INTP's ADD when it comes to reading.

[deadpixel]

For those INTP's out there with ADD(inattentive type), when you are reading something that you don't necessarily care to be reading, like a book that needs to be read for school, do you have trouble absorbing the information that you are reading?

For me, reading material that I have no interest in is just like trying to pay attention to a teacher who is giving a lecture that is boring or uninteresting. I hear words, i'm looking at their face, i'm watching their mouth move, but i'm not absorbing anything that they are saying.

When I read a book or study something that has been forced upon me the result is the same, I read word after word until I get to the the end of the page and realize that I have no clue what I just read/don't remember anything I've just read, and then I have to start re-reading the page over again.

However, when there is something i'm interested in I become almost obsessed with it and have an almost supernatural ability to focus on it and tune out everything else around me, as if the only thing that exists is me and my obsession, along with my mastery and understanding of it. Of course, when I take adderrall I get the opposite affect with the exception of being able to hyperfocus on things that im interested in even more so than without medication.

Similar experiences? please, do share.

 

[Anktark]

I don't think this type of experience is particular to INTP type. I don't think I have ADD (though never tested officially), but if I have to read really boring stuff (doesn't happen often), I change my perspective and just play with the text. Usually it means I will be reading at a much slower rate than I usually do, but then I can retain a good percentage of the information. It's kind of like fooling yourself into retaining information for different purposes than you officially have to.

 

[Ex-User (9062)]

One could ask if there is a structural problem in terms of applied pedagogy, instead of shifting the blame to the individual.
From my personal experience, i can tell that the teachers who were able to make the process engaging and interesting, despite my initial disinterest in the topic, have greatly helped me to grasp the concepts involved, while those teachers who were merely a physical replacement of a book i couldn't understand at the time, did little to help me understand and i had to learn by rote to score medium on the subject.

 

[deadpixel]

I don't think this type of experience is particular to INTP type. I don't think I have ADD (though never tested officially), but if I have to read really boring stuff (doesn't happen often), I change my perspective and just play with the text. Usually it means I will be reading at a much slower rate than I usually do, but then I can retain a good percentage of the information. It's kind of like fooling yourself into retaining information for different purposes than you officially have to.

The only thing that works for me is adderrall. I have a pretty bad case of ADD, and being an INTP doesn't help my situation at all probably due to the INTP's natural tendency to have selective ADD. I have found several genes in my genome that are linked to ADHD. Including a new mutant gene that scientest have found called "GIT1" that is linked directly to ADHD, If you have SNP rs550818 especially genotype CC on "GIT1", theres no way around it, You probably have a really bad case of ADD.

I have the CC genotype but 23andme lists it as GG, Because of the double-stranded nature of DNA, both ways of reporting the SNP are correct: G pairs with C on the opposite DNA strand, while A pairs with T.

 

[deadpixel]

One could ask if there is a structural problem in terms of applied pedagogy, instead of shifting the blame to the individual.
From my personal experience, i can tell that the teachers who were able to make the process engaging and interesting, despite my initial disinterest in the topic, have greatly helped me to grasp the concepts involved, while those teachers who were merely a physical replacement of a book i couldn't understand at the time, did little to help me understand and i had to learn by rote to score medium on the subject.

I think the education system, as far as america goes, will get far worse before it gets any better. It seems like its being more and more geared towards extroverted types more than ever before. As extroverts start pushing their beliefs even more so than they already have, and more and more introverts(unaware that nothing is wrong with them)who are made to believe that something IS wrong with them, are forced into extroversion the problem will only get worse.

 

[NormannTheDoorman]

Several times I've just sort of zoned out. I read and understood the words at the moment but I never registered them.

 

[Methodician]

Suffered most of my life with ADHD - a pretty bad case of it. Same story, only thing that worked was Ritalin (or generic Methylphenedate). Caffeine helps too...

It's only natural. If everything in your entity is screaming "this isn't important" you won't retain much. One strategy I found effective is to try and think up a practical application for whatever I'm learning. Some way I could apply it, now or in the future. It's no magic bullet and some things just have zero utility but it's been helpful.

Also, diet and exercise help. Balance your omega fatty acids, get adequate B vitamins (prefeably from real food) and generally eat real, unprocessed foods. Avoid flower at all costs.

Studies have shown promise to ketogenic diets being used to treat all manner of neurological problems, including ADHD. If you go down this route though do rigorous research and read books such as the "Perfect Health Diet" to make sure you do't fuck yourself up. I'd go for cyclical ketosis so you don't incite adrenal fatigue.

Ketosis ain't needed though. My ADHD is pretty much cured just by tracking my nutrients on chronometer.com, avoiding processed foods, avoiding grains, and consuming plenty of fat while minimizing and balancing PUFA's to avoid systemic inflammation. My ability to attain Ritalin has turned to mere convenience. I rarely use it, mostly to combat sleep deprivation.

(not in the sense that I intentionally use it to stay up, but if I had a bad night I might take 1/4 dose in the afternoon with green tea. Miracle)

 

[Variform]

But how do you get yourself on such a diet if you don't have motivation? I guess you used medication first to make that possible?

I am getting myself checked for ADD.

Reading is hard for me. I used to read more as a kid. I find it harder to concentrate or find motivation. I can read pages and realize I actually didn't seemed to have read them. I take longer to read it again and I find myself reading sloppy with skipping words and just not...pff I don't know. No concentration, my minds rushes onward and I don't read anymore.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Start reading, read 5 pages, realize I zoned out after half a page, remember nothing of what I read thereafter.

Get jacked up speed and regular add medication, start reading, letters come flying out, whole paragraphs display their meaning in plain sight, read super fast, remember everything, become addicted to drugs, get fired, become more addicted to drugs, have less money, buy cheaper more dangerous drugs, become addicted to more dangerous cheaper drugs, become more addicted to more dangerous cheaper drugs, do not read anything for three years, die.

 

[Spirit]

Have you considered that you are not an INTP?

Edit: It seems you have.

Carry on.

 

[pjoa09]

Suffered most of my life with ADHD - a pretty bad case of it. Same story, only thing that worked was Ritalin (or generic Methylphenedate). Caffeine helps too...

It's only natural. If everything in your entity is screaming "this isn't important" you won't retain much. One strategy I found effective is to try and think up a practical application for whatever I'm learning. Some way I could apply it, now or in the future. It's no magic bullet and some things just have zero utility but it's been helpful.

Also, diet and exercise help. Balance your omega fatty acids, get adequate B vitamins (prefeably from real food) and generally eat real, unprocessed foods. Avoid flower at all costs.

Studies have shown promise to ketogenic diets being used to treat all manner of neurological problems, including ADHD. If you go down this route though do rigorous research and read books such as the "Perfect Health Diet" to make sure you do't fuck yourself up. I'd go for cyclical ketosis so you don't incite adrenal fatigue.

Ketosis ain't needed though. My ADHD is pretty much cured just by tracking my nutrients on chronometer.com, avoiding processed foods, avoiding grains, and consuming plenty of fat while minimizing and balancing PUFA's to avoid systemic inflammation. My ability to attain Ritalin has turned to mere convenience. I rarely use it, mostly to combat sleep deprivation.

(not in the sense that I intentionally use it to stay up, but if I had a bad night I might take 1/4 dose in the afternoon with green tea. Miracle)

This sounds very much like a bodybuilder's diet.

I have a very strong conviction that I have ADHD as well. Lately for the past few days I have been increasingly addicted to smoking as it helps me calm down and study.

I used to engage in rather risky endeavors as well despite being aware of the risks simply to feel 'alive'.

I plan on quitting as soon as I am done with my finals and going back to weight lifting.

Have you had similar experiences?

 

[Variform]

Start reading, read 5 pages, realize I zoned out after half a page, remember nothing of what I read thereafter.

Get jacked up speed and regular add medication, start reading, letters come flying out, whole paragraphs display their meaning in plain sight, read super fast, remember everything, become addicted to drugs, get fired, become more addicted to drugs, have less money, buy cheaper more dangerous drugs, become addicted to more dangerous cheaper drugs, become more addicted to more dangerous cheaper drugs, do not read anything for three years, die.

speed to demise! Could you be more terse. I never used speed. It is a good thing if I believe the sources.

 

[Cherry Cola]

I don't get it, the comedown is so not worth it unless you use downers to mitigate it; however, you shouldn't use downers :P It can make you extremely productive, but when you look back at you managed to create in a sober state it often turns out it was incoherent garbage.

Seems to have some uses when taken in small dosages though, it's calming and makes me alert, makes for a decent study aid, it would beat methylphenidate if it lasted as long. If I subject myself to a bigger dose there's a really nice bodily buzz and some euphoria, but that only lasts minutes. Why anyone would get hooked on it is beyond me. I guess Meth is a lot nicer but that shit is something I'd try once if it was offered to me, wouldn't buy a drug destroys people the way it does.

I want to try dextroamphetamine since it seems superior to methylphenidate in all ways except that it has higher rates of abuse. Since I don't appreciate speed used as a recreational drug I figure that's a non issue for me.

Combining modafinil with small therapeutic doses of metamina makes sense on paper imo, that's something I'd really like to try. Alas, no doctor seems to know what modafinil is in Sweden, hence getting it on prescription is impossible; moreover, dextroamphetamine is only subscribed in special cases despite the fact that it has a much smoother comedown and; moreover, has little physical side effects. If it turned out dextroamphetamine truly is the medication to roll with I would try to smooth talk my way into getting it prescribed.

On the other hand my doctor was happy to have me running on more concerta than I wanted myself the result being me sweating a ton, suffering muscle tension, an erratic heartbeat, and a nasty comedown on a daily basis. I soon stopped taking the dose I was prescribed in the form of two 36mg pills, settling for one instead. Then I ended up with a surplus which I didn't know what to do with, so I gave it to friends for free. Man doctors are stupid.

 

[Happy]

For those INTP's out there with ADD(inattentive type), when you are reading something that you don't necessarily care to be reading, like a book that needs to be read for school, do you have trouble absorbing the information that you are reading?

'[Having] trouble' doesn't even begin to describe it. It's more or less impossible for me. I've found the only way I can be fully engaged in a text is if it satisfies the following criteria:

1. I find the subject matter extremely interesting
2. It has loads of pictures

Medication does help a little, but not that much.

(Come to think of it, it's probably why I chose a profession where I have to read/interpret far more graphics than words)

For me, reading material that I have no interest in is just like trying to pay attention to a teacher who is giving a lecture that is boring or uninteresting. I hear words, i'm looking at their face, i'm watching their mouth move, but i'm not absorbing anything that they are saying.

I'm with you there. I do have one piece of advice you may find useful. I'm assuming that you are studying at a tertiary level. If that's the case, your university may record your lectures. If so, you may benefit from attending the lectures and then replaying the lecture a week or so later. I find that even though I spend most of my lecture time screwing around, I'm still hearing what's going on, so there is a degree of information being stashed away in my brain somewhere. Whatever I've somehow maintained usually comes back and the gaps are filled when I rewatch it later. This may be a useful strategy if the resources are available.

When I read a book or study something that has been forced upon me the result is the same, I read word after word until I get to the the end of the page and realize that I have no clue what I just read/don't remember anything I've just read, and then I have to start re-reading the page over again.

Perhaps you could benefit from picking out ideas and key points as you read. It'll take longer, but you may keep track of what's going on. Maybe even highlight things.
OR maybe just slow down and try to take it all in.

Another thing I've found helpful is to get comfortable and eliminate distractions. Quiet place, comfy chair, doona/duvet/whatever-its-called-in-your-region. Also, get your sleeping patterns in order. Get up early and do all your forced reading done in the morning.

Do your reading in a large, quiet space with a lot of natural light. Good libraries are great places because the architecture lends itself to reading. It's amazing how much difference the quality of space will have on your ability to perform these tasks.

It could be helpful to group up with 1-3 people who also have to do the reading. Grab a coffee, sit somewhere quiet and discuss the content matter at regular intervals. It will keep your mind on task and if you've missed any major points, someone will bring it up. Group study sessions are amazing for retaining information. Just do yourself a favour and don't group up with other people with AD/HD.

However, when there is something i'm interested in I become almost obsessed with it and have an almost supernatural ability to focus on it and tune out everything else around me, as if the only thing that exists is me and my obsession, along with my mastery and understanding of it. Of course, when I take adderrall I get the opposite affect with the exception of being able to hyperfocus on things that im interested in even more so than without medication.

Yep... Last year, I sat for 3 days straight, stopping only for bathroom breaks and food, working on a project that I was completely obsessed with/absorbed in. Oh the joys of hyperfocus.

Actually, does anyone with AD/HD find that if you begin to procrastinate while taking AD/HD medication, you just lost 4 more hours of your life to Wikipedia/whatever-you-were-procrastinating-with...?

 

[deadpixel]

'[Having] trouble' doesn't even begin to describe it. It's more or less impossible for me. I've found the only way I can be fully engaged in a text is if it satisfies the following criteria:

1. I find the subject matter extremely interesting
2. It has loads of pictures

Medication does help a little, but not that much.

(Come to think of it, it's probably why I chose a profession where I have to read/interpret far more graphics than words)


I'm with you there. I do have one piece of advice you may find useful. I'm assuming that you are studying at a tertiary level. If that's the case, your university may record your lectures. If so, you may benefit from attending the lectures and then replaying the lecture a week or so later. I find that even though I spend most of my lecture time screwing around, I'm still hearing what's going on, so there is a degree of information being stashed away in my brain somewhere. Whatever I've somehow maintained usually comes back and the gaps are filled when I rewatch it later. This may be a useful strategy if the resources are available.


Perhaps you could benefit from picking out ideas and key points as you read. It'll take longer, but you may keep track of what's going on. Maybe even highlight things.
OR maybe just slow down and try to take it all in.

Another thing I've found helpful is to get comfortable and eliminate distractions. Quiet place, comfy chair, doona/duvet/whatever-its-called-in-your-region. Also, get your sleeping patterns in order. Get up early and do all your forced reading done in the morning.

Do your reading in a large, quiet space with a lot of natural light. Good libraries are great places because the architecture lends itself to reading. It's amazing how much difference the quality of space will have on your ability to perform these tasks.

It could be helpful to group up with 1-3 people who also have to do the reading. Grab a coffee, sit somewhere quiet and discuss the content matter at regular intervals. It will keep your mind on task and if you've missed any major points, someone will bring it up. Group study sessions are amazing for retaining information. Just do yourself a favour and don't group up with other people with AD/HD.



Yep... Last year, I sat for 3 days straight, stopping only for bathroom breaks and food, working on a project that I was completely obsessed with/absorbed in. Oh the joys of hyperfocus.

Actually, does anyone with AD/HD find that if you begin to procrastinate while taking AD/HD medication, you just lost 4 more hours of your life to Wikipedia/whatever-you-were-procrastinating-with...?

For me there is no such thing as procrastination on ADHD medication, my mind is always being productive on it, and if it isn't hyperfocused on something it has a negative affect on my mood.

 

[Minuend]

Peculiarly enough, when it comes to ADHD (ADD's new name is ADHD-PI (Primary inattentive, but in the future it's probable that ADHD will be divided into categories depending on different variables than exists today. Here's an inteesting video on it)), hyperfocusing isn't hyperfocusing the way a neorutypical person would experience it. It is the inability to shift focus from one task to another. I would think this ties in to the overall lack of a proper reward system in the brain. Like it's difficult to start tasks, it can be difficult to shift attention from one interesting task to anything else. In the most extreme cases, the person zoned out wont even be aware his house is burning.

Hyperfocus may in some cases also be evidence, or symptomatic, of a psychiatric condition, where it is more commonly and accurately[1] described as perseveration (or perseverance) - the inability to, or impairment in, switching tasks or activities ("set shifting"),[2] or desisting from mental or physical response repetition (gestures, words, thoughts) despite absence or cessation of a stimulus,[3][4][5][6] and which is not excessive in terms of quantity but are apparently both functionless and involve a narrow range of behaviours, and are not better described as stereotypy (a highly repetitive idiosyncratic behaviour).

Conditions associated with perseveration include neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular the autism spectrum (especially Asperger syndrome), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the latter it is informally but probably incorrectly called "hyperfocus"[1] and may be a coping mechanism or symptom of self-regulation impairment–as well as people who are both intellectually gifted and suffer a learning disability who may have either or both of hyperfocus and perseverative behaviours.[1] Other conditions involving dysfunction or disregulation within the frontal lobe could also theoretically have similar effects.

It is typical for ADHD patients to claim they 1), can not focus on boring things and 2), can only focus on stimulating things,[7] and that focus is often extreme. Thus it is both a concentration deficit, and over-concentration or generically: "hyperfocus." More concisely, some types of ADHD (particularly ADD) are a difficulty in directing one's attention, (an executive function of the frontal lobe), not a lack of attention.[8][9][10]

Conditions unlikely to be confused with hyperfocus - clinical conditions involving clear repetition of words or behaviours, such as obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) or trauma;[11] and cases of physical brain injury, trauma or damage, such as traumatic brain injury and frontal lobe lesions;[2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperfocus#Confusion_with_perseveration.2C_as_a_clinical_symptom

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I'm not sure if this is an ADHD specific thing, I notice English instructors tend to emphasize annotation & discussion to improve retention & comprehension because our minds are already processing so much data we easily forget what we read.



I haven't been interested in traditional books for several years, yet before that transition of disinterest I was an avid reader of most fiction I could get my hands on and I could immerse myself in the mental environment. Honestly I don't even blame the internet all that much even though I know it is a contributor, personally I just feel like each work of fiction is its own world to get into which I just don't seem to have the energy or time to invest in anymore.

The weirdest thing is that humans who use the internet(or just myself) tend to already read more than average, not just general text but countless formal/informal articles and essays that are posted across the cyberspace. I also used to somewhat casually read newspapers to pick up on current events (and to also read the comics). Still I have a default apathy towards most nonfiction topics, fields, books or articles as if none of it has any importance or meaning to me, yet occasionally I will come across a topic which I will have endless enthusiasm for.

 

[NormannTheDoorman]

I tried to read the posts above but I just can't without losing myself.

 

[Steven]

Ha, I've had very similar experiences with reading rather bland material. I love reading news articles, but some articles become long-winded or centre on topics that just don't peak my interest. So often I just end up skimming, or reading them half-way and giving up.

Lately, I've been using a speed reading extension for chrome (spreed, for those interested), and it has kind of helped me. It at least gives me a bit of a challenge (e.g. by keeping up with a higher wpm count), and it also helps me get through articles much faster. Maybe it can help some of you guys out too.

 

[Variform]

Ha, I've had very similar experiences with reading rather bland material. I love reading news articles, but some articles become long-winded or centre on topics that just don't peak my interest. So often I just end up skimming, or reading them half-way and giving up.

Lately, I've been using a speed reading extension for chrome (spreed, for those interested), and it has kind of helped me. It at least gives me a bit of a challenge (e.g. by keeping up with a higher wpm count), and it also helps me get through articles much faster. Maybe it can help some of you guys out too.

Yeah I saw that on the news some weeks ago. Stay away from it. You replace one problem with another. There is more to reading than speed. Comprehension is one, but also temporality. Moments like cliffhangers, where you stop reading, to look up and contemplate for a few seconds before going on. Thoughts or phrases that stand out for some reason and that you want to consider a little more.

The natural flow of reading and understanding is totally robotized away with that app. It takes the enjoyment away and can only really be used to get through a lecture quickly perhaps or a textbook.

I also dislike it and question it because we already live in a world where there is a on-going fight for our attention. We must now divide our attention not just on tv, radio, periodicals, but also on cell phones, internet and the social media, twitter and smart watches are fighting for attention. Notification for e-mail, twitter, devices going off constantly.

We have less and less private time and less and less idle time. Idling is healthy. Give your brain a rest. But because we want so much and are addicted to media, we do never rest our brains enough. And have no more time to read much.

A single A4 sized forum post is 'a wall of text'. If it has two or mre paragrap, we can it a story. Has it 5, it is a book.

I resist this vehemently. Don't go along with this app. Take time to read and if it is hard, as it is for me more and more lately, take longer. Where else do you need to be anyway? If it is a long text, get a coffee and finish it.



Rest your brain, process what you experienced. Avoid media overload.

 

[peoplesuck]

i am the same way. mostly history stuff i just cant focus. to dayum boring