======= Date Modified 26 May 2011 12:50:14 =======
Hello,
I am going through a period in which I find it difficult to concentrate or even understand what I read. As a result, I constantly feel anxious and can't even get started on the task on hand. I'm thinking of taking amphetamines to improve concentration levels but they are so difficult to get hold of. Failing that, could someone recommend other concentration remedies - maybe something you've tried out yourself?
Thanks!

Hi!

I think everybody goes through similar periods, but I don't think amphetamines are a good idea at all!
If you're trying to work yourself too hard you probably just need to take a day or two off. Completely! A good nights sleep after doing something I enjoy for a day (and a nice cup of tea!! :D) makes me feel refreshed and ready to start again. So much better than trying really hard to concentrate and failing.
Sometimes you just need a bit of a breather and starting work having a refreshed mind really does help - even if you feel like you don't have time, you will probably find you're much more relaxed and focused afterwards :)

Also, I found once I got myself into a good routine of setting hours through the day where I would go do work it helped a lot. When I was doing my dissertation for example I would go into the library from about half 9 in the morning until around half 6/7, then try block it out of my mind when I came home so I wasn't constantly worrying about it and I could come home to my housemates, cook a nice meal (also lots of veg and healthy diet, as much of a cliche as that sounds!), and watch a bit of tv/read/go out.

That's just general stuff you've heard before probably, but I find it definitely helps :)

Hi - in my opinion it is best to stick to natural remedies, like a nutritious diet, daily exercise and enough sleep. Supplements you could take are omega 3, 6 and 9 oil, chromium (regulates blood sugar levels and reduces tiredness and a good multivitamin.

However, I will admit to using other things sometimes and while I wouldn't usually recommend it, they do help me. I am on other medication that can make me quite drowsy sometimes, and I have to combine my full-time PhD with a part time job and a bit of teaching so my life is quite full-on and demands quite a lot from me in terms of concentration and time-management. On a really busy day when I need to get a lot done, generally once a week, I take a diet pill that speeds up the metabolism and it really enhances my concentration without making me hyperactive or anything like that. The effect is quite subtle, but it is there. I didn't get it from a shop but from a private dealer and she assures me that it doesn't contain amphetamines (I wouldn't take those). My mum has been on them for years and although she doesn't really agree with me taking them, I think they are essentially harmless. Maybe try something like that, but start at a low dose and don't take them every day.

If you take something, is that really going to address the underlying issues? It might mask them for a while, but what if you become dependent on that as the fix to this issue?

It sounds to me like something that would be aided by time management/project management training, a good chat with your supervisor or other students to find out how they approach such periods, and an evaluation of how you go about your work to see if there's anything that isn't conducive to concentration. I really don't see how amphetamines are going to improve this.

This may well be true, but the problem is that I have so much to do in very little time. Probably it's just the fear of an impending deadline that's stopping me. I've been suggested some stuff from Jean de Vries pharmacy - herbal remedies, apparently, but apart from the fact that I don't trust herbal remedies too much, the product description of some of these seems just too good to be true.