avoiding thinking
July 1, 2011 1:04 PM Subscribe
I need to avoid thinking without using the net on my phone and am looking for suggestions.
My external life is very bad and I can't change that for now. At one of my 2 jobs with a lot of downtime. Im looking for truly effective distracting things to think about so I am not making myself anxious or exhausted. I can't listen to podcasts etc, and people watching sometimes works but sometimes makes me sadder as I see happy couples and families, etc and feel like they have a soul and I don't.
This is very important as I am getting into dangerous mental states and it salsa my energy for when I get home. I am in therapy and looking for other work. I probably have severe ADD which I cannot get treated with meds as I am in the UK.
My external life is very bad and I can't change that for now. At one of my 2 jobs with a lot of downtime. Im looking for truly effective distracting things to think about so I am not making myself anxious or exhausted. I can't listen to podcasts etc, and people watching sometimes works but sometimes makes me sadder as I see happy couples and families, etc and feel like they have a soul and I don't.
This is very important as I am getting into dangerous mental states and it salsa my energy for when I get home. I am in therapy and looking for other work. I probably have severe ADD which I cannot get treated with meds as I am in the UK.
Response by poster: I'm not allowed to do that either, it is a public facing job.
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:10 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by By The Grace of God at 1:10 PM on July 1, 2011
Doodle. Play solitaire (with real cards). Sudoku or crossword puzzles (on paper).
posted by desjardins at 1:10 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by desjardins at 1:10 PM on July 1, 2011
If using a book of Sudoku puzzles would also be frowned upon, you might do what I did when I was being a bad student and not paying attention in class but also didn't want to offend the professor, and copy a few sudoku puzzles at a time onto a pad of paper so it's not as obvious. Just remember to use a different color pen to work on the puzzles then the one used to copy them.
posted by wuzandfuzz at 1:16 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by wuzandfuzz at 1:16 PM on July 1, 2011
Meditate.
posted by Obscure Reference at 1:17 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by Obscure Reference at 1:17 PM on July 1, 2011
When I had to very discretely deal with downtime in a job (lots of waiting on hold), I alternately wrote letters to a friend, or drew celtic knotwork patterns. The latter was very good for not thinking - I used the method in the second link - dots - which works well with a pen or pencil. It looked like I was taking notes (part of the job), and could be put away instantly when my attention was needed.
posted by jb at 1:23 PM on July 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jb at 1:23 PM on July 1, 2011 [1 favorite]
-Memorize long poems, ideally narrative ones that aren't connected to your current life situation
-Memorize other things, eg lists of the historical prime ministers (or similar pub trivia stuff), or song lyrics, etc
-Mentally compose new scenarios for your favorite escapist fictional universe
-Geometric doodling, following a new arbitrary rule each time - eg, circle, triangle, triangle, repeat, trying to fill a post-it note as completely as possible without overlapping.
-Get a list of word puzzles such as "what is the English word ending in 'ome' that has the most syllables?" Or do word ladders. Gives you something to think about but you don't have to look at a page while doing it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:28 PM on July 1, 2011
-Memorize other things, eg lists of the historical prime ministers (or similar pub trivia stuff), or song lyrics, etc
-Mentally compose new scenarios for your favorite escapist fictional universe
-Geometric doodling, following a new arbitrary rule each time - eg, circle, triangle, triangle, repeat, trying to fill a post-it note as completely as possible without overlapping.
-Get a list of word puzzles such as "what is the English word ending in 'ome' that has the most syllables?" Or do word ladders. Gives you something to think about but you don't have to look at a page while doing it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:28 PM on July 1, 2011
There's the famous legend about the Japanese girl dying of cancer who decided to fold a thousand origami cranes before she died. It probably helped put her in a meditative frame of mind.
You could learn origami from a book.
posted by Net Prophet at 1:30 PM on July 1, 2011
You could learn origami from a book.
posted by Net Prophet at 1:30 PM on July 1, 2011
Set the world to rights in your head. Devise the perfect scheme for rubbish collection, an education policy that would meet everybody's needs, the ideal railway system, the optimum layout for high-density housing... basically, come up with a plan to fix any and every aspect of daily life that doesn't trigger your anxieties. When you run out of aspects to fix, start refining what you already came up with.
Did you study any languages at school? Pick one and try to use it to describe what you did yesterday, or what you plan to eat for dinner, or the last member of the public you had to face. This works best if it's a language where you have a fairly small working vocabulary, say a thousand or so words, because it's so absorbing trying to find the necessary circumlocutions.
How are you at mental arithmetic? Calculate squares, starting at 1x1; how far can you get before you lose track of digits? Then move on to cubes, and so on. Work through times tables; pick an arbitrary two-digit number to use as the endpoint, so that instead of going from 1x1 to 12x12 you go to, say, 25x25. Find primes. Factorise three-digit numbers; if you run out of three-digit numbers, start on four-digit ones.
Also, +1 for word puzzles.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:17 PM on July 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
Did you study any languages at school? Pick one and try to use it to describe what you did yesterday, or what you plan to eat for dinner, or the last member of the public you had to face. This works best if it's a language where you have a fairly small working vocabulary, say a thousand or so words, because it's so absorbing trying to find the necessary circumlocutions.
How are you at mental arithmetic? Calculate squares, starting at 1x1; how far can you get before you lose track of digits? Then move on to cubes, and so on. Work through times tables; pick an arbitrary two-digit number to use as the endpoint, so that instead of going from 1x1 to 12x12 you go to, say, 25x25. Find primes. Factorise three-digit numbers; if you run out of three-digit numbers, start on four-digit ones.
Also, +1 for word puzzles.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:17 PM on July 1, 2011 [4 favorites]
Diaphragmic breathing is good.
posted by TheRedArmy at 2:19 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by TheRedArmy at 2:19 PM on July 1, 2011
You can get medical treatment for ADD in the UK. You say you probably have it, which (reading between the lines) might mean you haven't been to your GP and been referred to a specialist to get diagnosed one way or the other.
NHS information on ADHD, including diagnosis procedure.
posted by Static Vagabond at 2:27 PM on July 1, 2011
NHS information on ADHD, including diagnosis procedure.
posted by Static Vagabond at 2:27 PM on July 1, 2011
truly effective distracting things to think about
I can relate! What is a goal you have that's mostly unrelated to your problems? Keep turning your attention to that. My goal is to eat better, so I do meal planning in my head. Also, I think about my friends and family and how I can do nice things for them. Hike or exercise planning might be another good project. It will be hard to focus, certainly, but keep trying.
Are those truly effective? Probably not. More engrossing might be your own history. (But that might be what you're trying not to think about?) I like to watch part of a movie one night and part the next, spending the time in between trying to imagine what will happen.
Hugs and good luck!
posted by slidell at 3:51 PM on July 1, 2011
I can relate! What is a goal you have that's mostly unrelated to your problems? Keep turning your attention to that. My goal is to eat better, so I do meal planning in my head. Also, I think about my friends and family and how I can do nice things for them. Hike or exercise planning might be another good project. It will be hard to focus, certainly, but keep trying.
Are those truly effective? Probably not. More engrossing might be your own history. (But that might be what you're trying not to think about?) I like to watch part of a movie one night and part the next, spending the time in between trying to imagine what will happen.
Hugs and good luck!
posted by slidell at 3:51 PM on July 1, 2011
The animal game. You think of an animal, then you think of another animal whose name begins with the last letter of the one before it. Eg. Kangaroo, otter, racoon, numbat etc... you can use any topic.
posted by Chrysalis at 4:14 PM on July 1, 2011
posted by Chrysalis at 4:14 PM on July 1, 2011
Response by poster: These are good so far although stuff that is invisible to an outside observer is ideal.
Re adhd they don't prescribe for adult onset, my worthless trash of a father got my brother prescribed but not me during childhood so I won't be able to get meds unless there is a private method of doing so in the UK.
Just the simple fact that folks are answering my question makes me truly grateful, thank you.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:46 AM on July 2, 2011
Re adhd they don't prescribe for adult onset, my worthless trash of a father got my brother prescribed but not me during childhood so I won't be able to get meds unless there is a private method of doing so in the UK.
Just the simple fact that folks are answering my question makes me truly grateful, thank you.
posted by By The Grace of God at 2:46 AM on July 2, 2011
You may well know about it already, but just in case: Googling has turned up AADD-UK, an adult ADHD charity. They have some information about getting help from the NHS in their FAQ section, though if the location in your profile is current, I think the nearest specialist would be in Bristol, which isn't great. Maybe some of the information there will be helpful, though, and you could ask them for advice on getting a private prescription, if it comes to that. They do list some private specialists, though again not in your part of the country.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:43 AM on July 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:43 AM on July 2, 2011 [1 favorite]
This depends on how you dress, but you can place bud headphones inside the collar of a collared shirt, next to your neck (not inside the folds of cloth, but just resting between shirt and neck) and listen to things. As a sewing project, you could even place little loops of string to hold the buds in place. While this won't help if you have a job where you have to interact with people constantly or where quiet words being broadcast to your ears would be heard (really quiet work environment), this could help in other circumstances.
posted by Hactar at 1:01 PM on July 2, 2011
posted by Hactar at 1:01 PM on July 2, 2011
I don't know if this can help with an ADD type situation, but I second the meditation/breathing suggestions. Rather than try and focus on something distracting, it's almost like focusing on nothing. This is known as "mindfulness" if you want to search on it further.
In short, breathe and pay attention. Focus on drawing in the breath and letting it out. If you think about something else, don't berate yourself, but just go back to focusing on your breathing.
The Miracle of Mindfulness is one book on it. I've read it, and it's not totally for me, but it's a good introduction to the practice.
Keep in mind I'm a total novice at this, but I think it's something you might find helpful.
posted by jefftang at 9:22 AM on July 5, 2011
In short, breathe and pay attention. Focus on drawing in the breath and letting it out. If you think about something else, don't berate yourself, but just go back to focusing on your breathing.
The Miracle of Mindfulness is one book on it. I've read it, and it's not totally for me, but it's a good introduction to the practice.
Keep in mind I'm a total novice at this, but I think it's something you might find helpful.
posted by jefftang at 9:22 AM on July 5, 2011
I came across this question because I searched on ADHD and NHS because I was wondering about getting a diagnosis of Adult ADHD in the UK. It doesn't look too easy, but it does happen.
I know from my day job that the clinic in Bristol does treat people from further afield, and that they would normally be prescribing. I think reviews are generally 6 monthly or annual once you're stabilised, so if it's possible for you to get a referral to that, that might be good. Of course, getting the referral in the first place means going through a whole bunch of non-ADHD friendly hoops. I don't know much about the people in Bodmin or Exeter, but if you can show you have sufficiently strong symptoms to your GP, they should offer you a referral. And if the
GP doesn't help, email or call the PALS team, and see what they can do for you.
posted by ambrosen at 10:35 AM on February 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
I know from my day job that the clinic in Bristol does treat people from further afield, and that they would normally be prescribing. I think reviews are generally 6 monthly or annual once you're stabilised, so if it's possible for you to get a referral to that, that might be good. Of course, getting the referral in the first place means going through a whole bunch of non-ADHD friendly hoops. I don't know much about the people in Bodmin or Exeter, but if you can show you have sufficiently strong symptoms to your GP, they should offer you a referral. And if the
GP doesn't help, email or call the PALS team, and see what they can do for you.
posted by ambrosen at 10:35 AM on February 21, 2012 [1 favorite]
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posted by ErikaB at 1:08 PM on July 1, 2011