I have ADHD, OCD, and Aspergers and this feels impossibleI will spend hours doing anything but the things I need and want to do, because I have irrational anxiety around starting the task, and will instead constantly check for anything else of interest online, replies to threads and posts, scroll on social media etc to avoid starting, even if the task is simple and easy to do"Just suck it up and do it" doesn't work, though I know once I start it's easier to continue with the momentum.
>>34500683Have you tried medication for the ADHD? I can't think of much else that really helps with that condition
>>34500683I have the same problem, though if something is a looming threat to me or becomes a significant enough problem that it interferes with my day to day life, that usually motivates me to do something about it.I don't know if you're motivated by external pressure the way I am, but it might be worth thinking about.>>34500711ADHD meds really help some people, but for AuDHD people in particular, it can "unmask" their autism in an unpleasant way. For me, ADHD meds felt like rocket fuel and made me way too anxious, so I don't use them.
>>34500716Okay, consider that there are different meds with different effects for ADHD. I know Vyvanse and Adderall and Amphetamine salts "feel" quite different, so that could be worth looking into
>>34500711>>34500731Yes, I've been on different forms of Methylphenidate for basically my whole life, and recently the 20mg pills I take have started to wear off super quickly, within 2-3 hours.I'm currently trying out Vyvanse in the morning and Adderral in the evenings, which seems to work fine in terms of allowing me to get into a focus state, but as with the Methylphenidate, it doesn't actually allow me to pick and choose what to focus on and initiating the task I need to be doing still isn't easy>>34500716I've never noticed that issue.
>>34500683Drugs can't help with this problem. Even taking steroids can't help you build muscle if you don't lift weights. Likewise, "now" is a muscle that needs to be built and exercised. You need to practice doing things immediately, without telling yourself that you'll do them later. It also helps to meditate on how much better you'll feel with the weight off of your chest, and remind yourself of how much procrastination has cost you and how little it has done for you.
>>34500683Have you tried the June-Bugging method? Works really well for me, AuDHD.Pick a spot to clean. Not something vague and nebulous like 'the kitchen.' Pick something real and definitive like the kitchen sink.Start at the kitchen sink, and let yourself get distracted by other things to clean while you're doing it.Then remind yourself that you set out to clean the sink. Return to the sink, clean a little bit, get distracted by cleaning something else.Repeat until success.For cleaning my bedroom floor, I can't. It's such an overwhelming sight to even start.Pick a spot, and lay down on the floor. Now you pick up everything that is within your reach. You don't need to move from your spot on the floor. pick up what is in your immediate vicinity, and toss it into either a keep, toss, or fix pile.Eventually the spot you are in will be clean. Move to a different spot on the floor and do the same thing again.Repeat until floor is cleaned.What exactly do you get anxious over? I struggle to picture the end result. Sometimes I need a picture in order to help jog my memory of what my rooms look like when they are clean. When I have the end in my sight, I can start.
>>34500683What works wonders for me is working up to the task>Step1 Go neutral; stoo doing what ever you are doing, scrolling texting whatever just put your phone away>Step 2 Go for the speed 1: plan out on a piece a paper what you need to do today>Step 3 Go for speed 2: Number the things you need to do 1 being the one can do right away and quickly and the last being the task that require the other task to be doneStep 4 Start the easiest on the list, your number one taskStep 5 Fil up the form, finksh the task started and do the next one, dont try to be efficient, or even smart, finish Task 1 then Task 2.. dont try and set up task 7 while not finishing task 5. One at the time and follow what you decided on step 3, NO MATTER WHATStep 6 Go for as long as you can, which doesnt mean spend a day on it, but if you have only 10 min do 10min, there isn't a time gap too small to progress on a step or start the next one. Remeber if you can carve out 5min it you can still progress by following the list you made.The idea behind this method is taking excuses out of the equation, you are never lost, since you can only be in a constent state of making or doing the list.You always have time since you arent traking how much you do but only if you are moving or standing still, be default you are always at max speedThe rest is pride and egoThis methode turn me from a neet to a master owning family man with his own practice I can do every day
>>34501898>>34501194I'll look at these in more depth later, but to clarify, often the "thing I need to do" that I can't bring myself to do is a task that's still on my laptop like sending a email or working on a project, so what was said in >>34501194 for example in my skim of it isn't super applicable, at least not in an obvious wayIt also makes isolating myself from potential distractions difficult because I can't just put my phone/computer in a different room or anything
>>34500900According to what you said, it sounds like medication could work if combined with the right therapy to make sure that the effects of the medication are utilized properly.
>>34500683>anxietyPropranolol is a medication sold without a prescription; anyone can buy it. It's a beta-blocker, used to lower blood pressure, prevent headaches, prevent tremors, and reduce anxiety.I've used 5 different benzodiazepines, and I say that propranolol is just as good as them for reducing anxiety, but it obviously won't sedate you like benzos do, which can even be good in some cases.Don't be afraid that your blood pressure will drop; the minimum dose to lower blood pressure is 160mg. If you use any dose lower than 160mg, your blood pressure will not change. I use 80mg every day before going to work; the minimum dose for anxiety is 80mg. If you use any dose lower than 80mg, there will be no effect on anxiety.If you have asthma, don't use this medication.
>>34501194lmao, laying on the floor and cleaning what's in reach is actually genius. Lazy as fuck but still makes progress.That "pick one specific spot" method is what I use, too. Just clean one small spot every day, and before you know it your whole mess of a house is clean and organized....then it gradually deteriorates until you need to do the process again.
>>34504330>>it gradually deteriorates until you need to do the process again.Entropy is a hex ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
>>34501898I make lists but then never finish them and I have difficulties starting them. I don't list the order of things to do, though. How can I make your method work for me? Listing things 1. tricks my brain into thinking I'm already doing them and "deserve" a break, and 2. makes me see all the tasks at once which can get overwhelming.My number one problem right now is archival studies for my research, I fucking HATE going to the archive and when I'm there I take constant breaks because who gives a fuck about what these dead people wrote to one another? Do you have any advice on how to apply your method to my situation?>>34500683I feel you, OP, thanks for making this thread. I keep drugging myself with porn, doomscrolling, Civ 5, candy/food, and cigarettes in order to work or fake-relax from work. I don't want to live like this.
>>34500731>>34500739My experience is that stims in general are too much for me. Even Wellbutrin, which most people don't even know is a stim.>>34504157I think propanolol is Rx only in most countries. Cool that you can buy it OTC where you live.
>>34500900>Drugs can't help with this problemThey can't cure it but you're a fool if you say they can't help.
>>34505282>My number one problem right now is archival studies for my research, I fucking HATE going to the archive and when I'm there I take constant breaks because who gives a fuck about what these dead people wrote to one another?OP here, this is extremely ironic to me because the exact sort of tasks I want to be able to start and not have task avoidance with is historical and anthropology projects/research alongside doing emails for those, and in my case it is very much not an issue of me "not giving a fuck" about itI care a ton about those projects and that research, I love doing it. But in my unconscious psyche there is irrational anxiety and task avoidance around doing those (and other) things, especially when I get even slightly behind and I mentally catastrophize over it, and then that anxiety and inability to work on it further only makes me more behind schedule and the cycle repeats until days, weeks, or months go by with no progress
>>34505959>the exact sort of tasks I want to be able to start and not have task avoidance with is historical and anthropology projects/research alongside doing emails for those, and in my case it is very much not an issue of me "not giving a fuck" about itI really hope you make it, I'm gonna give academia another shot if I get a postdoc grant regarding something I care about, but as it is I'm losing my love for history at all. I still like writing so I'm hoping it's just this particular project. I still have avoidance problems but that's more of a general issue I'd say. All I can say is that I told myself that I loved these things because I needed them to form an identity, but as time has progressed and I've made connections, found hobbies, and deepened my religious life, I've been able to admit to myself that it's OK not to love the things I thought I loved. That also makes it easer to perform, I think. Maybe that could help you as well?
>>34500683Same. I think I differ from you though in that the OCD is clearly differentiated and recognizable, which makes it easy to combat (it's really pretty easy once you figure it out, ime). Maybe work on figuring out which impulses are OCD and which are actually "you". You're Aspie, you can logic over emotions way more easily than the average normie, and once you figure out which feelings are just manifestations of the OCD malfunction you'll be better placed to "whatever" and ignore them.
>>34506194Sadly knowing the feelings are irrational and trying to logic myself into using my time more effectively doesn't work
