When you say i daydream, do you mean thinking inside/zoning out?

I still am not sure if i have ADD-I. But i always zone-out all day. Like my surroundings dissapear or are blurry or something. Like my life is a day-dream.

I also have a hard time feeling my body becuase when i do things(even walking!) i zone-out.

Although, maybe its exercise deficiency or something. Im also on the computer reading for hours frequently. I think i "hyperfocus" on reading and stuff.

when i talk to people/around them i loose track of my surroundings.

Its as if daydreaming is my drug. It makes me feel good/strong to think/vision things of my life, but i NEVER live them. I could be walking to my truck or sitting down moving, etc and i get stuck thinking. forgetting about my body.

Sound similar??

No, it does not sound similar or familiar.
What it does sound like to me is that you spend way too much time sitting in front of your computer. And if you can not feel your body when you walk that is very sad. Try exercising more and using your computer less.

Actually, I do believe I know what you're talking about. I can be talking to someone, and then I'll think of something, mind fades out, next thing I know I have to just nod and smile, or ask them to repeat themselves because I was not listening.

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.

And the not feeling your body thing... I think I kind of understand that too, in a sense. When I'm walking somewhere, I can just be completely inside my head, not really paying much attention to the outside world. Again, I'm paying enough attention that I'm watching where I'm going and don't bump into things (most of the time) but I am just completely focused inward on whatever happens to be running through my mind at the time.

So, unlike Maurice, I do relate. I don't think it is too much of an exercise issue (although it is always important to exercise) but I think it is more of an inward focus, where your senses are more honed in on your mind than your body.

Sounds somewhat familiar to me.

Actually, I do believe I know what you're talking about. I can be talking to someone, and then I'll think of something, mind fades out, next thing I know I have to just nod and smile, or ask them to repeat themselves because I was not listening.

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.

And the not feeling your body thing... I think I kind of understand that too, in a sense. When I'm walking somewhere, I can just be completely inside my head, not really paying much attention to the outside world. Again, I'm paying enough attention that I'm watching where I'm going and don't bump into things (most of the time) but I am just completely focused inward on whatever happens to be running through my mind at the time.

So, unlike Maurice, I do relate. I don't think it is too much of an exercise issue (although it is always important to exercise) but I think it is more of an inward focus, where your senses are more honed in on your mind than your body.

I could'nt have put it better myself...

Only you really know you....
Recieve the facts and sieve through the rest'
I find we do this automatically.

when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip.

This speaks volumes,echoes'
The same journey home day in day out,
Is a smart persons mind going to wonder?
WE can change routes,but there are,just so many ways to get home,
The same with life-We change our surroundings and aquaintances,but we end up in the same place.....home.

Home=ourselves=peice of mind(who knows what that is!!)

You sound familiar thread starter
(soz forgotten your name-i do that A LOT:rolleyes:)

Doi-diddy

Sounds somewhat familiar to me.

When I wrote that 'the thread starter' sounds familiar,
I had'nt seen your post.....all too familiar.

Ah, I was going to start a thread about the daydreaming characteristic because I don't understand what my therapist is getting at. So this thread is great.

She thinks I have very clear signs of having Inattentive type. Now my problem is that I am doing the therapy in a language not my own (German, whereas I'm a native English speaker). Generally this isn't a problem, I have been doing my background reading both in German and in English so understand most of the terminology.

But she reckons that even while right in the middle of a discussion with her, I give the impression of being somehow dreamy or not fully present (vertraeumt, in case any German speakers in the house!) From my side, as far as I know I was concentrating on the conversation (and not with an effort - because it was interesting and very important to me!) Now when I was reading up on Inattentive type, I got the impression that the daydreaming, absent characteristic would be zoning out, gazing into space, maybe as a kid looking out the window in school and missing the lesson. I didn't do that as a kid and I am not aware of doing it now... oh... hang on...

But seriously, I certainly do tick other boxes regarding chaos and was seeking help because it is severely impacting my work at this stage, so I'm not rejecting the diagnosis. But it will be frustrating if I can't see myself in the impression she says I make on her... I just can't see how I could be any more present than I was in these conversations!

So is it about even just thinking your own thoughts, even while also taking full part in a conversation? I kind of feel just because I am reserved and don't necessarily agree with everything she's saying, she thinks I've spaced out when maybe I'm just reflecting on what she said and thinking "hmm, can't say I agree there..." to myself.

Would love to hear how you all experience this characteristic and if you've learned that you make a different impression on other people than you think you're making?

Yes, Huricaine, it is familiar to me.

Even on meds, I can completely lose track of where I am. Whether I'm involved in movie, reading on the computer or reading a book, simply walking to take care of an errand, or having a great conversation with someone (although that latter is sadly rare), there's always the possibility that the world outside my mind and what occupies it is going to totally dissolve.

This can be a bad thing - I've come close a couple of times to walking out into traffic against the walk signal, for instance.

But at the same time, my personal belief is that our true nature is not defined by our body. When we transcend the physical limitations (meaning time and/or space) of the body we inhabit, we are almost by definition are having a spiritual experience.

I remember Terrence McKenna once talking about (I think) DMT (a substance found plants, animals and humans that has been called "the spirit molecule). He said something to the effect that it put you in such a state that you wouldn't know it if the room you were in caught fire. That's relatively close to what I experience when I'm "hyperfocusing." My physical surroundings simply cease to register.

So the question has to be asked, if your conciousness is not registering your physical surroundings (something that it is assumed to pretty much always do - even in sleep to a certain extent and probably to an extent greater than we register those surroundings in hyperfocus) - where is your consciousness and what is it doing when we "zone out?"

when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip.

I thought I was the only one who did this. It happens to me occasionally but usually on routes that I often drive. It happened to me once when I was walking. It was like losing 5 minutes of time. Maybe it's similar to what happens when people sleepwalk. Maybe I traveled through time.

i do this a ton but i'm usually so focused inward that i'm talking to myself about whatever i'm thinking about and not quietly.

then i suddenly realize im on the bus and having a conversation with myself on the bus again and i should be quieter when i talk to myself. then i start doing it again on my walk home etc

i wonder how many bus drivers think im genuinly crazy? lol

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.



I have this to the extreme.

And as for the "not feeling your body thing" I often find bruises, cuts, scrapes, I've even broken my pinky without noticing it... It's not even that I don't feel pain or anything, I do - Sometimes I just don't pay attention to it or something

I'm a very inattentive and distracted person, but my sensory perception on a whole is much below that of some other people (a relative of mine and I had a conversation about this the other day actually, she and I are on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to this - she said that she can literally feel food moving through her body [I'm not trying to be gross or something, just getting to the point] where as I've had my hand stuck in a car door and not known it, because I'm thinking intensely about one of the 25 topics bouncing around in my head).

I also on the same topic sometimes lose focus in my eyes, because I stop thinking that I need to be looking @ whatever it is that I'm looking at (say: the road while I'm driving for example)

I think this is directly related to my ADHD because since I've started taking meds I notice little things like pain and I don't lose focus in my eyes while I'm looking @ something etc.

TL;DR version: Hey OP I think you might wanna get it checked out! It can't hurt and it will at the very least put your mind at rest :)

I separate my "daydreaming" into two categories:

1. drifting away from the present due to a distracting thought; could happen during a conversation, during driving, etc...thankfully I don't drive much :P

2. conscious decision daydreaming, in which I deliberately escape a less than stimulating situation into a fictional dream world of my own construction, with characters and plots (rarely involving myself). In this way I replace a less stimulating reality with a more stimulating fantasy. I'm always at choice in this, though sometimes I don't care too much about making the right choice.

This is definitely one of my characteristics. Down to a T.

I have been really trying to focus on a project for work or whatever, and because I can't, I end up spending ten hours on it and getting one hour of work accomplished. My mind just zones, like I'll start thinking about a form which I'm building for a website, and I get other business ideas.

I can't focus on the one task, and it has led me to automate most of my workflow for tedious tasks. However, I feel that I need to concentrate more on an application I am building for the client so that they can get the very best quality of my work, and will be willing to work with me in the future.

It really, really sucks.

Also, the same happens to me when I'm driving more than 30 mins.

Usually, it doesn't happen to me though when I am talking to someone because most of my friends are interesting. =)

I zone a lot. I mostly notice it these days when I am waiting at my daughters day care to sign her out. I am just standing there waiting and then someone starts talking to me and 'oh, yeah, ok'....

Actually, I do believe I know what you're talking about. I can be talking to someone, and then I'll think of something, mind fades out, next thing I know I have to just nod and smile, or ask them to repeat themselves because I was not listening.

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.

And the not feeling your body thing... I think I kind of understand that too, in a sense. When I'm walking somewhere, I can just be completely inside my head, not really paying much attention to the outside world. Again, I'm paying enough attention that I'm watching where I'm going and don't bump into things (most of the time) but I am just completely focused inward on whatever happens to be running through my mind at the time.

So, unlike Maurice, I do relate. I don't think it is too much of an exercise issue (although it is always important to exercise) but I think it is more of an inward focus, where your senses are more honed in on your mind than your body.
:yeahthat:

I mostly 'loose my body' when I am reading on the computer or watching tv and actually being still. I think I don't do the driving thing as much anymore, either that or I am just so used to it I don't notice it as much. I remember doing it a lot when I first started driving and I would not remember the entire drive from school to home (only 4 miles).

anyone else who doesn't feel their body sometimes use it to their advantage? like when I go to the dentist to get a filling I don't get the novocaine. I just zone on purpose and a minute later it's all done. and I can talk right away and eat without biting my tounge. i'ts great :D

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.



I drive 18 hours straight 4 times a year. People say I'm crazy for being able to accomplish such a long drive. But only like 5% of my brain is focusing on driving. Not saying I'm a bad driver, I'm a very logical smart driver. I stay away from crowds of cars that tailgate, pass me, slow down in front of me. (Why does traffic on highways travel in clusters... thats so ANNOYING! especially if you wanna drive somewhere far) and just stay at a steady speed, zone out, listen to music and drive. After 15 hours ill start drumming on the steer wheel, or signing intentionally awfully. When its over It does not feel like 18 hours at all... it just kinda zooms by.

Yeah, this is me to a T as well.

I can really relate to the body issues. It wasn´t until I tried meds that I realized other people feel their bodies in a totally different way than I do. I have tried to explain countless times what it feels like to other people. It is as if I don´t get any feedback from my arms and legs, they feel as they lack heaviness too, and sometimes this makes it hard to learn new practical skills, because my brain does not get the signal back what my body is actually doing.

Another strange thing about this is that body awareness seems to me to be related to pleasure or happiness. After treatment as I started to be able to feel the position of my body, I noticed how much wellbeing that feeling brought with it. This makes sense in a way, I guess the brain can´t really relate to an abstract concept like happiness, but it can send a signal of satisfaction when the parts of the body are aligned and working according to scheme, ie that´s happiness. But let´s not get too philosophical.

Once I figured out this link with body awareness and inattention I tried loads of treatments. At the time being I am doing yoga and also spending a lot of time on a nail bed! This really seems to help, the nail bed helps (nb plastic nails:-)) because it increases sensory signals when you lie on it and do the yoga, and it also makes the body produce endorphins. But still it seems to me that it was medical treatment that really helped, it wasn´t before I had tried first Ritalin for a while and then Strattera that my brain seemed to get it and could benefit from treatments such as yoga. Before that I also tried a lot, and I was just a "hopeless case".

Well, a lot about the body. As for the zooming out and being in your head while also talking to somebody. Check! Check!

Actually, I do believe I know what you're talking about. I can be talking to someone, and then I'll think of something, mind fades out, next thing I know I have to just nod and smile, or ask them to repeat themselves because I was not listening.

Here's one that scares me... when driving long distances, I'll be paying attention to the road and traffic, but my mind is elsewhere... suddenly I realize I'm almost home, but I don't remember half the trip. It isn't to say that I nodded off to sleep, or that I was completely not paying attention to traffic and driving recklessly--I was just thinking about other things.

And the not feeling your body thing... I think I kind of understand that too, in a sense. When I'm walking somewhere, I can just be completely inside my head, not really paying much attention to the outside world. Again, I'm paying enough attention that I'm watching where I'm going and don't bump into things (most of the time) but I am just completely focused inward on whatever happens to be running through my mind at the time.

So, unlike Maurice, I do relate. I don't think it is too much of an exercise issue (although it is always important to exercise) but I think it is more of an inward focus, where your senses are more honed in on your mind than your body.

Yes! Exactly! I do this all the time and it's made my life so much more difficult than it has to be. I will get entirely inwardly focused and I no longer take in sensory information. Sooo many things have happened to me that I don't remember at all. I can't tell you how many times I have had entire conversations that I don't remember and then somebody brings it up later and I'm totally confused. They ask me why I didn't do something I agreed to do and then I say that I never said that. Then I realize that I have just got myself into another mess from carrying on conversations on "autopilot". This make me horrible about losing things and just as bad at finding them. I lose things all the time because I set them down in illogical places I don't remember because I was lost in my own head and wasn't paying attention to what was going on. I will then go looking for it while again completely engrossed in my own thoughts so even if I do see what I'm looking for, I don't realize it. Sports were extremely difficult for me as a little kid for this very reason. I am just short of 21 and still don't have my drivers license because I do this while driving. I'm still trying to get better at it. I'm going to take the test for the first time this week and hopefully I'll pass. So many times I will be told something to do, only to forget what it was as soon as I leave the room and have to turn around and go ask whoever it was to tell me again. Sometimes I will even forget that I was going to do something at all so I just stop and go do something else. THIS IS ALL SO FRUSTRATING!!!! If I were to lose all five of my senses, I don't think very much about my life would change (of course I'm exaggerating but doing so to make a point). It's impacted every facet of my life from socializing, to grades, and my general ability to mature and accomplish things. It's made me develop a low confidence in myself.

I started taking medication for my ADHD two weeks ago and this is improving but it's definitely still present, just not as strong. But like Bobthebuilder said, it does have its advantages. I've been able to make it through some tedious and irritating stuff by just zoning out. Most of the time I don't even have to make myself zone out since I'm more than capable of doing that completely and unintentionally on my own :P.

I don't know about you guys but it also makes me extremely philosophical.

Yes..I also zone out while im driving...I play music/love music so I kinda just zone into whatever im listening to...I never reallized why I didn't mind driving long distances....

Its crazy now though since ive started taking stimulants....I can't really do it anymore...get a little anxious unfortunately...feel like I need to do something more productive on long drives...such as listen to news or make phone calls or something....

i agree with you all!

I describe it as: Having a lower frequency of perception. I NEVER see the rode. I learned to drive efficiently. I just pay attention to the blurry big picture: a big hunk of medal stoping in fornt of me at a red light. and i brake real early. I really lack stimulation is what it is. I have a clingy fanasy make me feel relaxed feeling throught my life. And i do migrate home more than ever. with socialness... for me..i cant process their words and logic fast enough...so i repeat a few words they told me as oh really this and that? illl ask them. I see things too slow. But maybe i just killed alot of braincells...i hope not. you are all ausome for respondiong and if i wasnt so lazy i would reply to ALL of you...but unfortunately..you know?..lol.

"I can really relate to the body issues. It wasn´t until I tried meds that I realized other people feel their bodies in a totally different way than I do. I have tried to explain countless times what it feels like to other people. It is as if I don´t get any feedback from my arms and legs, they feel as they lack heaviness too, and sometimes this makes it hard to learn new practical skills, because my brain does not get the signal back what my body is actually doing." EXACTLY on the money for me. lack of feedback. im an adult but all my movements are peripheral like a kid... im so used to trying to get things done reaching and grabbing and stuff wothout even looking..like a robot...

Yes..I also zone out while im driving...I play music/love music so I kinda just zone into whatever im listening to...I never reallized why I didn't mind driving long distances....

Its crazy now though since ive started taking stimulants....I can't really do it anymore...get a little anxious unfortunately...feel like I need to do something more productive on long drives...such as listen to news or make phone calls or something....


I definetlely zone out! my life is a zone of humble happiness...but i think philisophically too much so i can stay happy or euphoric...or whatever it is...im sure workingout would help tho. And when i talk to people i underestimate there feelings and life....on meds(2 day 20mg ir adderall) i feel euphoric mostly but verry ocasinally i will feel my body be more mature with people...but its hard...becuase i know realize when people talk negativity is always there...i usually block it out...emotions..its hard to be a part of this world!...

I think the time-travel driving thing is pretty common even amongst non-ADDers. It used to happen to me when I drove. I don't think it's really a bad thing, you just get used to repeated car trips to and from work/school and your muscle memory starts kicking in.

However, it can be bad for an ADD person like myself who used to get lots of tickets. I'm not an aggressive person but I would speed without knowing it. Once I was even followed by a state police car for 15 minutes at 90mph without even realizing I was going that fast and that the cops were behind me. You can imagine how shocked I was to find out I was in a highway car chase!

Now I live in NY and don't have to drive anymore. I can just daydream on the subway and I love it.

haha....your funny^^

I totally agree with this topic. If i where to engage in a boring and less movement from point A to B or conversation, I will go on autopilot and get myself in to a mess(overshot a train or bus rides). However, I got used to it after a few years and usually could sense if the bus is nearing the destination.

The social problems seems more serious if I go on autopilot and start repeating their words to make sense and follow what I am hearing.People asking me to stop repeating their words as they find it scary(I cant understand why). That only happens if I am under huge stress and trying to chat, listen and work at the same time.

This way of life just accompany me throughout the rest of my life but its kind of cool. I get the conserve internal energies that my friends cant do!

^^same here. I always repeat what they say..lol... And try to blurt some crap out to make it look like im listening.

I daydream and lose focus a lot, but not to your extent. I wish i didn't at all.

Where does one find a nail bed, abiet a plastic one?? :)

When you say i daydream, do you mean thinking inside/zoning out?

I still am not sure if i have ADD-I. But i always zone-out all day. Like my surroundings dissapear or are blurry or something. Like my life is a day-dream.

I also have a hard time feeling my body becuase when i do things(even walking!) i zone-out.

Although, maybe its exercise deficiency or something. Im also on the computer reading for hours frequently. I think i "hyperfocus" on reading and stuff.

when i talk to people/around them i loose track of my surroundings.

Its as if daydreaming is my drug. It makes me feel good/strong to think/vision things of my life, but i NEVER live them. I could be walking to my truck or sitting down moving, etc and i get stuck thinking. forgetting about my body.

Sound similar??

this can be depersonalisation syndrom

Daydreaming is like when I'm trying to type this post and I just realized that perhaps the laws of gravity change depending on the mass of the objects observed? If you look at it that way, then an atom and a solar system aren't that different. What if there is always something smaller, and always something bigger? Then where are we on that scale? I'm hungry.

24/7

Yes, when I daydream I can either be "zoned-out" and everything runs together in a blur, or I can be thinking hard about all the ideas spinning in my head.

I second the idea that this sounds like depersonalization disorder. I mean sure, even non-ADDers are talking about wanting to be more mindful and not zone out while driving well-known routes, but when we get so disconnected from our bodies, almost observing from a distance...well:

that's more like depersonalization, right?

I'm still in the process of diagnosis, but so far it seems to me that ADD Inattentive types could have more in common with people with depersonalization than with ADHD people.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the symptoms:

The core symptom of depersonalization disorder is the subjective experience of unreality, and as such there are no clinical signs. Common descriptions are: watching oneself from a distance; out-of-body experiences; a sense of just going through the motions; feeling as though one is in a dream or movie; not feeling in control of one's speech or physical movements; and feeling detached from one's own thoughts or emotions.[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization_disorder#cite_note-Simeon_04-2) Individuals with the disorder commonly describe a feeling as though time is 'passing' them by and they are not in the notion of the present. These experiences may cause a person to feel uneasy or anxious since they strike at the core of a person's identity and consciousness.

"also have a hard time feeling my body becuase when i do things(even walking!) i zone-out."
this is goofy but the first time i took adhd meds i noticed i could fell my feet when walking. like i never really paid attention to them b4.
babs

^^wow, i hope so.

"depersonalisation syndrom" that worries me. A psychologist thought i had it or a dissociation disorder. I dont know about watching myself from a distance though.

It's like a vision thing. Because i get stuck in reutines everyday i use alot of my "cache", if you will. I know what is supposed to be there so my body conforms to ruetines...But i guess im just extremely lazy. Maybe my peripheral vision is horrible.

When i talk to other people, i stare out and forget to empathize and be social, i just stare close up to their face and i always think im shy because i cannot detect my own id... I would say that this is due to being alone WAY too much.

I do have identity disturbances thats for sure! I should be worrying about this like most people would but i dont have a life...I stopped worrying about my appearance and fell into complete apathy after i got off of zoloft a few years ago abruptly...i haven't been the same since...I act schitzoid. I'm just completely energyless, neurotic, insecure, shy, paranoid.

It could be depression, my doc tried to give me celexa or something but i refused to take it because i thought it would screw me over...Anyone who has ever been on ADs or zoloft, tell me, does it really give you energy or make you happy, or is it a weird bubble/dull feeling. When i was on them i felt as if i couldnt feel ANY stimulation or maybe i always was feeling stimulation but getting really tired of it...like a slow dirty norepinephrine onset, relaxing but clingy, idk. It gets old really fast. I couldnt sleep well and when i "woke up", i felt as if i hadnt been sleeping at all, like NO transition like i used to have to energy. I still havent been able to sleep right to this day so thats another possibility...like i dont have enough energy to sleep he...Ive tried diphenhydramine and xanax and they both dont really do what i need....so hmmm....im worried i guess..

That sounds extremely familiar. I daydream all the time. And what you said about it being your "drug", I totally feel that way too. And so therefore I don't have any motivation to stop... which is not good. And the worst part is that a lot of times I consciously make the decision to daydream... it's not always just like I drift off on accident.

Sometimes I just feel such a strong urge to daydream, I'll put down what I'm doing, get out my ipod, and pace around my room sometimes for hours, letting the music inspire new stories for me to get lost in. And I'm watching the clock, thinking, "Just two more 3 minute songs won't hurt... I'll still have plenty of time to finish my work." And then suddenly it's like 3 in the morning and I've done nothing. It's so annoying. I really don't know what to do about it.

But I guess one good thing has come out of it; my daydreams often inspire great ideas for my art classes... if only I could stop daydreaming long enough to actually draw them out/spend time on them.

So yeah, you're not alone :)