Lived Experience Forum

[Jynx]

Thanks for the tag @Shaz51 - took me a bit to find some spare time to reply!

Hey @creative_writer I will echo what @tyme said about regular breaks - for instance I know I simply cannot focus on something in a sustained way for more than like... 10 minutes. Even just getting up and doing a few stretches can do wonders. Having stim toys, background music (better if it's without lyrics for me), and creating a comfy environment all help! Even my lava lamp is a great thing to have in my line of sight, so I can sorta... stare off in pondering thought and my eyes have something to entertain them... if that makes sense 😅 I always try to remind myself that it's a dopamine deficiency, so little boosts to dopamine help immensely. 

There's this psychiatrist named Dr Russell Barkley who has a series of lectures on ADHD - there's a huge one that goes for many hours (I haven't watched it all but there's some really insightful stuff in there), and there's this excerpt where he talks about treating ADHD. The link takes you to the bit I thought was relevant to your question, but the whole thing is worth a watch. Caveat - it's aimed at parents of kids with ADHD and can be a bit... intense, at times, the way he talks about it. I just remember that ADHD is a developmental disorder so it is different for adults. 

One of the tips he talks about in the vid is having a sugary drink next to you to sip whilst you work. Sugar helps release dopamine so having that little periodic booster can really help. 

Also, listen to your body. I find that if I hit a wall, even if I haven't gotten to where I wanted to get to, I can't just push through - cos my dopamine be EMPTY! That's when taking a break, having a snack, maybe doing some jumping jacks, all can help. 

[creative_writer]

@Jynx I feel like I cannot have music with lyrics, way too distracting. Some music also encourages rumination. You know during my last psych appointment, i realised how my inability to concentrate was sort of feeding that rumination cycle. Everything felt too hard, and rumination felt easy. That music was not doing me any favours either. I changed to nature sounds + music soundtracks. It’s so much more relaxing and does not take my attention away. Maybe I should try putting my diffuser one, certain scents can be calming and energising too, depends on what I need at the time.

I’ll try to remember to take a look at those. My brain forgets things unless I put them on to do list.

I don’t do sugary drinks, I do coconut water, which tastes amazing itself and probably has some glucose. Probably would still energise you though. I do need regular snacks, usually I’m pretty good at remembering but occasionally I’ll forget. I just like making excuses to walk around.

I am finding I do have to go slow at times. I sometimes hyper-fixate on perfection, like one of my assignments is done and yet I have not submitted it. I have started working on the next one though

[Jynx]

@creative_writer I'm glad you've been able to identify and change up something that was unhelpful! Yeah creating a sensory-friendly environment definitely helps - I often go to my coconut or lemongrass incense when I wanna focus! 

Oh yeah coconut water would be perf! Maybe I should look into that instead of powerade 😅

Yeah perfectionism can be rough to contend with, I think it can be about trying to find a balance, and learning to notice when we're moving out of 'motivated and striving for high quality' and into 'over-fixated on details to the point of distress'. 

Hope the next assignment goes well and you find a good rhythm for your study times!

[creative_writer]

@Jynx citrus and peppermint are good for improving concentration. Lavender, rose and other florals are good for relaxation, perfect before going to bed.

Coconut water naturally has electrolytes. My body feels better when I get my daily electrolytes and I don’t do low salt diets either. I also need my compression clothing so my blood doesn’t pool. I think it’s been a bit better since it hasn’t been as hot.

Like I’ve put really high expectations on myself, it’s a struggle. Especially since my first assignment was shit 😞. I’m not as worried about the other two assignments since my average is better for those two other units

[Jynx]

@creative_writer yeah absolutely, it's actually kinda bonkers how much salt can impact our health - too much or too little, not good! 

Aww that sucks about your first assignment. Do you have a good teacher, someone who you can ask for insights or help with things to improve? Cos that's what making mistakes is all about - finding out where to focus our learning! 

[creative_writer]

@Jynx right balance of salt is important.

The unit has been frustrating, and students are trying to advocate for change. The tutor who marked my previous essay did not provide that much feedback, maybe expectations weren’t clear. So I literally don’t know who to ask. I sincerely hope they are able to improve the unit for future students

[Jynx]

@creative_writer That's why we don't drink sea water! 😂

Oh how frustrating! I hope they listen to the students, cos the quality of the teacher can have such a big impact on how well we learn. Is there like a learning support you could potentially chat to? Or perhaps a classmate who did well on the assignment? 

[creative_writer]

@Jynx it is very frustrating. I’m holding back on how frustrating it’s been this semester with that unit because I don’t want to seem disrespectful. It’s been very stressful on top of everything I’m already dealing with. I’m a perfectionist by nature, and when I don’t perform well on a major assignment, my brain does backflips. It helps that other students are in the same boat. I was talking with another student who was dreading writing the assignment up because it was so confusing

[Jynx]

@creative_writer expressing frustration is not necessarily disrespect. You can express it in a disrespectful way, but I honestly just can't imagine you doing so, you're too kind and lovely for that 😉

I'm glad it's been noticed by other students too - are they the ones who are making complaints?

If you want to vent your frustrations here, I'd be happy to hold that space for you hun 💜

[creative_writer]

@Jynx I totally get the unit coordinator is from a different ethnic background and came in as a refugee from Africa, I totally feel for him. I look pretty ethnic myself, I used to insecure about it when I was really young because most of the people I was surrounded by were of European descendent, and by that I mean mostly Northern Euro. I didn’t have the blond hair or blue eyes. I know I look visibly Muslim, and I don’t care about it anymore. I know there will always be haters, but they don’t matter.

But anyways, I may have got a bit sidetracked. The unit coordinator doesn’t seem very approachable and at times has appeared annoyed at other students. English also doesn’t come naturally to him either, so sometimes students aren’t able to understand, not exactly his fault though, but still teaching can suffer. These are just my observations, and I get he may be reacting defensive and probably has faced quite a bit of racism.

I know I may seem nice on the forums. I’m not referring to the unit coordinator. Some people do cross my boundary, in those cases I have outwardly have expressed my anger outside of these forums, I just don’t think it’s fair what the world has come to and it is infuriating. At times it feels like people are pulling each others legs rather than supporting each other. Yet, at the end of the day it’s the innocent who suffer. Probably more angry at the world than uni rn