Have you been having a hard time concentrating lately? Having poor concentration is usually not something you have to worry about, but sometimes it can point to a more severe problem. It can be a symptom of anxiety and can often lead to panic attacks.
If you’re having trouble remembering things and can’t focus on tasks, you might have concentration difficulties. Here are 15 ways you can stop poor concentration or focus and fight anxiety:
1. Sensory stimulation
Most of the time, people have concentration difficulties because they can’t control their thoughts. Their thoughts tend to shift rapidly, making it hard to focus on one thought at a time. If you feel you have too many thoughts in your head, you need something that will distract you from these thoughts.
Watch TV or listen to music to get your thoughts away from you. Playing some background music will prevent you from overthinking. You’ll be able to combat poor concentration and focus on whatever it is that you’re doing.
2. Jotting down your thoughts to overcome poor concentration
Get a notepad and start writing down your negative or anxious thoughts. If you suffer from anxiety and have concentration difficulties, you probably have more thoughts in your head than you should have. Having too many thoughts can make it hard to stay focus. One excellent option is to write those thoughts on a paper or journal.
Writing them down will give you some clarity, and it’ll make it easy for you to make sense of your thoughts. Once you’ve written these thoughts, you won’t have such a hard time focusing on them, and you can give full attention to the task you were trying to complete.
3. Get rid of all distractions to fight against the poor concentration
Let’s say you have to write a report and submit it in a few hours. You make yourself some coffee and start writing. Five minutes later, you’re on your phone looking at memes and pictures of cats on Facebook. You put down your phone and start writing again. 10 minutes later, you’re back to looking at pictures of cats. Cats are cute, and it’s hard not to look at their pictures every five minutes, but you probably have concentration problems.
But if this happens frequently and it’s interfering with your work, then that’s a problem. You have to get rid of all the things that are distracting you from finishing your work. Can’t stop looking at pictures of cats on your phone? Put your phone in a different room, so you don’t get the urge to pick it up every 5 minutes. Your constant need to look at your phone is probably an indication of anxiety. You’re trying to avoid working by using your phone. Not being distracted will improve your concentration, and you’ll be able to focus on your work.
4. Organize your tasks
Sometimes you get so much work that you get overwhelmed and feel anxious. You end up with concentration problems, and it worsens your anxiety. To prevent this from happening, organize your tasks properly. Divide your work into sub-tasks and designate a specific time for all these sub-tasks.
Sub-dividing your tasks will not only boost concentration abilities, but it will also keep you motivated. You’ll know what task you’re supposed to do at what time and you won’t waste your time worrying about doing other tasks.
5. Make a schedule and use a timer
To overcome poor concentration, make a schedule, and stick to it. Use a timer and set the time duration of your choice on it. During that time, work as much as you can and try to finish your tasks. When the time duration ends, give yourself a little break.
This way, you’ll have a clear idea of your accomplishments, and you’ll feel more motivated to work during the “work time” because you know you’ll be rewarded with a break once you’re done. You’ll be able to concentrate more efficiently, and once the timer starts ringing and your “work time” is over, you can focus on thoughts that are always distracting you.
6. Do breathing exercises
Anxiety can give you concentration problems. And when you try hard to concentrate but can’t, you end up with more anxiety. You find it impossible to focus on your surroundings, and it can often cause you to panic.
When you’re having an anxiety attack because you can’t concentrate, your breathing will become erratic, and you’ll start breathing through your chest. When this happens, it’s important to take long, deep breaths. There are lots of breathing exercises that you can do to help yourself feel calm. One exercise involves inhaling while counting to 5, holding your breath for 2 seconds, and then exhaling while counting to 7.
7. Meditation to overcome concentration difficulties
Regular meditation is a great way to improve concentration. It can help you empty your head, so you don’t always think about things that make you anxious. Daily meditation will help you fight against poor concentration. It would help if you focused on your breathing, and it’ll help you become more observant of your surroundings and your body.
Meditate so you can clear your head now and then. According to neuroscientist Sara Lazar, meditation can physically alter your brain.
8. Stop multitasking
Multitasking has been proven to be unproductive and useless. It’ll make you think you’re accomplishing more by working on multiple tasks at the same time, but you’re just putting more burden on yourself. You’ll have more concentration difficulties, and you’ll end up having a panic attack.
According to research, multitasking can make people 40% less productive. Instead of multitasking, you should learn how to organize your tasks. Creating a schedule will help you accomplish them faster, and you’ll be able to concentrate better on each task.
9. Eat healthy to reduce the poor concentration
Eating the right foods is essential. What you eat affects your concentration abilities. Some foods are better than others at improving concentration and reducing stress. Foods that are rich in magnesium and potassium help reduce stress. Green, leafy vegetables like kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are great for improving cognitive functions. Blueberries, green tea, and avocados are also healthy foods that will help you with your concentration difficulties.
10. Hormonal imbalances
Sometimes hormonal changes in the body can cause people to feel confused and anxious. Hormonal imbalance can reduce concentration and cause fatigue. If you think you’re depressed and have sleep problems making it hard to concentrate, you should see a doctor or have a blood test to determine if you have a hormonal imbalance.
A doctor will help you solve your hormonal problems, and you’ll be able to focus and concentrate like before again.
11. Sleep properly
Not getting enough sleep can cause concentration problems. Your brain needs to rest and relax. Your inability to concentrate can be a sign that you’re not getting enough rest. You should sleep for at least 8 or 9 hours. Don’t stay up late working or studying because your brain needs rest to store new information.
If you feel too tired at night when you’re working and you can’t concentrate, it’s your brain trying to tell you to go to sleep. Fixing your sleep schedule is one of the best ways to stop poor concentration. So start taking your sleep seriously!
12. Exercises and sports
Physical exercises will help you ignore those anxious thoughts in your head. It’s a great way to combat overthinking and poor concentration. Countless studies link physical activities to more significant attention times and concentration skills.
If you’ve never worked out or exercised in your life, you can start doing some light exercises for 15-30 minutes every day. Go for a brisk walk, and you’ll start noticing the benefits in a matter of weeks.
13. Medications
If you think nothing is helping you, you can talk to your doctor and prescribe you medications. If you have anxiety or any other mental illness, don’t take any medicine without talking to your doctor about it first, as it can have side effects that will make your symptoms worse. People typically use stimulants, non-stimulants, and antidepressants to treat concentration issues.
Adderall, Ritalin, Focalin, Zenzedi, and Dexedrine are drugs that can be prescribed to people who have trouble concentrating, but always talk to your doctor about it first!
14. Concentration games
Contrary to what most people think, video games don’t cause violence. They boost memory and improve cognitive abilities. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and child development specialists often say that people should play brain exercise games because they’re almost just as effective as medications.
There are plenty of games out there that you can play to improve your concentration skills. Just don’t let these games distract you when you’re working because they can sometimes be quite addictive!
15. Seek a therapist
Look for a therapist to help you if nothing is working for you. If you think your anxiety and poor concentration have reached a point where you find it impossible to do anything, talk to a professional about it. They will help you figure out what’s causing you to feel anxious and why you’re having trouble concentrating on things.
Poor concentration is mostly a sign that you’re stressed or you’re anxious about something. A therapist will help you understand your condition better so you can stop poor concentration and fight anxiety with your therapist’s help
Summary
Poor concentration can be frustrating when it starts affecting your daily life. You find it impossible to focus on anything. Hopefully, with the help of the methods mentioned above, you’ll be able to improve your concentration skills and go back to feeling normal.
Moving forward with Psychotherapy
Fortunately, Ahealo.com offers a global ePsychotherapy platform that allows clients to book an online anonymous private appointment with a broad skill range of psychotherapists at an affordable cost and desired schedule.
Alternatively, if you need to seek psychotherapy, be sure to check out web.ahealo.com. Ahealo is an online psychotherapy platform with a diverse range of psychotherapists for many different fields of mental challenges. Ahealo provides ePsychotherapy at an affordable price, confidential, convenient (through a web page 1-1 private video call), and at your comfortable schedule.
With these options, we believe your insomnia can be resolved soon.
Take care and stay well.
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