I have difficulty doing certain tasks that require focus on a lot of things at the same time. (e.g., certain sorting tasks) I sometimes feel as if I’m being split into pieces. (like there are a hundred babies all screaming for attention at the same time)
The reason that I’m writing about this is because it’s extremely painful and I wonder how others cope.
Last week I was sorting some laundry into categories. It was all on hangers. I was sorting pants from shirts from sweaters, etc. It was emotionally so difficult because it was so painful. When I was finished, the feelings remained, but fortunately a friend was available and I was able to talk about what I was experiencing. With time, the discomfort decreased.
I used to have a very serious skin picking problem. I would pick in front of a mirror and then be unable to stop, sometimes for hours. I think what this did was give me a focus, but due to some very good therapy, I no longer use this as a coping technique.
The only other thing that has worked for me is to get involved with something else (e.g., listening to a television program that I find interesting) and then doing the overwhelming task while I’m focused on something else.
Have any of you discovered other ways of dealing with this type of situation so that it’s not so painful?
Re: Feeling split into pieces when doing certain tasks
I struggle with finding a starting point in my studies. If there are too many subjects to learn, I jump from one to another and never really learn anything. Its interesting that you mention watching tv while doing overwhelming tasks, because I have found that listening to music (lower volume, steady tempo or rythm) while I study helps me stay focused on a task for long periods of time. I also find that doing housework is nealy imposable without some music to create rythm and momentum. Hope this helps,
Kemmer
Re: Feeling split into pieces when doing certain tasks
Arlene,
Your message struck a familiar chord with me, as I experience the same overwhelming feeling performing certain household tasks (especially those that involve sorting). I find myself doing the same thing when I am overwhelmed. I either turn on the TV or put some music on. It does seem to help. I am also experiencing similar overwhelming feeling when I work on homework for my graduate classes (especially when I have to search for information on the internet).
Kathy
Re: Feeling split into pieces when doing certain tasks
You are right and you are torn in half.
My first thought was to sort the clothes in a different manner, different room or with music or tv on. But you mentioned that so you found a way.
I look at ADD/ADHD as finding your way. I forget about the brain ciruitry and all other brain related things. I find my way. Sometimes what should take 1 hour to do will take me 3 hours. Others I surprise myself and am ready to be entered into the ADD/ADHD world book of achievements.
But again as I have posted over and over, laugh. Don’t take it as a serious problem. A serious ADD/ADHD problem is when you can’t figure how to find the dozen of eggs that you lost, then dropped and are now faced with figuring out how to pick the mess up. After you have that all figured out in your head you look and someone stole thwe paper towels. That is a seious ADD/ADHD problem. :) What we really need is a post that has funny ADD/ADHD stories to make everyone feel better at the end of a day. :)
Re: Feeling split into pieces when doing certain tasks
Apparently some people have difficulty with sorting things out/breaking things down into smaller categories; others have the opposite difficulty of glueing things together/building smaller blocks of say brick into a larger item such as a brick wall.
My general feeling with some people is that the difficulty is real but it is not felt as being good or bad; they simply know that’s what’s happening.
Here are a couple of resources about neurological oddities:
http://mutuslab.cs.uwindsor.ca/schurko/misc/
http://www.choisser.com/faceblind/
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/flicker_sound.html
http://www.hyperacusis.net/
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You’re right, it’s like a hundred babies needing your attention. I stand there unable to decide what to do or what is most important. It can be overwhelming when there is too much at once, so I limit how much I will deal with at a time. If I find myself in that situation, I make myself make a choice about what I will deal with at that particular moment and consciously set the rest aside knowing it will be there later and that I will deal with at the appropriate time.
I try to keep things simple and straight forward, simplify things that are overly complex, plan ahead so that I can get what needs to done by the date it’s needed by. Once I put it on the calendar/to do list, I forget about it until the date comes up. I don’t try to remember everything all the time. It’s in my planner I so I don’t need to worry about forgetting it. I prioritize what’s on my list for the day each morning and use that list as my roadmap for the day. I find that I’m more productive and make less mistakes than when I try to do too many things at once.