I tried audiobooks to get past this issue and instead ended up clicking the back 30s button a ton to see what I zoned out on. It’s so annoying when you really enjoy books.
this post was submitted on 04 Oct 2023
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Yeah audiobooks are even worse for me, unless I'm reading the ebook at the same time and following along
thats my daily commute listening to podcasts haha
And this is why I, as an ADHD person, love Brain Leak. Two ADHD as hell hosts bullshiting about whatever random crap comes across their minds for an hour. Zone out for a minute? Literally doesn't matter lol. Absolute fluff podcast, so if you're looking for anything with actual substance, this ain't it, but they make me laugh for an hour when I'm doing chores.
The Frank Skinner Show is good for that too.
Then you re-read it but you keep telling yourself “I already read that” and skip chunks of paragraphs.
I really hate reading large swaths of text because of that. It feels like writers get too wordy, and I just want them to get to the point, so I skip ahead.
Somehow reading instruction manuals and documentation doesn’t do that to me.
Thats because they get to the point.
Unless its jargon, like the part thats bragging about all their bullshit features.
Shit like this is why I always read the SparkNotes/CliffNotes for a book instead of the book when I was in high school. The English teachers always claimed that tests would be based on things not in the summary, but I always managed to get by.
You kinda have to accept that you need to reread the entire thing and will only notice where you left off once you’ve read up to that point again
I gave up on reading books because of that. Reading a few sentences at a time online is fine, but if it's just pages and pages, I can't do it.
I went with audiobooks and that really helped. The other thing I did is get a kindle, then change the font to OpenDyslexic (I’m also dixlesic) and make the line spacing wide and font size big. Like that there are less words per page. So if I get distracted and zone out on a page it’s less.
I'm not dyslexic myself but I'll scream "OpenDyslexic is amazing" at everyone with an e-reader forevermore
I looked into the idea behind it and I think the same ideas in its design that help dyslexics focus and not spin stuff around also helps ADHDrs "flow" through the text as well
At least, it does for me
yeah, this really took me out of reading for a long time. Just base-level "reading" where you kind of process the words as an activity, without actually absorbing anything.
started medication recently, and hope that it'll help with this. i miss reading ;.;
Have you tried audiobooks? I have a far easier time with them and most everything you'd want to read is available in audiobook form
I have a really hard time absorbing people speaking when i'm not interacting with them, and being understimulated and not knowing what to do with my hands when i am able to focus on audiobooks. I want to love them and podcasts, but they just aren't it for me D:
I'm glad they work so well for you and others, though!!
Audiobooks are fantastic for me while riding a bike or walking on a treadmill - something to physically do and something to mentally do.
I can't just sit and listen to them though.
EDIT: Oh and repetitive tasks - I got back into audiobooks when I started making chainmail again. Which reminds me... I haven't finished that thing I started a year ago...
Yeah it works if I'm physically preoccupied but otherwise it's just boring noise
Oh my god this perfectly describes it. It's like the main reason I read so slowly because I don't realise I'm doing that other weird kind of reading where you process and register the word but no the group of words arranged in to meaning. Suddenly I realise that started happening several pages ago and have to go back and start over.
Me reading a poem.
Me rereading a poem.
😡 me giving up on reading the poem.
If I'm not really into what I'm reading the words are just words and I dont really absorb what is being said, if I am interested in what I'm reading however its the opposite and I don't even see words, just knowledge or if its a story I disappear into another world. It's one or the other and I can't force it. I think I must hit some kind of hyperfocus mode when I am able because usually when this happens it's hard to pull myself out of what I'm reading. I need to figure out how to turn that mode on manually. 😆
Same for me. It's either like trying to decipher an alien language or being fully immersed in another world. Very little in-between.
It sucks because my kids want me to read them books, and I do, but reading children's books out loud is extremely exhausting so I can never get through as many as they want at bed time.
The important thing is to learn that this is okay. Rereading the information you did track will only reinforce it making the new information easier to actively engage with
The only way to completely snap out of it for me sometimes is to start reading out loud or at least move my mouth with the words to reinforce them. Although it doesn't always work, I do realize quicker if I have no idea what's coming out of my mouth than if it's just in my head. It also forces my brain to slow down a bit.