I was reading an article about what it is like to have AD/HD and it talked about the sensation of time. It said that a person with AD/HD feels as if everything is happening 'all-at-once.'

For me this feels normal. I had not thought about this before, and having found out right now many of my questions have been answered. Like how I feel so rushed much of the time.

Even with today being my day off from work I have not been able to mentally relax... There are so many things I don't allow myself to do because I think I should be working on self-therapy.

I don't allow myself to watch TV (since Jan 2005), play video games, and hang out. I seem to have this goal of 'recovering' and I dedicate most of my time to therapy.

I am usually not able to read my therapy books, or most other books for that matter. I want the 'juicy' info and most things do not seem interesting enough.

So I am sitting here infront of my computer wandering aimlessely around the web and every now and then 'attempting' to read one of the 5-10 books I am trying to read at the moment.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do to help myself view time in a more realistic manner? I'd love to feel more calm!

No matter how small the tip is, I would greatly appreciate it! :)

Lotsa Love

I have this sensation often but really didn't understand how it affected me until I went on medication. I feel the same rushed feeling - like I always have to hurry on to the next thing.

Some recommendations I can give is that you being able to realize this about yourself is the beginning of you finding a way to work with it. I don't think this sensation of everything coming at once will ever really go away but we can find ways to cope. I have a poor sense of how long it takes me to do things. When I do manage to write out a schedule I am a poor judge of how long things will take so my way of coping is to give myself lots of room in my schedule. I try not to take on as much as my first impulse would be. I have someone close to me (my h) who knows that I tend to overschedule or time things poorly help me think thru some scheduling issues. It really helps to have him look and offer suggestions. At first i kind of hated having to do this because I had the expectation I should be able to do this myself but I have come to see that this is an area that will always be hard so if life is easier to run things by him than thats okay.

Do we have to? I've come to enjoy my quirky habit of reading 5 books at once. My kids remind me when I've been on the computer too long. My mind relaxes when I surf the web and watch TV at the same time. How does stopping this help me "recover"? I don't want to recover. I want to work with it.

The things you mentioned aren't interfering to me. However, if my sense (or lack thereof) of time is digging into other things of importance then I try to figure out a way to fit it into my flitting focus. Lists and calendars work now that I'm on meds. I'm not always very good with them...but last minute panic still works. ;)

Well, when I start sensing time compressing, I know it is because I'm speeding up. I also know that I am going to crash and burn if I don't moderate myself.

Eventually everything seems to be happening at the same time and I become unable to prioritize and I end up in a bad state because I need to get my things done, but am so overwhelmed by things to do converging on the same point in time that nothing gets done. This is the kind of situation that I need to try to avoid.

Me

I think that is true but I have had to deal with it all my life, so I don't know what is normal is like.

I remember what normal was like. OR at least what it seemed like to me...
But that is gone now, for sure.

Me


I think that is true but I have had to deal with it all my life, so I don't know what is normal is like.

Hi,

When I was on Adderall one of the first changes I noticed was that time seemed to
slow down. It was remarkable. I was able to accomplish so much during that time frame. I was actually able to sit down one night and read ONE book from cover to cover. I too, like you, usually have numerous books I read in a time-slice method.
I don't know if it was because of the streamlined thought process or the motivation but it was a different perception. Now without medication or purposefully trying to declutter my mind it is like an expressway of thoughts and images flashing through
my head. Meditation has helped alot also.

-Kevin

BEfoe I went on meds time would allmost stand still. I can remember one time when about 15 minutes had passed and I thought it had been a couple of hours. I did a lot of work in that 15 minutes too.

speedo,

when you get to such a point of fully compresssed time as yu mentioned, how do you get yourself out of that situation?

do you have mental tricks or physical tricks you use?

my best friend is feeling like that to me right now, he's coming to some critical deadlines of large projects and I'm wondering if there is soemthing that worked for you or something I might try in talking with him to allow him to absorb what I'm saying so we can discuss the project etc. He is fully ADHD.

any thoughts much appreciated.

cs


Well, when I start sensing time compressing, I know it is because I'm speeding up. I also know that I am going to crash and burn if I don't moderate myself.

Eventually everything seems to be happening at the same time and I become unable to prioritize and I end up in a bad state because I need to get my things done, but am so overwhelmed by things to do converging on the same point in time that nothing gets done. This is the kind of situation that I need to try to avoid.

Me

I have only been on medication (Ritalin) for 4 days now (I am newly diagnosed) but I have found that time has really SLOWED DOWN. I love it. I didn't know any other way for time to be before. Now I kind of think I could actually plan a schedule and stick to it, if time was something I could count on.

Always before, I was perpetually in a panic because I would literally lose chunks of 2-3 hours at a time (or more) and have absolutely nothing to show for it and not even be sure what I was doing. I had read that people with ADD/ADHD had problems with time, but I didn't fully appreciate what that meant until a few days on drugs!

With this perspective, isn't it interesting that Einstein had such theories about time?

On time contractions...

I've not had it much since I have started on meds. I'm still learning about my ADD, so I'm a relative newb at coping and making the positive bits work for me.

But for me, staying in touch with my present state and being aware of how to mitigate bad things is really important. In order to get out of a jam, I have to be able to identify what is happening to me. Letting myself enjoy the good bits is a good thing too.

My meds help me moderate myself. So , as long as I know what is going on with myself, I can attempt to moderate myself. In a case of last resort, I can medicate myself a little more. I'm on welbutrin and it kicks in in about an hour, so I can take a little more if I need to (this is a weapon of last resort) and get fast results.

Knowing what situations are toxic to me and avoiding them is also important.

For example, If I am really stressed and "up", I definitely want to be sure that I do not place myself in an environment that is very noisy, "busy" and distracting. I need to find a quiet place and cool off. Talking to a friend who is ADD has rescued me from this kind of misery several times.

If I am depressed, I need to try to liven things up a little in as positive a way as I can muster up (not always easy). Again, good friends will save you here...

I have sensory issues. I am learning what kind of sensory "triggers" cause me to build up stress and mitigate them. Exercise helps. Avoidance helps. Knowing when I am headed for overload and removing myself from the toxic situation before I overload is really important. Once I overload, I am not a happy individual for hours, or even a full day.

On hyperfocusing....

Time goes away completley when I am hyperfocused. I feel so calm and my senses are so keen when I am hyperfocused.
Now, if I am hyperfocused, I need to be aware that I can "crash and burn" really easily if I am not paying attention to my state of affairs. I need to stay in the driver's seat , so to speak. I need to avoid undue distractitons. I wear a watch and I use it, so I don't lose track of time. I keep a notebook so I don't forget what I am trying to accomplish.
Lastly I need to know when to bail out of something that is simply way too absorbing or when time is short. A gentle, persistent reminder from a friend, or setting an alarm clock or egg timer helps. Getting out of control and letting some event distract me into confusion is a bad thing. Falling into a black hole and losing all track of time can be bad too. I really need to be aware of my condition and how to cope with things that happen.

Sometimes when I am hyperfocused I like to be moving about outside and letting my senses take it all in. To me this is enjoyable and a natural high. I enjoy it. My funky neurolgy is paying off in that situation.

When I am hyperfocused on work, I need a quiet place with few distractions. Controlled lighting is nice, comfy chair, and organized workspace, etc...and , again, I wear a watch, and keep notes... etc. This is my meal ticket, my job. I take good care of it.

I really speed up when I am multitasking, so time does slow down a lot for me.
When I engage in multitasking, I need to avoid adding too many tasks to my list so that I do not get into a situation where I am suddenly overwhelmed by an impossible amount of things to do coming at me all at once, and then being unable to prioritize when I get distracted by an unexpected event. That situation is going to give me a really bad day if I let it own me. I once had such bad experiences multitasking that I used to be terrified of multitasking at work. Now I have learned to toe-dip into it with good results.

Making sure I get plenty of sleep helps, and getting regular exercise helps reduce my stress levels. staying on my meds, and working with my doctor is important to me. He signs the prescription that give me the neds that let me function., so I need to be on good working terms with him.

I network with other ADDer's for support and information, and I read a lot about it. I try to educate myself. It helps a lot.

Last night I was I was really wrecked from sensory overload and was also worrying over dumb things I could not control (which made it even WORSE). I was pretty much in a meltdown state and could not find my way out. I could not medicate myself more because I had done so two days before and the levels of meds in my blood were high enough that if I took more, the welbutrin would make me aggresive. I found myself in a bit of a bind and was looking for a way out.

Getting on the chat and talking it over with other ADDer's really helped me settle down, and helped me recover from the post-overload "shutdown" I sometimes experience , much faster than I might have on my own.
Again, I have to say that talking to someone who understands what ADD is like is a huge help.

Me


speedo,

when you get to such a point of fully compresssed time as yu mentioned, how do you get yourself out of that situation?

do you have mental tricks or physical tricks you use?

my best friend is feeling like that to me right now, he's coming to some critical deadlines of large projects and I'm wondering if there is soemthing that worked for you or something I might try in talking with him to allow him to absorb what I'm saying so we can discuss the project etc. He is fully ADHD.

any thoughts much appreciated.

cs

Some recommendations I can give is that you being able to realize this about yourself is the beginning of you finding a way to work with it. I don't think this sensation of everything coming at once will ever really go away but we can find ways to cope.I think you're right. I'll look into some affirmations for this.

Do we have to? I've come to enjoy my quirky habit of reading 5 books at once. My kids remind me when I've been on the computer too long. My mind relaxes when I surf the web and watch TV at the same time. How does stopping this help me "recover"? I don't want to recover. I want to work with it.Thanks for adding some positivity to it. It is now one of the many books I am reading again, slowly, maybe 2-10 pages at a time.

I have only been on medication (Ritalin) for 4 days now (I am newly diagnosed) but I have found that time has really SLOWED DOWN. I love it. I didn't know any other way for time to be before. Now I kind of think I could actually plan a schedule and stick to it, if time was something I could count on.That's GREAT news!

Getting on the chat and talking it over with other ADDer's really helped me settle down, and helped me recover from the post-overload "shutdown" I sometimes experience , much faster than I might have on my own.
Again, I have to say that talking to someone who understands what ADD is like is a huge help.I'm grateful to have this website to talk on.

Lotsa Love

On time contractions...

For example, If I am really stressed and "up", I definitely want to be sure that I do not place myself in an environment that is very noisy, "busy" and distracting. I need to find a quiet place and cool off. Talking to a friend who is ADD has rescued me from this kind of misery several times.

I network with other ADDer's for support and information, and I read a lot about it. I try to educate myself. It helps a lot.

Last night I was I was really wrecked from sensory overload and was also worrying over dumb things I could not control (which made it even WORSE). I was pretty much in a meltdown state and could not find my way out.

Getting on the chat and talking it over with other ADDer's really helped me settle down, and helped me recover from the post-overload "shutdown" I sometimes experience , much faster than I might have on my own.
Again, I have to say that talking to someone who understands what ADD is like is a huge help.

Me
speedo, thanks so much for giving me lots to absorb!!:) :) :)

I didn't realize I could be so helpful, and tho I'm not add, I have been doing my best to study as much as I can get my hands on to understand how he sees things.

I think my friend is somewhere in the above, cos he can barely string 3 words together and feels he has zero time, and he is not at all normally like this, just when he's really stressed, but I've only seen it once before.

Also, you are the second person who has mentioned exercise as being very helpful and yes, he used to work out regularly and be in a number of athletic clubs, but he has not done this at all since starting this project, and I'm wonderign if that might not help him feel more calm. He doesn't take medications.

Gee, this is great---thinking I can be a whole lot more useful than I figured earlier, or at least there are more options if he thinks it will be useful.

very cool :cool:

cs

Each person is a little different. Likewise , each perosn with ADD has different problems and different needs. If your frined is not in the care of a doctor, you should ask him/her to go see one ASAP. Getting diagnosed and on the proper meds (if medication is actually needed) is really important.

I am always ADDish. The add is easy for me to live with, My big issue is sensory overload. If I put myself in a place that is acoustically and visually "busy", I sometimes become stressed , and I experience my ADD more intensly. Certain sounds cause pain and stress. If the stress continues, I start having problems with hypersensitivity to my other senses. When this happens I need to mitigate the things that are stressing me, or remove myself from that environment very soon or I will be quite miserable. Exercise helps burn off this kind of stress and I am lees likely to have big ADD issues in this scenario. I still have the sensory problems, and I can still overload, but it is not as bad.

If I have been in sensory overload for a while, I start shutting down. Basically, I go partially offline. I can't type very well, I become uncoordinated, talking and forming sentences becomes difficult. Removing myself from the toxic environment and finding a nice place to relax helps me recover. Shutdown itself is rather painless, but I'm likely to be in a pretty bad emoptional state by the time I get there. Most people looking at me won't notice it, other than noticing that I have become quiet and less animated. Good friends who are loving and accepting are very helpful.

On the other hand, The add can cause me to drop down to a 20 second atteniton span and I will be all over the place when trying to talk to someone. In that situation I need to SLOW DOWN. A freind telling me that I am too fast or skipping around is often sufficient to cause me to try to moderate it a bit. I am ADD all the time, and I am aware of what is going on, and I can moderate it to some extent. The thing I can not control is sensory overload. If that happens the ADD is worse (due to stress) and I am miserable.
If your friend is unable to moderate his/her add, then it may be time to see a doctor.

Me


speedo, thanks so much for giving me lots to absorb!!:) :) :)

I didn't realize I could be so helpful, and tho I'm not add, I have been doing my best to study as much as I can get my hands on to understand how he sees things.

I think my friend is somewhere in the above, cos he can barely string 3 words together and feels he has zero time, and he is not at all normally like this, just when he's really stressed, but I've only seen it once before.

Also, you are the second person who has mentioned exercise as being very helpful and yes, he used to work out regularly and be in a number of athletic clubs, but he has not done this at all since starting this project, and I'm wonderign if that might not help him feel more calm. He doesn't take medications.

Gee, this is great---thinking I can be a whole lot more useful than I figured earlier, or at least there are more options if he thinks it will be useful.

very cool :cool:

cs

YES, YES, YES! That's it. It feels like everything's happening all at once. That is the difference of being off pills. I've suddenly realized I should be preoccupied with structuring my life because I never finish anything and I don't realize when I have free time to relax like my significant other does and I feel like I'm static bouncing around from one overwhelming stimulus to the other. Suddenly I look at the time and I realize I'm going to be late for work or that I didn't get anything done that I wanted to get done.

I am always ADDish. The add is easy for me to live with, My big issue is sensory overload. If I put myself in a place that is acoustically and visually "busy", I sometimes become stressed , and I experience my ADD more intensly. Certain sounds cause pain and stress. If the stress continues, I start having problems with hypersensitivity to my other senses. When this happens I need to mitigate the things that are stressing me, or remove myself from that environment very soon or I will be quite miserable. Exercise helps burn off this kind of stress and I am lees likely to have big ADD issues in this scenario. I still have the sensory problems, and I can still overload, but it is not as bad.

If I have been in sensory overload for a while, I start shutting down. Basically, I go partially offline. I can't type very well, I become uncoordinated, talking and forming sentences becomes difficult. Removing myself from the toxic environment and finding a nice place to relax helps me recover. Shutdown itself is rather painless, but I'm likely to be in a pretty bad emoptional state by the time I get there. Most people looking at me won't notice it, other than noticing that I have become quiet and less animated. Good friends who are loving and accepting are very helpful.

On the other hand, The add can cause me to drop down to a 20 second atteniton span and I will be all over the place when trying to talk to someone. In that situation I need to SLOW DOWN. A freind telling me that I am too fast or skipping around is often sufficient to cause me to try to moderate it a bit. I am ADD all the time, and I am aware of what is going on, and I can moderate it to some extent. The thing I can not control is sensory overload. If that happens the ADD is worse (due to stress) and I am miserable.
If your friend is unable to moderate his/her add, then it may be time to see a doctor.

MeSo I think what you're saying is for sensory overload, that the regular exercise would ensure that you have a lowered sensitivity to sensory overload in general...

It is interesting that sometimes my friend will find it easier to concentrate if more things are going on, e.g. gardening, cleaning, tv and sometimes other things will be too distracting and he will stop them, e.g tv, stereo, so perhaps this is also mixed in with your base level or current perceived sensory load level, if I'm not mixed up between sensory overload and stimulation!

Sometimes I know he does go and find a quiet place to chill and refresh, but I havent' noticed him get quiet when we are talking, mostly is quite animated and so on, but when he is as you say very quiet, it is more likely he does not answer his phone and def does not respond to emails sometimes if he is down.

I didn't realize you had any control over the very short attention phases, so I will try this next time and see if this helps. I didn't relate it at first, but he has told me to slow down and breath a few times I have been upset about some problem I've had, so he must sometimes be aware of his heightened stress before too. Nevertheless, probably he could be helped by doc, but that is his call so if he brings it up, I know what I'd say.:)

This is quite encouraging info, speedo, thank you!! He'll be pretty stressed soon too, so maybe we can have some good interactions and he can let off some steam and discuss issues. He's been so supportive of me, its the least I can do.

looking forward :p

cs

I wear a watch, and I look at it. I try to schedule things im ny daily life. I'm actually pretty good about being on time.

Me :D


I was reading an article about what it is like to have AD/HD and it talked about the sensation of time. It said that a person with AD/HD feels as if everything is happening 'all-at-once.'

For me this feels normal. I had not thought about this before, and having found out right now many of my questions have been answered. Like how I feel so rushed much of the time.

Even with today being my day off from work I have not been able to mentally relax... There are so many things I don't allow myself to do because I think I should be working on self-therapy.

I don't allow myself to watch TV (since Jan 2005), play video games, and hang out. I seem to have this goal of 'recovering' and I dedicate most of my time to therapy.

I am usually not able to read my therapy books, or most other books for that matter. I want the 'juicy' info and most things do not seem interesting enough.

So I am sitting here infront of my computer wandering aimlessely around the web and every now and then 'attempting' to read one of the 5-10 books I am trying to read at the moment.

Does anyone have any ideas about what I can do to help myself view time in a more realistic manner? I'd love to feel more calm!

No matter how small the tip is, I would greatly appreciate it! :)

Lotsa Love