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Post by Lesley on Dec 8, 2013 11:00:33 GMT
Article about this in Sunday Times today - no time to read now (News Review section). ST website has a paywall, so not posting a link.
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Post by Lesley on Dec 5, 2013 13:03:04 GMT
No, it's not working for me either. Don't know why not.
But if I Google the title - Brain Imaging May Help to Confirm ADHD - that finds me a link that does work.
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Post by Lesley on Dec 5, 2013 12:50:38 GMT
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Post by Lesley on Dec 4, 2013 0:06:38 GMT
It's definitely worth getting a diagnosis - I was 62 when I got mine (64 now), and it was such a relief!
Re the carrier bags of unopened letters - one of the things I did before my appointment was to take a few photos of the untidiest parts of my house and of the 8 pieces of unfinished knitting I had discovered in a wardrobe (that's a story for another time) and take them with me. I didn't actually show them to the psychiatrist, but I knew they were there if a question was asked to which they could provide the answer. Perhaps you could do that with your carrier bags?
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Post by Lesley on Dec 3, 2013 23:47:17 GMT
Congratulations, Kathy - on the imminent prescription if not on the clarity of diagnosis.
I think JJ and Mary and others have said what needs to be said on that.
I hope the titration process goes smoothly and quickly for you.
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Post by Lesley on Dec 3, 2013 8:20:42 GMT
Will be thinking of you at 2 xxx
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Post by Lesley on Dec 2, 2013 18:32:42 GMT
Good luck, Kathy.
The fact that she knows that this will take time is a good sign, I think. Hope I'm right - it's time things started moving for you.
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Post by Lesley on Nov 11, 2013 14:43:15 GMT
That's an awful log of bad things to happen at one time, Tess. No wonder you're feeling down. Sending a cyberhug your way ((((())))).
Why not try thinking of one thing to thank yourself for today - maybe that you have the strength to start getting yourself back on track - and 2 tomorrow and so on.
Hope things start going better for you xxx
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Post by Lesley on Nov 6, 2013 8:56:00 GMT
Oh, and welcome back, Petra. And I was also going to ask, what's a saltpipe?
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Post by Lesley on Nov 6, 2013 8:54:29 GMT
When I was taking singing lessons my tutor taught me to breathe out as much as I could - then breathe out a bit more - then just let the breath flow back in of its own accord.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 24, 2013 18:42:59 GMT
Hope your GP agrees to that, Petra. And hope if he does that it works for you.
Take care x
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Post by Lesley on Oct 22, 2013 13:02:42 GMT
Wow! have a great time, jan. I've been thinking about going to Morocco for years - will do it one day. But I'm off to Andalucia first - next year, if i can get myslef(well, both myself and husband) organised.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 20, 2013 13:59:14 GMT
Put me on your mailing list!
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Post by Lesley on Oct 20, 2013 13:57:19 GMT
( ... haven't worked out XXX yet...maybe I shud read instructions) Oh, I do SO identify And agree it's a great article - spot on.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 16, 2013 17:40:16 GMT
Yes, I would definitely press the button.
I'd SO love to be able to get a move on with the things I want to do.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 15, 2013 12:09:05 GMT
Have ANY of you got your own notes at the moment?
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Post by Lesley on Oct 14, 2013 11:07:01 GMT
Hi Rowan.
I'm inattentive and take Strattera. It hasn't made me less energetic, but it hasn't made me more energetic either. What it has done is clear a sort of fog in my mind (which I hadn't really realised was there before, though I was aware of its effects), so that I can think more clearly, will hopefully be at least a little less timid around 'authority figures' and I think will be able to follow an argument more easily if I ever get round to doing the reading I want to do.
What it hasn't done is deal with my procrastination. I'm hoping that the clear mind will enable me to put strategies in place which will help with that, as at the moment I don't feel like risking what I've got already by trying another med which might suit me less.
As JJ said on the thread you started, everyone reacts differently to meds anyway. It might work better or worse for you than it has done for me.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 10, 2013 12:54:38 GMT
I'm sorry things went this way, Dan.I feel a little bit lost now. He basically kept repeating no hyperactivity, no police trouble, you went through school you're not ADHD. This bit makes me wonder how much he knows about ADHD.AND another thing - if he thinks you have to have struggled with school or been in trouble with the police to have adhd he perhaps does not understand sufficently about adhd to know that he doesn't know enough and could perhaps think about referring you to someone who does? I agree with Mary, and perhaps would put it even more strongly. Plus, while there does as things stand have to be evidence of hyperactivity in childhood for a diagnosis, it's pretty widely accepted that adults on the whole don't display hyperactivity (and even in childhood it's not universal, in spite of the diagnostic criteria).
You refer to this meeting as the "initial assessment" - I guess that means he's a generalist? And one with perhaps not as great a knowledge of ADHD as he thinks he has. By all means look up autism/Aspergers, but whether that sounds like a possibility to you or not (it's possible and even common to have both) I would be inclined to insist on a referral to an ADHD specialist before agreeing to go down any other route.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 10, 2013 9:24:33 GMT
Hi petraI've had several thoughts about this. Firstly, this may not be the best time for you to do this. I think you are one of those who have to deal with SAD as well as ADHD, and I know from the thread on it that it is kicking in for you all at the moment. (And perhaps there are other things going on in your life right now which make it difficult?). If you really feel you can't face it you might be best to mothball it and start again in the spring, when the sun is coming back. But before you do that - you also suggest "just put into practice and use what I have so far learnt". That also sounds like a good plan, and again you may find the spring is a good time to move on and go a little further into the book - or of course you may surprise yourself and find that as what you have done so far beds in you want to move on earlier. But it should be when you want to do it, and if you want to do it, not because you feel you should. Where are you in the book? I know you have dipped your toes into Step 3. If you can bear it, could you read at least part of the way into Step 4, and do Exploration 4.1, the Body Scan, listening to the CD? (But don't bother reading all the way through the instructions for it - read the first 3 paras, down to "Track 4 guides you through the Body Scan", then skip to the note about halfway through - between the dotted lines - beginning "As you scan", and leave it at that. You can read the bit at the end headed 'Pointers on the Body Scan' later if you want to). I suggest this because the Body Scan is an exercise we did at the very beginning of my course and it is (when guided) very simple yet powerful. I think it was a really good way to get into the whole thing, and in fact it may be that one of the things wrong with this book is that she leaves it as late as Step 4. I also notice that in the post just above yours Mary says that she has done the Body Scan and it sounds as if she got a lot out of it. I really think that this would be a useful thing to have under your belt if you do decide to "use what I have so far learnt". I really hope you don't decide to give up all together - if only because you'd then have no excuse not to give Michael the book . In any case, because you can't unlearn what you've learnt so far, I suspect that both giving up and mothballing it until spring will turn into "putting into practice and using what I have so far learnt" - which is all to the good. Don't forget too that every time you take a breath and focus on what you are doing and feeling at the present moment you are practicing mindfulness - all the rest is just elaboration. It may be that in fact you have already (either with or without the addition of the Body Scan) learnt all that you need to learn, and what you now need to do is keep returning to practicing it. As to other books - there are other books, but would you come up against the same problems with them? If you want to try another book (and of course there may well be another where the approach suits you better) would spring be a better time for that as well? And, by the way, I'm also spending far more time thinking about mindfulness than actually doing it.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 8, 2013 22:44:16 GMT
Have a great time, everyone
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Post by Lesley on Oct 7, 2013 7:51:04 GMT
Glad to hear you're feeling more positive, petra. I've been meaning to reply because your previous post strongly suggested that you didn't really want to give up, but haven't been able to get my head round it. Pleased to see you've been able to do it for yourself. I plan to get back on track this week as well.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 6, 2013 18:24:56 GMT
@jan - just seen that post - you called her kath - and it doesn't work unless it's the exact username - like jan and KathymelEditing to say - that was meant to be @your name, Jan, but just discovered there's another member called jan And that's my first smiley, btw.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 6, 2013 18:12:36 GMT
Kathymel - can't have you feeling left out.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 4, 2013 11:50:18 GMT
Hi Anthia
I don't have trouble answering questions (or at least no-one's ever told me I have), but I do know someone who is infamous for never answering a question, while clearly thinking that they have given a complete and totally adequate answer. They don’t have a diagnosis of ADHD (and are unlikely ever to seek one), but since I began finding out about it for myself, I have thought it very likely, for all sorts of reasons, that they do have it.
Sometimes they don’t give enough information e.g. when asked "How long is dinner going to be?" they say "It's only been in the oven 10 minutes" - which would be an answer if we knew what they were cooking and how long it needed to be in the oven, but they seem oblivious to the fact that their answer as it stands is incomplete.
Sometimes they leave you to infer the answer from what they say. Such as, when discussing with their partner which of them should pick their son up from a birthday party, they said something like "I've got a meeting which is likely to go on until 5 o'clock" - from which in this case, I’ll admit, it’s pretty clear that they mean they can’t do it so their partner needs to, but if you wanted to be awkward you could ask "Do you mean that you want to collect him so you can get out of staying to the end of the meeting?" In many cases their replies are extremely ambiguous, much more so than in this example which I’m quoting only because it’s the only one I can remember at the moment.
And sometimes they give an answer which is not so much a case of “very loose associations” as of “in a different universe from the question they were asked”. They do this in conversation, as well, introducing a completely new topic while clearly thinking they are seamlessly continuing the existing conversation.
They are dyslexic and blame it on that, but to me it looks much more like ADHD (there are other ADHD-like things they do as well).
Is this the sort of thing you mean?
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Post by Lesley on Oct 3, 2013 20:58:55 GMT
I did practice a bit yesterday, and would like to say something about that, but I'll do that a little later in a separate post. Ah, well, I know this is more than a little later, and I'm now talking about the day before yesterday, but here goes. I read Step 3 over breakfast (having barely touched Step 2). I had to drive the car out to be MOT’d (the garage we use is in a nearby village), then get the bus back in to town, and decided to go to the gym after that. I also decided not to take something to read with me, but to use the journey back for practicing mindfulness. (I was between books at the time, so would have had to search for something to read, which made it easier, but even so that was quite a radical decision for me, even though it’s only a 15-minute journey). I was quite early at the bus stop, so used the time by looking around me – mindfully – and noticing details of the beautiful old building opposite, among other things (until interrupted by a phone call from my husband, after which it was close enough to the time the bus was due that it seemed more sensible to keep my eyes open for its arrival). Then on the bus (there were only two other passengers, and they weren’t together, so no-one was talking) I did Exploration 3.2 (Mindfulness of Sound, Breath and Body) using stages on the journey to signal a very rough 3 minutes for each. I can’t say it was the most mindful I’ve been, but one advantage of practicing in such circumstances is you can set your expectations low and be pleased with anything you achieve. But the bit that really pleased me was at the gym afterwards – one of the best workouts I’ve done for a while – felt I was definitely being more mindful here – was particularly pleased that when my mind drifted off at one point onto what needed doing later in the day I was able to bring it back to the matter in hand just as I would (ideally) in a meditation with a gentle reminder. So, obviously, I need to practice mindfulness for 10 minutes before every workout. Anyone want to take a bet on my doing this? No, thought not. (Unfortunately, have done nothing yesterday or today).
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Post by Lesley on Oct 3, 2013 13:44:59 GMT
I've only spent altogether less than half an hour doing 'proper' practice - but - on a positive note - this has made a noticeable difference. Glad to know it is making a difference, Petra, and also Mary. Last night I stumbled across an article I'd downloaded to my tablet some time ago and reread it. The author quoted someone as advising " Floss just one tooth. This is an old idea, but it works well. Start your habit by flossing just one tooth." Maybe for both of you the things you are doing already will grow just as flossing one tooth can grow into a flossing habit. Have a great time in Devon, Mary.
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Post by Lesley on Oct 2, 2013 12:21:43 GMT
Please somebody make me do my mindfulness practice. All I am doing in reality is the occasional deep breath whilst at the same time thinking 'mindfulness'. In my head I feel I'm doing a lot more than this but I'm not i wonder whether it's that we are at a stage of the book where it is all new things but in an overwhelming rather than shiny way. none of us are great at routines or learning what seem to be relatively boring and complicated and difficult new things - at this stage, where it's new and hard it can feel like all of those, and as tho it's good for us and therefore to be avoided - like prunes or wheatgerm or wholemeal pasta. so we put it to one side, and then feel bad that we haven't done anything, so we avoid it even more! well, that's where i'm at, anyway. didn't really enjoy last week's experience because i couldn't do it, the paying attention to three things bit. i have tried the STOP thing a few times and it does work sometimes, when i can concentrate. and actually in many ways i'm feeling better - i had an hour on sunday morning when i was so chilled and focused i actually thought i'd been cured in the night!!! i think i'm going to move on to the next chapter now and see if it gets any more interesting or engaging. Lesley i think you've done this before - does it get better? Hello contrarymary and everyone. Hey, managed to tag you! (by copying what you did with my username - thanks for teaching me a new skill.) What I did initially was quite a lot different - I did an 8-week tutored course so I had the support of the weekly meetings both for practicing exercises and for reporting back on how I'd been getting on (though no obligation to say anything, and I often didn't) and hearing other people's experiences; email or telephone access to the tutor between meetings (which I didn't actually use); and a manual plus exercise CDs. So, much more external structure. I found, too, that because I was on the course at that specific time, I found it easier to say to my husband "I'm going to do my Mindfulness practice now" and shut myself in the sitting room for 45 minutes, whereas now I'm much less likely to do that. Two things specifically I found easier - first that we were talked through all the exercises in class when they were first introduced, which I found much easier than I'm finding reading about them. And, secondly, strangely, it helped that the main exercise we had to practice each week was much "bigger" (by which I mean longer, but also, I think, at least potentially deeper) than in the book. For example, the first week the main practice was to do a 40-minute, guided, lying down Body Scan on 6 days (I managed 5 - but did find I gradually did less each week as the course progressed). I found I usually managed this "big" exercise much better than the shorter exercises that we also had each week. It may just have been that the big exercise was usually guided (though the Walking Meditaition wasn't) or it may have been that the longer duration gave more time for something of note to happen. I notice that the longest exercise with the book is only 12 minutes - I wonder if this is going to be long enough. When I say I managed the big exercises better I don't mean that they were easy - it was often excruciatingly difficult. But one important thing is that it's impossible to fail at this - if one day I spent the whole 40 minutes wriggling, shifting position, and my mind going all over the place, or another day kept dosing off, then this was something for me to observe with gentle curiousity, not beat myself up for. All the time, you are learning knowledge of your body, thoughts and emotions, and compassion for yourself, just as much as (if not more than) you are learning to focus. And that's true, of course, of the exercises we've been doing from the book as well as the ones I'm describing here. But I do feel that the big gains tended to come from sitting (or lying) with a feeling (physical or emotional) through the point where it was uncomfortable or even almost unbearable to the point where you could accept it. I am getting something from the book - and would no doubt get more if I put more into it. And it does sound as if you are getting something from it as well. Many of you (maybe even all, but I'd have to check back through all the posts before feeling able to say that) have reported moments of ease, or realisation, or acceptance. It's as much about keeping on coming back to it as anything, I think. Congratulate yourself every time you do return to the practice, and remember the moments when you have felt it was doing something for you, either during the practice or as you go about your life. They're your rewards (I've been reading a couple of books about habits - the making and breaking of - probably when I should have been practicing Mindfulness - and rewards are one of the essentials in establishing a habit) and there will be more rewards as you go on. I did practice a bit yesterday, and would like to say something about that, but I'll do that a little later in a separate post.
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Post by Lesley on Sept 28, 2013 12:50:55 GMT
They have black squirrels in Letchworth - I've seen one.
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Post by Lesley on Sept 25, 2013 22:15:36 GMT
Jan, I think if you want to quote and cross things off on the new post and show off, then you should.
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Post by Lesley on Sept 25, 2013 21:35:31 GMT
so, from my original list... do mindfulness meditation physio exercises gather windfall apples & wash themsort / wrap apples wash hairemail about financial admin create feedback form for conferenceemail about correcting financial assessment info (or thurs am) plan the rest of the week write the rest of the list
but writing a Done List to show what I did with my time:
shower get dressed load washing machine prep breakfast/lunch, eat around antibiotics remember to take antibiotics supervise 2 hrs help to clean, hang laundry, empty bins etc email correspondence re budget for conference email draft feedback form to other organisers do monthly online grocery order feed birds reply to emails x 4 research recipes for windfall apples, and order ingredients emails to borrow stock pot for jam/chutney
I did something like this for a while when I was still working. I would email myself a to-do list for the next day just before leaving work, and also a list of the things I'd done from that day's to-do list and the things I'd done which weren't on that list. This idea, which came to me out of the blue, worked brilliantly for a couple of weeks, then I just lost interest and didn't do it any more. This was before I'd read about ADHD and realised I had it, and I was really puzzled and frustrated by this, and my similar failure to persevere with other organizational ideas which had served me well for a while.
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