I can't concentrate!

Your OP tells what your problem stems from get off any and all artifical sweeteners now your life does depend on it...

*raises hand*

same thing here as described by so many in this topic already

No concertration, cant pull my ass off the sofa, no interest in anything social. lost contact with friends, studies are slipping fast actually deferred 2 units this week, marriage is falling apart fast

ready to go live on my deserted island in the pacific

Eat healthier, stop using BRANDED artificial/alternative sweeteners even if it says natural. The reason it has a name like "Truvia" is because its not just 1 thing, its several things combined to become a product which they branded as Truvia. Looking at their website I looked at the ingredients - Erythritol, Rebiana, Natural Flavors. They go on to explain Erythritol is natural from pears n other fruits, cool no prob there. They say Rebiana is their most common used name for their high purity ingredient which comes from a plant and is used as a sweetener itself also known as stevia and Natural flavors they claim are added to bring out the flavor much like salt and pepper. I for one don't trust the term "Natural Flavor" without them saying what those flavors are naturally from, but whatever it is, it's needed to give it flavor. Anyway my point is, if you want a sweetener use REAL Honey not honey flavored corn syrup, use 100% REAL maple syrup, Agave Nectar from the Agave plant or unrefined brown sugar. If it has a name like "Truvia" you should think about what that is, cause there is no Truvia plant. USE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T A BRAND NAME.

If you notice your self getting cloudy in the brain, less excited about things or just bored its probably all the toxins in your body. You'd be surprised what a detox can do for you, last year I went on the master cleanse, stopped eating and drinking refined white sugar and only eat and drink sweet things with cane sugar or 100% natural occurring sugars like in apple juice or orange juice. I shop at Trader Joes now since they sell affordable organic products and all of their store brand items have NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives; NO genetically modified ingredients; NO MSG; and NO added Trans Fats.

What I've gained from this change is better focus, more clarity and more energy than I know what to do with.

White sugar is better than sugar substitutes but Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar and unrefined brown cane sugar is your best bet for sweeteners. If the ingredients don't match the name on the front of the sweeteners, its best to stay away from it.

reply to post by RADHESYAM


and the worst/best thing about your life falling apart? you don't care, in the least, do you?

I too have the same feelings, happenings, appathy. What words to describe it? Look at it another way. When we are young we are more acceptable to knowledge being taught to us. We are sponges soaking up the knowledge. Some take to it others don't. When you get older, twenties onward, you classify your self as knowledgable, inteligent or some other term. That in itself sets some parameters as to what is expected of yourself ie. if your inteligent you can program the latest recording technology better than others. You get used to this level of "inteligence" so when there is a marked change in your behaviour you notice it and because you are inteligent you question this change. Being inteligent(or whatever term you want to use) is a double edged sword for good and bad. As an instance I had suffered from depression and because I thought myself inteligent I questioned myself. What is wrong with me? Why can't I "pull myself together". When I eventually saw a doctor he said I had made it worse because I was inteligent thinking I could control my mind when in reality it controls us. Look from another perspetive. This could just be your mind telling you to slow down. Why question it? That question alone leads to a downward spiral. Imo try to relax let, the world go by and try to stop non essential thoughts. Just live.

reply to post by SaturnFX


These personal problems...you need to try and confront them. Having suffered with depression myself I'll say this: put your bad patch into perspective and then try and overcome it.
(Easier said then done I know)

Regarding your decress of intelligence here's my story: well there's a game called super street fighter 4(ssf4.) In that game there's a technique called fadc (focus, attack, dash, cancel) where you cancel one move and perform another. I practised this technique for MONTHS, then at one point I couldn't do it. Why ? Because I was so fixated by it, always thinking about it when playing. My solution was to stop thinking and just do. Let it flow. You should try it.

reply to post by SaturnFX


Ive been out of work for a long time due to illness and am now feeling like I need to be doing a lot more, I started doing some voluntary work to help myself get back in touch with the real world and it's really helped me and Im starting more next week. It's been good to engage with my community and get the reward of helping people less fortunate. Being a hermit will drive you mad after a while, we are social animals and need human interaction.

Originally posted by SaturnFX

Originally posted by kro32
Welcome to old age my friend. Enjoy

oi, still in my 30s bucko! heh

and besides, my freaking grandparents generation can focus and concentrate better than me now.

I remember when I was able to tell my body had fully developed into an adult around age 32...

I also had a very different change in mental pursuits... Its just different phases for different parts of life... Just as the 13 yo is focused on detail to the nth degree, the adult mind craves something else... Rhythm, exercise, etc... I started cooking a whole lot around that time, as I also noticed the same thing you spoke of...

The other thing i would recommend is, that if you really like the vibe you used to get from reading... Learn how to do something new... If you've never traded stocks... Read about how that works... And do it when you normally wouldn't... For example, early in the am, or after a beer, etc...

Though I have also heard lots of folks complain about concentration after switching to diet sodas...

reply to post by Intuitiveaptitude2009


cool you play ssf4? me too lol

SSF4 is all about muscle memory though, you start doing it so often all you have to do is think of the move and your body just knows what to do to perform it with out thinking ok press MK+ MP now dash then release. it just goes FADC, and your hands automatically do it.

but what you're saying is true, just let it flow.

SFX,

Pretty much everyone seems to be somewhat "dumbed down" , or a bit "out of it" these days. We could spend a bunch of time going over the myriad of specific reasons behind this, but we've been through the alternative channels long enough to know that overall it's likely a combination of hardcore gunking up of the environment mixing in with each individual's genetic susceptibilities.

I've found a protocol that works wonders for my situation, and it seems to work to varying degrees for most people. Some people find slight help, while others notice a major recovery from their ails.

I offer you a few google keywords to search on, and a couple of books to consider reading. Once, I had major problems even reading a couple of paragraphs and comprehending it in full. Now, I can breeze through a book in a few hours if interested and retain a good chunk of the material on the fly.

Google searches:

Niacin alzheimer's; Niacin memory

Gut brain connection

Orthomolecular Therapy

Books:

Orthomolec ular Therapy for Everyone

Depres sion-Free, Naturally

OP you and I rarely if ever express the same views, however I must say, after painfully forcing myself to read your entire post....I agree and feel the same way as of late.

In fact, you had me until this-

I am fairly clever..

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Back to a more serious note...What do you think is causing this ? Overall dumbing down of society ? Something bigger than us ? ?

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


Actually, what you listed is signs and symptoms of depression
you can have bouts of that, and either shrug it off with a bit of change in routine, or if its persistant and problematic, perhaps some temp meds? I don't do meds unless like..something is hurting alot, I fear depdendency more than a quick and dirty solution, but if things were going really rough, I would give it a go.

thanks for the replys so far folks

(trying to read through them )

Scary...I too have been noticing a lack of attention and focus.
I am taking a course and I'm finding it pretty difficult to sit down and read the chapters.
For years I have always had a stack of books to read for enjoyment and I am finding it is taking longer and longer to finish reading a book. I too have started to question the artificial sweeteners in my diet. I went on a diet last year and cut all refined sugar. I started drinking diet sodas as a substitute for regular and since stopping the diet, I have continued to drink these artificially sweetened drinks. I often wondered if this is causing my lack of concentration.

When I go to my Dr.'s appointment in a couple of weeks I plan on discussing this with him.
It's frustrating to think it is just me getting older. Thanks for bringing this thread up, I don't feel as alone about it.

I hope I can get through my studies.

Originally posted by Seekeye2
I have the same problem. I blame the internet as it provides so much variety and speed of access that when we sit down to a good old book, it's not quick enough.

I can understand that, but I don't believe thats any issue for me.
I have been on the net (or some form thereof) for about 22 years now..(bulletin board systems before the net truely kicked in.
the internet is a bit distracting overall for the immediate gratification aspect, however, I never had issues in reading entire books online, etc...

meh..I am sure its not helpful, however I don't think that is the key root of the issue

Originally posted by jidnum
Eat healthier, stop using BRANDED artificial/alternative sweeteners even if it says natural. The reason it has a name like "Truvia" is because its not just 1 thing, its several things combined to become a product which they branded as Truvia. Looking at their website I looked at the ingredients - Erythritol, Rebiana, Natural Flavors. They go on to explain Erythritol is natural from pears n other fruits, cool no prob there. They say Rebiana is their most common used name for their high purity ingredient which comes from a plant and is used as a sweetener itself also known as stevia and Natural flavors they claim are added to bring out the flavor much like salt and pepper. I for one don't trust the term "Natural Flavor" without them saying what those flavors are naturally from, but whatever it is, it's needed to give it flavor. Anyway my point is, if you want a sweetener use REAL Honey not honey flavored corn syrup, use 100% REAL maple syrup, Agave Nectar from the Agave plant or unrefined brown sugar. If it has a name like "Truvia" you should think about what that is, cause there is no Truvia plant. USE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T A BRAND NAME.

If you notice your self getting cloudy in the brain, less excited about things or just bored its probably all the toxins in your body. You'd be surprised what a detox can do for you, last year I went on the master cleanse, stopped eating and drinking refined white sugar and only eat and drink sweet things with cane sugar or 100% natural occurring sugars like in apple juice or orange juice. I shop at Trader Joes now since they sell affordable organic products and all of their store brand items have NO artificial flavors, colors or preservatives; NO genetically modified ingredients; NO MSG; and NO added Trans Fats.

What I've gained from this change is better focus, more clarity and more energy than I know what to do with.

White sugar is better than sugar substitutes but Honey, maple syrup, agave nectar and unrefined brown cane sugar is your best bet for sweeteners. If the ingredients don't match the name on the front of the sweeteners, its best to stay away from it.

edit on 17-4-2011 by jidnum because: (no reason given)

Well, about the truvia thing..
I don't want to come off sounding like a commercial, but will say that switching from equal to truvia stopped the gut wrenching feeling and the shakes/general aspertime overdose symptoms. I am a fly, I enjoy sweetness in my drinks, (cola's, tea, coffee), and its also my dietary downfall..so, I need to find something that won't add to any potential weight gain, while feeding my addiction to sweet caffine. Figured this stuff is worth a try...not saying its "health food", but considering the effect and desired outcome, its better than the alternatives

as far as honey and such, well, then we got the weight gain issue.

bah...no win situation...get hooked on a product, then either get unhealthy with the regular version, or get unhealthy with the diet version...cancer or diabetic...what crap choices.

Originally posted by Signals
OP you and I rarely if ever express the same views, however I must say, after painfully forcing myself to read your entire post....I agree and feel the same way as of late.

In fact, you had me until this-

I am fairly clever..

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence

Back to a more serious note...What do you think is causing this ? Overall dumbing down of society ? Something bigger than us ? ?

I think it may be a mix, but I am wondering if there is a dietary difficiency thing going on. I might try to do a bit of research on foods and vitamins to see if I am lacking somewhere...I imagine its a mix of things overall, such as change routine, eat more iron rich products, and who knows, perhaps some low wave constant EM fields in my study areas...there are alot of possibilities, none of which I am well versed in.

I know alot are feeling this way, hopefully we can get some "success stories" chiming in to see how they overcame it..that might be helpful

reply to post by SaturnFX


i'm not depressed. not at all. i'm actually in a fairly bright mood. i'm just fairly dull.

reply to post by ICEKOHLD


I didn't really know exactly what depression was until years after having experienced it to a striking degree. This is from wiki:

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and physical well-being.[1] It may include feelings of sadness, anxiety, emptiness, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, irritability, or restlessness. Depressed people may lose interest in activities that once were pleasurable, or suffer cognitive impairments (difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions). They may contemplate or attempt suicide. Their weight may change dramatically. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, loss of energy, or aches, pains or digestive problems that are resistant to treatment may be present.

I used to think depression was very noticeable, but now realize many people live with many of the symptoms, but just shrug it off with common-sensicals.

Originally posted by SaturnFX
as far as honey and such, well, then we got the weight gain issue.

bah...no win situation...get hooked on a product, then either get unhealthy with the regular version, or get unhealthy with the diet version...cancer or diabetic...what crap choices.

Recent studies indicate maple syrup may be one of the 'superfoods' that may help regulate blood sugar levels.

OTTAWA: Researchers have identified compounds in maple syrup with similar anti-inflammatory or anti-oxidant properties as blueberries, green tea and other “superfoods,” they said Friday.

“In our laboratory research we found that several of these compounds possess anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which have been shown to fight cancer, diabetes and bacterial illnesses,” said lead researcher Navindra Seeram, assistant professor of pharmacognosy at the University of Rhode Island.

Initial studies also suggest that polyphenols in the syrup may help keep blood sugar levels in check, important for diabetics, by inhibiting enzymes that are involved in the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar, he said.

The discoveries of new molecules in the syrup also provide chemists with leads that could prompt synthesis of medications to fight other diseases.

www.dawn.com...

Originally posted by unityemissions
reply to post by ICEKOHLD

 

I didn't really know exactly what depression was until years after having experienced it to a striking degree. This is from wiki:

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behavior, feelings and physical well-being.[1] It may include feelings of sadness, anxiety, emptiness, hopelessness, worthlessness, guilt, irritability, or restlessness. Depressed people may lose interest in activities that once were pleasurable, or suffer cognitive impairments (difficulty concentrating, remembering details, or making decisions). They may contemplate or attempt suicide. Their weight may change dramatically. Insomnia, excessive sleeping, fatigue, loss of energy, or aches, pains or digestive problems that are resistant to treatment may be present.

I used to think depression was very noticeable, but now realize many people live with many of the symptoms, but just shrug it off with common-sensicals.

edit on 17-4-2011 by unityemissions because: (no reason given)

thanks for the info. i appreciate you trying to help. i have dealt with depression in the past and know what it feels like. this is different. i have energy and drive to do other things. i have enrgy and drive and desire to spend time with close, dear friends and my girlfriend, which is COMPLETELY atypical depression. i also have a huge drive to "get ready".

i just no longer wanna do what i don't wanna do. if it doesn't make me happy or make me feel how i think a human being should i feel, i don't like it. i'm tired of always rushing. tired of everything being such a big deal. i just wanna disappear and relax with like minded people. i want people around. i love spending time with my closest friends. look forward to it every week. yeah...that's not depression. i just can't focus on the BS that we call life anymore.

don't care about the car having dents, don't care about my job. once i clock out, i don't wanna think about it. don't care about going out to the bar with the boys. don't care about any of the superficial stuff that makes humanity tic.

several of my closest have felt it, too. i can go into way more depth about all this, but my theory (and those close to me agree) is that we know the end of life as we know it is almost over. life is about to change. not end. just change. we're feeling called to shed the egoic things in life that keep us from being happy. you know how most people love stuff? we are beginning to hate stuff. the less stuff we have, the happier we are. this includes relationships and physical possessions. it's time to let go and just be happy.