Hi,
I’m new here and I was wondering if any of you have found that memory training can help you with problems associated to adult ADHD. Thanks for sharing your comments.
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Welcom to the forum.
I am strongly ADHD myself. People commonly think that ADD means an inability to focus but in fact it’s an inability to control focus. For myself I am capable of intense, sustained focus if I am interested but if not motivated I struggle to absorb a simple page of text.
As far as I know, ADD does not correlate with memory. Mine is as effective as most people, more so if I was actually paying attention.
The biggest struggle is consistency and staying with the project, keeping up the drills after the first flush of enthusiasm, after all the interesting and challenging problems have been solved and what is left is to maintain a consistent routine. Instead one is prone to switching to the next shiny object. Like most other ADD, I have a long list of unfinished projects.
At this point I recognize that this is a significant part of any project I might pick up and I have a number of stratagems and tricks that help. What works for one may not do it for another - this is the sort of thing one has to work out for oneself.
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@zvuv, I’m reading through The Memory Bible by Gary Small, MD (2021). It’s mostly a guide of how to improve your memory without mnemonics but he throws in a few simple methods. Here’s a few quotes for you:
Our modern obsession with and constant use of the Internet and our handheld devices has raised concerns about the impact of these digital technologies have on our ability to focus attention. Typically, people divide their attention across multiple media sources and thus miss important information that might otherwise get stored as memories. Many studies have shown a link between extensive screen time (computers, television, video games, etc.) and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The connection between technology use and attention problems may result from the repetitive attentional shifts and multitasking associated with using these technologies.
Samuel Johnson put it succinctly:” the true art of memory is the art of attention.”
Extensive screen time also is associated with greater symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Too much use of smartphones has been linked to shorter sleep duration and poor sleep quality that can lead to impaired cognitive abilities.
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ADD gets used loosely to cover all varieties of attention problems. There certainly can be learned behaviors that are detrimental to concentration. But ADD as listed in the DSM is not learned behavior, it is based on physiological properties of the brain and affects a wide swath of characteristics. It cannot be coached away only managed. It comes with it’s own advantages too, though the disadvantages can be very undermining. Interestingly, one trait that’s common with ADD is hyperfocus. Intense, protracted focus. As I said, it’s more about controlling attention than it is deficiency of attention.
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Pure speculation but I would believe adults with ADHD would benefit the most.
Memory techniques makes learning fun and an active process compared to regular study where the focus may drift.
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This is a very interesting perspective. I guess I have always focused on the negative side and see myself as unable to focus and complete things. My focus on the negative made me forget that is true if I’m really interested my focus is intense… most times short-lived though. As you said we explore things until find strategies that work for us. I’m still in that process and in the meantime is many times hard to stay positive when you are failing at being ‘normal’ and achieving things as a ‘normal’ individual.
I’m very keen on working on memory techniques aiming to be able to better control my focus. Thanks for sharing your comments.
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As a 15-year-old with ADHD mind training tends to be a distraction because I end up doing it instead of work at times.
Listening to interview and reading about Dominic O’Brien has been a motivator for me. When he described his early childhood educational experience it sounds a lot like he had ADD/ADHD. Diagnosis back then wasn’t as common and many don’t get tested or diagnosed later in adult life. Doesn’t seem to have held him back.
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