Do you have trouble focusing on reading etc...

[[Je...]]

I used to love my National Geographic magazine....

 

I never read all the articles, I looked at the pictures etc. and read the articles that appealed to me.

 

Now I find It's really hard to read, comprehend and retain much of anything.  Will this get better?

[[Br...]]

It has slowly become easier for me to read, even as I go through the last stages of my taper.

 

Early on, I just could not summon the energy to read anything beyond news articles on the Internet. For the first time in about three months, I've picked up novels again. Reading exhausts me mentally, but I can do it again.

 

It will come back for you too. I think you have to work at it though.

 

Brian

[[Je...]]

yeah, that is the thing...it exhausts me mentally.  Anyone else?

[Guest [to...]]

Yep. I have trouble concentrating allot more than ever. It is improving though.

[[Ki...]]

Yup. Cant concentrate. Find it hard to care about anything I read. I did have a small victory today. I read an entire New Yorker article by Lena Dunham, the creator of HBOs Girls. It was all about her childhood anxieties and obsessions and her relationships with her therapists. No wonder it kept my interest.

[[Ja...]]

Use to read a couple novels a week, now I have no motivation to even pick up a novel because I can't concentrate on what I reading. I lay on the couch a watch situation comedy's, reruns over and over, what a waste of a life. I hate this dam crap. I also worry that when I do come off, I won't return to the way I was, this whole thing is scary as  HELL!

[[lo...]]

Hi jerry

 

I worked in research, reading complex research papers, reports etc. All I did was read, write, do statistical analysis etc. Have not been able to read for a year now. However, small improvements are happening and I am optimistic. Whether I will get back to 100% I have no idea. Fortunately I am retired so it is less crucial for me.

 

Just be positive, do what you can and it will get better.

 

I watch light stuff on tv but I do enjoy it. I see it as an opportunity to waste time and be frivolous after a lifetime of working and being far too serious. Benzos made me depressed for 40 years - that was a tragedy as I only lived a half life.  :'( :'(  making the most of every day now in spite of being stuck in bed. No longer depressed and it is wonderful.

 

Try to make the most of your days in spite of all the misery.  My magazines are piling up, can't be bothered flicking through them. Trying to read hurts my brain.  I just do other things, for now.

 

Take care

 

LF 

 

 

 

 

[[Di...]]

I used to read a lot of books, but I haven't been able to concentrate on reading for a long time. I can read, re-read and read again the same paragraph and it just doesn't sink in. My brain just seems to go blank. I even have trouble reading some posts on BB that are really long or if people don't use enough paragraphs.

 

I can't blame benzos for it because it started long before I started using valium. I have no idea why this happened - it just did. Perhaps it's an age thing. However, I have no problem with writing. I could write for hours.