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Post by contrarymary on Apr 13, 2016 23:26:38 GMT
i read two things yesterday about cakes for breakfast, and both said they were a good thing - ie good for your health, and for your mental health. i think one cake was chocolate, don't remember the other - green tea maybe? anyway they both sounded yum . google is your friend here
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Post by marionk on Apr 14, 2016 6:46:58 GMT
I've been trying a new diet which basically consists of meat and veg. Carbs have been cut to an absolute minimum. It's been about 3 weeks now and I do feel a difference. The adhd is still there but I am finding it easier to manage the coping mechanisms. Going to keep going in case it is a total fluke. I've read a couple of posts on this thread before, but didn't realise it is yours clubby. It was actually contrarymary's post on chocolate cake that drew me back to it, but this time for some reason I started reading older posts. You have some really fascinating insights here! I've tried to cut out all refined carbs for a long time, but have only really succeeded with sugar and white bread. In the last few weeks though, I have really cut down on cakes and biscuits, and actually anything with wheat in it. Instead concentrating on snacking on highly nutritious things like fruit and nuts, and smoked fish. (Oh! and I skip lunch.) Oh! And I eat chocolate! I don't know if it helps with the ADHD, but I am slowly losing weight. Woohoo!!!!! (Despite lapsing every few days, too!) Low carb definitely seems the way to go. I have cut down intake generally several times before, but have only had temporary success, and never been able to maintain it. This time, although I haven't actually kept it up very well, I'm still on a general, but slow, downward trend, and they do say that slow is best in the long term.
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Post by clubby on Apr 14, 2016 15:57:17 GMT
Hi marionk. Thanks for the kind words. I am glad you brought up the subject of no carb diet. I had forgotten all about it and it definitely needs revisited. I feel like a wandering soul that finds a pot of gold then wanders off and forgets where the gold is hidden. I have been loading up on carbs too much lately and I get heart burn - must be my age. I think my metabolism slowed down after the menopause and carbs have all sorts of undesirable effects. The body just says No no! I remember feeling much better for having massive bowls of mixed veg soup, meat and lots salad, cheese, nuts and yogurts. I did have to have my bran flakes in the morning though to keep everything moving. I so enjoy baking though, so I sort of relapsed. I love the Great British Bake off. I can't help but rush off into the kitchen and get out the flour when the credits roll. I don't think it matters too much what you eat as long as you listen to what your body is telling you. I am sure in my instance that lower carbs helps my adhd but I'm still naughty at times - cakes forever. Yum
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Post by contrarymary on Apr 14, 2016 16:08:42 GMT
ha clubby this is exactly where i got to (minus the meat as i'm veggie) about 18 mths ago. it worked really well to tackle post-smoking weight gain and i lost the stone i'd put on. then after post-op virus at the end of january i ws completely off my food then all i wanted to eat were carbs - ideally cheese on toast, or rice cakes. i put on a stone in 3 weeks. meanwhile, in the 18 mths in between i had been at a really steady weight. and i'd discovered and enjoyed learnign to bake all sorts of low carb /high protein cakes using eg coconut flour, almond flour/ground almonds etc. in fact my chocolate cake was described by a chocolate-cake-lover as being the best he'd ever tasted (he ws v disappointed when i said it was vegetarian, dairy-free, gluten-free, diabetic-friendly, no added sugar and low carb!) i have a wodge of recipes somewhere if you're interested
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Post by clubby on Apr 14, 2016 16:12:31 GMT
You bet I'm interested contrarymary. Especially if there's almonds involved. Yum yum yum
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Post by clubby on Apr 23, 2016 18:52:15 GMT
I've been having another experiment with my mind.
Whenever I have a task to do, I either go at it so quickly that the job collapses with all my shortcuts, or else I procrastinate with fear because my mind is a jumble.
This week, when I spot a job to be done, I have been saying to myself first "What knowledge do I have of this system"
For some reason the statement seems to lead me into action which is more effective.
Progress. Can I keep it up?
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Post by contrarymary on Apr 23, 2016 20:57:22 GMT
You bet I'm interested contrarymary . Especially if there's almonds involved. Yum yum yum i forgot about this, sorry will PM you a pile of links when i've a bit more time. meanwhile, there are some fabulous recipes with almonds or coconut flour at the healthy chefenjoy
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Post by clubby on Apr 24, 2016 21:45:28 GMT
Hi contrarymary, Thanks for the link. Just got a new food processor today. I have been using my mum's kenwood chef which she got in the nineteen seventies and I have had for 25 years. It still works but is so noisy that I hate using it and tend now to do everything by hand for the peace and quiet. I am going to try the almond and vanilla scones.
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Post by clubby on Apr 24, 2016 21:54:45 GMT
I had a good laugh at myself today. I had soup on in the kitchen and decided to do some ironing that I have been putting off for weeks. I sang my kitchen song "Food Glorious Food" while I plugged in the iron in the spare room. I sang my spare room song "Fur Elise" while going back to the kitchen to check the soup while the iron heated up. A really risky move, I know. I turned the soup off, and singing "Fur Elise" went upstairs and did 2 tidy up jobs still singing. Congratulating myself I went back to the spare room to start ironing and discovered I hadn't switched the plug on at the wall!!! I laughed so much. ADHD wins again!!! Honestly how many coping mechanisms do we need.
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Post by justsawasquirrell on Apr 24, 2016 22:10:34 GMT
Singing is a great coping mechanism,as is having a sense of humour. To develop these mechanisms/strategies there must be something right with our brains?
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Post by contrarymary on Apr 24, 2016 23:09:53 GMT
i sing all the time - as i prob say all the time singing is my default mode. i do it in order to do something else. i sing when alone, when with other people - not in performance mode, but just in being present, when staying still or when moving around. i sing to get myself to do chores and keep focused while doing them, to keep myself entertained eg while in shower (i hate the bathroom - it's like the twilight zone or the northern line for having weird time). i now realise that it's a bit like a hands-free knitting thing for me - it uses up that part of the brain which is the most easily distractable so that i can concentrate on something properly, without getting distracted. dunno whether it counts as a stim? it certainly makes me feel relaxed, but it's mostly unconscious. it's more than a habit, it's an absolute necessity. i have to concentrate on Not Singing otherwise i just fall into it. repeatedly. even when on the phone. i drive my daughter mad - so embarrassing.
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Post by Mouse on May 2, 2016 6:57:27 GMT
I've been having another experiment with my mind. Whenever I have a task to do, I either go at it so quickly that the job collapses with all my shortcuts, or else I procrastinate with fear because my mind is a jumble. This week, when I spot a job to be done, I have been saying to myself first "What knowledge do I have of this system" For some reason the statement seems to lead me into action which is more effective. Progress.  Can I keep it up? I must try saying that with my housework and paperwork. Things have all gone to pot over the past three years.
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Post by clubby on May 2, 2016 9:06:00 GMT
Still having success with strategy "What knowledge do I have of this system?"
As long as I remember to use the strategy it seems to stop impulsivity in its tracks.
When i am not quite switched on, my automatic brain sends me on a wild goose chase which may appear to others as impulsive. If I can capture the moment and say "What knowledge do I have of this system?", it stops me in my tracks and I am able to re-set the mind.
Just now I am in a hyperfocus when I should be doing other things.
1) I have admitted to myself I have lost consciousness with my duties
2) I remembered to look at my watch
3) I say to myself "What knowledge do I have of this time?" ie 10am
4) I gave myself a target of 10.30am to finish my paperwork, 25 minutes ago
5) Close this post and get on with it
6) And now the difficult bit - to jump parallel universes
7) Here goes ...
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Post by Mouse on May 3, 2016 5:19:12 GMT
LOL at jumping parallel universes. Going to try applying your mantra this morning... if I get off my phone...
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Post by clubby on May 12, 2016 9:24:34 GMT
Here is my new mantra. On a bit of paper in my back pocket.
Watch People In Rooms
Watch - remember to look at your watch ie keep an eye on the time
People - remember to implement learnt social interaction stuff
In - don't let the Intuitive splats overwhelm others ie rambling on
Rooms - keep looking at the environment and let it tell you what to do- and keep moving into different rooms- don't get stuck
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Post by Mouse on May 16, 2016 9:59:47 GMT
Can you expand on rooms/ environment? It that just for the mental bump given by a change of scene? Alleviate boredom?
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Post by vagueandrandom on May 16, 2016 10:19:34 GMT
I think clubby s talking about moving between rooms to avoid becoming 'stuck' in a room. . MouseWhich I do quite often. . it's not about boredom. . it's that there are loads of things that I should do which are not in my bedroom, but I get stuck in my bedroom all day sometimes. . and it's like those things don't exist. . until I go to get more coffee, or to go to the bathroom and I'm reminded that they exist. . . this is why I don't shut doors. . the room will cease to exist in my mind if I can't see it. . . Correct me if I'm wrong, Clubby
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Post by Mouse on May 16, 2016 13:08:08 GMT
LOL at rooms ceasing to exist if you close the door! Must be why I try to keep the study door shut...
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Post by Mouse on May 16, 2016 13:11:19 GMT
I wish I could think of a phrase to summarise what I should be aware of. Likelihood of me summarising in four words is slim. I always use too many.
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Post by clubby on May 16, 2016 16:50:55 GMT
I think clubby s talking about moving between rooms to avoid becoming 'stuck' in a room. . Mouse Which I do quite often. . it's not about boredom. . it's that there are loads of things that I should do which are not in my bedroom, but I get stuck in my bedroom all day sometimes. . and it's like those things don't exist. . until I go to get more coffee, or to go to the bathroom and I'm reminded that they exist. . . this is why I don't shut doors. . the room will cease to exist in my mind if I can't see it. . . Correct me if I'm wrong, Clubby That is exactly what I'm talking about vagueandrandom but I am trying really hard to take the concept further forward. I discovered a wee while ago that the only good memory system I have is for the layout of rooms and the position that objects sit in them. So I worked out that for housework I could abandon lists and look at what is going on in a room. Each room has a way of being, and I know that all my work in that room is done for the day when it is restored to that way of being. When the room is restored to its default setting I must move on to the next room. At the moment I have a route which goes bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room which I have managed to sustain for a few months. At the moment the whole thing collapses as the day goes on and outside demands increase but for about 3 hours in the morning, for the first time in my life I have an element of control. I hope to build the office into the routine (horrors) and then treat other spaces like rooms, like the garden. So eventually I should be able to visit all the rooms in my life whether they be actual rooms or conceptual rooms, like family. Like vagueandrandom, I forget a room exists if the door is shut or I forget stuff in a cupboard because there is a door. The difficulty is getting stuck in a room because you see more and more to do and forget other rooms exist. That is why I have a set form for each room. Any changes, must be put onto my Leader List and a time negotiated to carry them out. The Leader List needs its own room, and to be fitted into the routine ( actually it more like a bus route). I keep forgetting to look at it or that it exists. So Mouse. Hope that explains. It is a work in progress but when it works, it works really well. I just have to keep practicing and trying to exercise the automatic part of my brain which is utterly hopeless. I have just discovered at the age of 53 that I am very dyslexic and having just downloaded book The Dyslexic Advantage, my mind has been blown. There is such a massive crossover with ADHD. If you are a creative adhder this is a "must read".
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Post by vagueandrandom on May 16, 2016 18:42:02 GMT
clubby I'm going to try this, but because I've recently moved (like you) I haven't got my rooms sorted out yet. Replying to your post encouraged me to go into my spare room/office for the first time in ages, because there's a chest of drawers blocking most of the floor. . so managed to get it downstairs (first step towards getting it out), leaving me with some room to look at the room properly and see what needs to be done. Thank you for prompting me . . I think it's good to be prompted by posting things here. I admitted to someone in a PM that I've had the clean sheets for the spare bed on the top of doors for 2 weeks. . to prompt me to make the bed. . Just saying that to someone else shamed me into making the bed today
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Post by contrarymary on May 16, 2016 20:28:25 GMT
just popping in to say Me Too. and hello clubby i have a similar thing going with getting stuck in rooms, with mornings and building a routine, with rooms having their default system to which i try to return them, and everything being v fragile i have just about got through a busy/tired / difficult patch, and am now trying to get back on some sort of even keel. lots of admin that's important but has been left to gather dust and needs some attention. plus some of the "normal" stuff which isn't urgent but would be v helpful- dentist, optician, GP, chasing SLAM... v proud of myself for having loaded the washing machine for tomorrow am, showered and had supper by 9.30pm. in the hope that i can start tomorrow morning ahead and ready to tackle the extra heaps. now i mustn't blow it
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Post by clubby on May 16, 2016 21:31:23 GMT
Hi vagueandrandom and contrarymarySo glad you understand my Rooms theory. V&R is spot on when she talks about Rooms which aren't finished due to a move. My office, utility space and garden shed are like this and they are a total mess and I am overwhelmed by them, so I avoid them. I realise now that I must get on and get them to a default state. The trouble is I can't decide what the default state should be. I don't want to spend any money on them yet that's what they need, and I am procrastinating which means I am under constant stress. I have been "reading" about the dyslexic brain and its advantages. The one I think is relevent here is the ability to see loads of connections between all sorts of things. Too creative, too many ideas, too much vision, and this stops the process of getting on and just tidying up. I think I aim too high because I see so much possibility. Aghh! I feel as if the adhd problems relate to altered states of consciousness, such as getting distracted then getting stuck, being unaware of time and being unable to automate actions. The dyslexia is more of a social problem with being unable to process list or instructions , seeing too many connections and understanding complexity in an intuitive way but being unable to turn that into words. Hence, waffle, silence, stutter, splat. No wonder people perceive me as a bit incomprehensable. I think NTs automate a large part of their lives and have set answers for things. I have to re-invent the wheel everytime I open my mouth and because I think in complex ways the wheel is shaped liked the universe and my poor listeners get far more than they bargained for. Oh for the simple life.
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Post by vagueandrandom on May 17, 2016 10:24:10 GMT
I think we've talked about this before clubby . . I have a visual memory and can quickly see when something is out of place. . hence, I can 'find' things that have been misplaced (as long as they're in plain sight) by looking around. . even with other people's things. . because they somehow spoil the order. Like you, I'm still trying to impose order in my new house, to find a place for everything. . I'm trying to make sure that I have enough storage to minimise the clutter and the amount of places I look for things. . ie. . it should be 'here', but, if not, it's also likely to be in a limited number of other places. . not just anywhere. .
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Post by clubby on May 19, 2016 8:07:20 GMT
I have been dipping into @smogz101 diary. I say dipping in because I have come to realise I hardly ever read anything properly. I didn't know this until I came to the forum. Anyway my creativity has exploded as a result so this is a kind of a vent for that. Then I can get on with my work. To cut a long story short: Dyspraxia - trouble with co-ordinating the body with intention Dysgrafia - trouble with drawing ? I think Dyslexia - trouble with words - written and heard Dyscalculia - trouble with numbers and arithmetic Dys-(tone deaf) - trouble with music Dys-(emotion) - trouble with filtering out all the spectacular and horrible things going on around Dys-(energy) - trouble regulating the internal brain energy causing hyper and catatonic states Dys-(automation) - trouble learning automatic tasks which all multi tasking. So the ones which influence my life in a detrimental way are: Dyslexia Dyscalculia Dys(emotion) Dys(energy) Dys(automation) I am suggesting that we are part of the bigger Dysfamily and the more Dys-es that you own the more difficult it is to find your place in society. Our culture allows for everyone to have maybe 2 Dys-es and I imagine that if you have Dys(tone eaf) and Dysgrafia together there will be plenty of work opportunities that suit. Unfortuneately for me, I have all the ones employers hate. If I had lived 150 years ago I could have been a craftsman because I don't have Dyspraxia but nowadays employers want automation in their workforce. So I am stuffed!!
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Post by clubby on May 25, 2016 18:03:53 GMT
I've been having some success with a new strategy.
Lists just do not work for me in all sorts of ways so I've modified the idea into solid structure that I can see and trigger action.
I attach a job to be done to an object which I put on my sideboard. I am only allowed 3 or 4 objects out at a time and it is a challenge to get the job done and refresh the objects before my brain gets used to their presence and they become boring or invisible.
Been at it for a week an so far so good.
Daily chores don't go on the sideboard. They are built into my Room Bus Route.
I must sound utterly mad.
I managed to get another room into the bus route this week so I am delirious.
Next week I hope to attach the office to the bus route. Oh please work, cross fingers.
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Post by clubby on May 26, 2016 10:17:07 GMT
vagueandrandom has been discussing nerves, anxiety and depression so I have been thinking a bit more about them than usual. I can get a bit depressed but then the next minute I bounce back and I can get nervous and the next minute I am quite bold - so no problems there But I reckon I am generally an anxious person and always have been, especially as a child when I was frighteningly anxious. So today once again I was trying to phone a stranger about business, and he is not returning my calls despite a message being left. I found myself in an anxiety attack. Anger, tension, huffy,rude, pushy, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I wanted to leave a message "If you don't call me back you stupid ignorant man then ....." You can imagine the rest. I suddenly realised I was just anxious and wondered why. So to make a call I have to put in a lot of preparation because during the call I can't access the information required of the conversation. I am balancing all the information in my consciousness, unlike ordinary folk who can automatically access info on a subject they are confident about. Even if I am an expert in a subject I cannot rely on accessing the information attached to the expertise and end up calling everything thingummjigs. So to hold everything in consciousness for a while is exhausting and as I get tired, I get anxious. I want to set the load down. The whole package of knowledge is going to collapse and when the man finally phones back I am going to be back to thingummyjigs and waffle. So I have decided to let the load go, and if he does phone back I am going to try to remember to tell him I am busy and will call him back.
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Post by clubby on Aug 17, 2016 18:26:24 GMT
Woman's hour was an eyeopener today!
Made me feel quite sick.
The experts have now declared that ADHD can start at any time. Who cares!
Why are we tortured by these people?
Let's just get the problem fixed.
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Post by vagueandrandom on Aug 17, 2016 20:21:09 GMT
Hey. clubby . .how are you? Hmm. . yes the title 'Adult Onset ADHD' was very misleading as the 'expert' very quickly said that most adult dx were probably just not picked up in school. . The whole piece was not a discussion and left an awful lot out. . I'm in the process of writing a long email (it takes me a long time to write) which is part complaint and the other part pointing out omissions and suggesting that someone at R4 should make a properly researched 30 minute programme. I hope you're well. .
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Post by clubby on Aug 17, 2016 20:49:36 GMT
Hi vagueandrandom. I am well thank you. It is so good to catch up. Missing you all. Well done for writing to R4. The lack of understanding of adhd in the health world is horrific. I do hope you are making progress. You have been treated so badly it makes me really angry.
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