You have an attention span of a goldfish.
I have grown up listening to this statement much more than I thought I would. Whether it was my exasperated tutors or my parents who were frustrated with my exasperated tutors, I somehow seemed to make everyone irritated due to my ‘unattentiveness’.
It was not like I didn’t enjoy learning things or wanted to get beaten for not following instructions, I Just. Could. Not. Pay. Attention.
But I thought it’s fine. Who listens to their parents and teachers anyway, amirite? #Rebel
Turns out I was wrong and things started getting weirder by the day. I was just not distracted anymore, I mastered that art of ‘daydreaming’ way too well. So well that I could literally look out of the window or stare at the wall in front of me for hours.
During lectures, during an argument or even while giving my goddamn board exams, this was an art I couldn’t control anymore.
But the older I grew, my inattentiveness and spacey-ness only grew stronger and it started to affect every aspect of my work. From careless mistakes to forgetting minute things that I heard just minutes ago, everything seemed too minimal to pay attention to but was hampering my life in more than one way.
This is when I came to know about Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Now people who are sightly aware of this neurological disorder may mistake it with Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but these two are much different.
Even though my symptoms were far less serious than that of ADHD, I was taken aback thinking that all my ‘common habits’ can actually be a mental disorder. It all started to make more sense and my ‘weirdness’ and my ‘careless attitude’ had a definitive reason.
Attention Deficit Disorder is a real mental condition and when you are going through a phase of distraction, inattentiveness, chronically start losing things or just can’t seem to retain anything, its fine. The fault is not with you but what you’re going through.
And it is not something one should be ashamed of just because one is categorized as the stipulated nalayak bacha of the family. If you yourself start noticing the above symptoms along with failing to organize any tasks and activities or start forgetting small things or fail to finish what you started, then it is time you talk to someone.
Just anyone. Be it your parents, friends, or even a therapist. It is not something that is incurable but definitely can be improved. In my case, it helped with a constant effort to meditate. Even though it was tough due to the constant distraction. It helped a lot.
But if meditating by yourself doesn’t work out for you, then it’s fine cuz it happened with me too. There are tons of apps nowadays that can help you concentrate or meditate in fun and different ways.
At first glance it might seem nothing to you, but it is never too late to seek help and care for your mental well being before it starts hampering your life.