps prevent me from starting multiple tasks without finishing any.
Home wise I inadvertently got myself an ocd lodger who puts up with a lot but isn't shy about telling me what's needed and like a parent will sometimes stand over me or nag till its done.
And I have a cleaner who is also my best mate and texts me regularly with updates on her next visit like "today is Tuesday and I am coming Thursday are you going to tidy tonight or do I need to text you tomorrow" and I try, although never quite finish, to tidy everywhere before she comes. Which is every 2 weeks and keeps the place vaguely descent. (the reminding what day it currently is is vitally important)
Oh and I batch cook and freeze meals ready to go. Spend less and don't get all impulsive and take a burnt cottage pie big enough for 8 out of the oven at midnight.... Not very often anyway. The plan is always to have a selection but I usually end up eating spag bol for breakfast lunch and dinner for 5 days then realise I've got no food.
Clearly these things are by no means perfect but it's a start and I'd love any other suggestions.
Appointments is a big issue.... I tried a diary once but hyperfocused on it and got cocky even putting things into time slots. It ended up as more of a to do list and I missed the important stuff because I was still working through last week's entries.
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Post by marionk on Feb 15, 2017 8:22:51 GMT
TBH, I don't manage.
It's why I got dx; in the hope that I could get medication that would help.
Before I twigged to what was really at the root of my problems, my car was stolen, and I was forced to realise just how serious my problems had got.
I now keep my keys attached to my bag by a chain, or one of those stretchy things.
At the same time that my car was stolen, my bag was stolen from my Mum's car, so I also have a system for my bag.
I have always preferred shoulder bags, because you don't need to put them down so much, but, after my car was stolen, I have religiously used one with a long enough strap to go right over my head onto my other shoulder, so I can't put it down without sufficient physical activity to make me aware of what I'm doing. Generally, I am pretty religious about not taking it off at all, ever while out of the house, but there are a few places where I do take it off, such as friends' houses, where I know it is safe if I do forget about it.
Also in that bag, are the essential things that I should always take with me when I go out: purse (also attached by chain), bank card, phone, tablet, charger, spare strong glasses for reading small print on shopping, and (because I so often forget what I was going to make a note of by the time I've unlocked the phone or tablet) a notebook and pen. eta also folding hairbrush for when I've forgotten to brush my hair before going out!
Occasionally I also put some mph tablets in that bag too, but generally anything else I need to take out with me goes in a second bag. Yes, this mean I often have two handbags with me, and it is a bit awkward sometimes, especially if I use a second shoulder bag because the extra things I am taking are also 'not to be lost, ever' (e.g. passport or other documents), but I find it's better to keep the few 'always needed' things in their own dedicated bag (that is just the right size). This makes it much easier to check that they are all there, and less likely that they will get misplaced 'between bags'.
I also have a routine for locking up that also involves physical memory joggers, and I have just realised that I should add 'checking that the cars are locked' to it.
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Post by vagueandrandom on Feb 15, 2017 10:18:11 GMT
I also have a bag which always comes with me and I don't take things out of. I have to wear a coat/jacket with at least 2 pockets (pref 4) and always keep certain things in the same pockets ie keys in R, tissues and phone in L . . I have a launchpad where my physical diary lives open on the pages for this week. . EVERYTHING gets written in the diary and copied onto my phone calendar with alerts (don't always manage both. .usually at least 1 though) I also keep my keys, sunglasses and hairbrush there . .and important papers that I need to deal with. . I also use the space for special lists . . I have sooooo many lists . . a daily list, general list . .a few with deadlines and sometimes a big 3 week calendar list if I need to do things requiring forward planning (no more than 3 weeks ahead as I can't visualise or cope with anything longer) . .and then I have clipboards, filing cabinets, leaving things out so I can see them. .and loads more that I've forgotten about, I'm sure. . I'm actually really quiet organised in a complicated way. . As for other things. . . I don't cope with social and emotional things, which is what worries me most and led me to getting diagnosed. . I really want to learn and be able to put into action social skills and emotional control
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