sleepie

My attention span seems to be shot. I have been off alcohol and benzos over 2 months now and I have less ability to concentrate on a thing than ever. Not even things I enjoy. Was hoping to see improvement.

SoberinSyracuse

Alcoholics are usually malnourished, and that'll definitely mess up your concentration, and it takes a while to get those amino acids pumping again. Mention it to your doc, get a vitamin/supplement consult in a health store, etc. Get advice from a few different qualified sources about what you can to bolster it up.

Try not to be discouraged when you hear reports from others about it taking a loooooooooooooong time. It does for some people, but not for most. Find out what's in your power, do what's in your power, and keep a positive mindset expecting a full recovery soon.

sleepie

All my blood tests came back good... and then even better the 2nd time around (knock on wood!). I just started taking a multi-vitamin... a purple ladies one lol. I got some high quality fish oil and forgot to refrigerate it... my stellar attention at work again. Alcohol and benzos both (especially benzos) noticeably improved my attention span- benzos to the extent I realized all that I's been missing in life!

I don't want to over analyze but maybe these killed off my anxiety so much that I could focus more.

I know everyone here is smart enough to understand I am in no way advocating these drugs or alcohol for attention issues.

Coldfusion

Maybe you are just noticing it more because you are sober? Maybe you expect your mind to be able to handle complex chores more than when you were using?

sleepie

Hmmm.... hard to say? I mean it's not so much handling complex chores as it is literally being able to do one thing at a time or at all for more than 5 minutes without getting bored. Although I could be ADD or something anyway, the shrink seems to think so and has suggested a blood pressure medicine that has the side effect of lessening tics and attention issues. The tic disorder goes hand in hand with OCD anxiety ld and ADD as well, in any combination.

So fun...

FormerWineGirl

I am almost 18 months, and still having attention span/concentration issues, especially at work. There could be other issues at play here, namely hormonal (I'm 50), but things are definitely off kilter.

Unluckyatlife

My attention is horrible.

sleepie

How are you Unlucky? Welcome to SR

sg1970

At two months I was a wreck. No short term memory. I would walk into a room and couldn't remember what I was going in there for. My attention span was about 2 seconds as well. Everything was better at 6 months and continued to improve well for over a year. One day at over a year I realised how little anxiety I had. I was floored at the difference. Almost at 2 years now and still improving. What I'm trying to say is hang in there It takes time. Two months is really early.

zjw

at about your point in the game sleepie i had a foggy head. it almost felt like i just rolled out of bed pretty much all day long. But then one day it was like the lights got turned on the switch had been thrown and my mind started running at like warp speed. All the sudden my mind decided it wanted to work through the last 15 years of BS i had piled up and not delt with and so for months and months my mind cranked along pretty well but I was really preoccupied with my own BS vs dealing with day to day life per say.

Fast forward to now. now? my attention span is crap. I can barely stay focused on anything. and i'm incredibly easily distracted. Its probably partly due to my environment 6 kids is a lot of interuptions. But even without all that I struggle.

In my case I dont think its any worse. I recall being a child and haveing these same issues. So i'm leaning towards this is just how I am. Maybe I got ADD or something and it was never diagnosed. But I figure if thats the case what good is a diagnoses gonna do me anyhow I'll decline any kind of medication so its pointless I'll just deal with it.

So the short of it is hopefully what you got going on right now is just a foggy head and it'll clear up soon but look out becuase if it happens like it did for me its like suddenly someone turned the spotlights on up there or something!

fini

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/3836936-post1.html

hey sleepie,
sounds totally normal

when i first started out, i had no understanding that the brain takes quite a while to re-combobulate itself.

Misssy2

Its called PAWS...it leads many people back to drinking because they think they can not function without the substance.

Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome...google it and you will feel "better". It can last up to a year....but for me (I had 8 years sober) once.

It only lasted about 3 months and I was able to deal with it because I knew it would go away from my research on it, I actually learned about it in a detox hospital.

Nevertheless

I think the reason my attention span was better while I was drinking is that with hangovers. Thinks took a lot more of my concentration.
I rebuild transmissions,and you have to concentrate for hours on end on what you are doing. With a hangover,I never day dreamed. It was easier to focus all of my attention on what I was doing.
Sober, I constantly day dream,and think about other things. I also lost some of the interest in not only my job,but a lot of other things. When I was drinking, I worked to feed my habit. Hard to explain,but a lot of my priorities changed. Things I thought extremely important while drinking just no longer mattered with time sober.
The bottom line is we go through MAJOR changes when we quit doing mind altering substances. It takes time for things to settle down. But stick with it. It does level out. I am still not sure if i know what normal is. But I do know what I was doing before was NOT normal.

Lance40

sleepie - I had the same experience around that time in my sobriety. It's not fun and can be frustrating and even scary, but it gets better.

ScottFromWI

Same experience for me. I had "brain fog", difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, etc for several months after quitting.

least

It took me six or eight months to feel 'normal' again in my brain. It gets better the longer you're sober.

Soberwolf

I had that too Sleepie used to get dizzy spells balances out over time

sleepie

Hi guys. I forgot the shrink also suggested a blood pressure ting that is supposed to be for ADD? I never brought it up he just decided I have it, though I a not sure what he is basing it on. Well, back in my 20's I started questioning these tendencies of mine, long before I drank or took anything. I didn't know anything about ADD or even it's existence but a friend said I was just scatter brained from "getting old", though that was kinda dumb at age 23. Oh well. Either way, no pills.