No motivation or concentration, even in my obsession

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Hi guys I was wondering if any of you shared of had any advice for the situation I find myself in.

Going through this forum I have read about people's motivation and concentration trouble when it comes to school and college life but I still struggle to find motivation for the stuff that i love 'music,poetry,literature,reading'

I am a diagnosed Aspie and have acute clinical depression and feel almost cheated that I can't access my obsessions and excel' instead i end up obsessing over the fact that I have no motivation or concentration.

Any replies appreciated,
Jack

There are many people on this forum (my son included) who have found help through an ADD specialist who is willing to provide meds specific to your needs. My son fits the "inattentive ADD" specs, and as a result, needs large amounts of stimulants coupled with an anti-anxiety/anti-depression drug in order to concentrate and focus, but the results are so beneficial for him. Granted, it took almost a complete year of drug trials to get to this point, but he is finally attentive in school and HAPPY.

If you can, try and find not just a psychologist [our experience is that a regular psychologist doesn't really understand the needs of inattentive ADD people] but an ADD specialist doctor who can help you figure out your needs.

I have the same problem. Sometimes. But I have also been diagnosed with ADD. I take a prescription drug called Concerta(basically some kind of Ritalin). They tend to help. But you know you should probably be diagnosed first.

Yes i have been looking in to ADD and it seems spot on, I have a regular psychiatrist that is waiting for my depression to stabilize on Sertraline and then she will look into me possibly having ADD and treatments hopefully. It really is just frustrating though but I'm glad to see you have had results and there is an answer

Same for me, if I try to learn a language, programmation, or anything when I'm alone, I can't... and if I've enough motivation, I can't focus, no matter if it's my special interest or not.

Last edited by sMeow on 16 Dec 2011, 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

I'm going to say that your problem is the depression, lacking interest in the things you normally love is one of the key traits, If I'm correct.

I'm in school, so its important that I study. But what I do is just focus really really hard on the subject. Yes, the concentration is not fully there but I still am able to absorb some of it. It sucks I know.

I have AS, clinical depression, and attention/motivation problems, too (although I'm not formally diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or anything). I'm the same way about motivation even for things I love, and I wonder how much of it is from depression and how much is from AS. Sorry my post isn't adding much, just wanted to say you're not alone.

dogslife, you sound medically very similar to me; are you on any medication for depression and do you have responsibilities like school or work to deal with. I have neither now and still remain frustrated

I'm on zoloft, and I've been on it for over 4 years (though I'm on a very small dose now, only 1/4th of what I was originally on, as I didn't like some of the side effects). I work full-time in an office. It can be very difficult to deal with at times, but I can see how not working or being in school would be frustrating as well, especially with having less forced distraction.

Hi Jack,

I hope you are doing better by now . I actually think the lack of motivation is due to your depression. Same has happened to me and I´m still struggling with pursuing my special interests. But in my case a reason for my lack of motivation for my "obsessions" could also be that the people closest to me (my family) always told me that I shouldn´t spend too much time on silly and random stuff, like learning Russian and reading about Japan, etc. The consecuence was that I tried to share the interets of my parents and of the people they valued. My parents also said I had to be more social, so I tried to go out more, meet people, which actually exhausted me a lot so I didnt have the strength anymore to read, etc. Now, after Asperger has been diagnosed to me, I´m a bit "back on track", allowing myself to go after my special interests again with no remorse, and spending more time alone on these interests. I still feel a bit exhausted and depressed, so I try not to rush, I´m going step by step. Last night I watched several Russian language videos on youtube and today I´m reading some books, but whenever I get tired, I take a break. I mean, the brain also is like a muscle, and if it has slowed down to dperession, been inactive for a while/stand- by, then you cannot expect it to go back to 100% from one day to another. Step by step . Well, I don´t know if you have similar experiences, but I tell you this so you can maybe think about your own history and maybe find an explanation for your lack of motivation .

Head up!

saludos!

I have had the same problem since I was 15. I think it is more related with depression than ADHD, since it would have affected me when I was younger if it were only related to ADHD.

I am slowly getting better, specially when it is related to accountancy, but I am still very far from my old inquisitive self. I really should seek help about this, but it would be so much better if I could solve it without help...

I'm hoping my Doctor can prescribe me some sort of stimulant medication, I think is worth a try now I am feeling a lot less depressed and I will need the concentration if I am to start a new course next year