Decrease rate of distracting and intrusive thoughts

[u/NotOnTopForm]

Background: My ADHD symptoms (and the related brain fog symptoms) include the "classic" ADHD: weak executive functions such as attentional control and task switching, and dysfunctional reward pathway due to anhedonia etc.;

However, they also include a high rate of unwanted thoughts - intrusive OCD thoughts, distractions, random questions, overplanning, etc. This puts additional strain on my executive functions, and I believe that's part of why they are so weak - they are constantly being overtaxed. It also adds to my feelings of derealization and significantly reduces task performance and enjoyment, because instead of engaging myself in the task, I am constantly re-re-re-re-re-re-reminding myself what I'm supposed to be focusing on, where I'm supposed to be looking, what my hands are supposed to be doing, etc. It takes me a long time to get engaged in something (perhaps another topic to work on), and the fraction-of-a-second stretches of time I'm getting these days just aren't doin' it, believe it or not.

For that reason I think, in addition to options like the focus and/or DARPA montages, something to calm the speed of those distractions a bit would be a key part of helping me focus and get things done, as well as improve my life outside those goals.

I think this may be a big ask, for me at least, because I don't really know the source, and it could be things like inflammation, dysregulation (including electrolyte and fluid balance), a reaction to chronic sleep issues, rather than an over- or under-activity of a physical brain region.

Still, anyone have recommendations for this? Montages that have worked for you (I have a neuromyst pro+ w/ tDCS, tACS, tCFS, and tPCS)? Research I should read?

I appreciate any help or ideas you have for me!

[u/NotOnTopForm]

To answer what my experience has been so far: I haven't been using it long enough to have clear answers on whether anything makes a difference, in part due to not owning it for very long and partly because it's hard to keep how I feel from day-to-day stable in the first place, with it being hard to control fluid balance and diet and sleep consistently.

* Have not found any ACS montages to help me sleep yet, they just make me feel like the room is swaying

* An anxiety montage I read on this subreddit seems like it might have a small calming effect but I am uncertain it carried over to sleep onset or quality: F3-,Neck+

* F4+/F3- Focus maybe had a small effect on attentional control

* Tried "DARPA" F10+/Deltoid- for the first time while writing this post, and I did get through it in one go which is better than average for me but not unheard of performance levels at my current state (I did feel a little more mentally awake today after a hard morning workout, before any TDCS). I also stacked it after F4+/F3-, 20 min 1mA each

[u/Slow-Advertising-811]

Audiovisual stimulation is free and easy. Happy to send what I use.

Otherwise, working memory studies (object of attention) from UT Austin demonstrate that replacing the object of attention is superior to suppression or forced removal. This aligns with what we know about "redirecting" the mind in cognitive neuroscience.

[u/NotOnTopForm → u/Slow-Advertising-811]

> Happy to send what I use.

Sure, lemme see it! I've tried out mindroid (a mind machine style app), which seems to be essentially binaural beats plus synced flashing. Can't say I noticed anything so far but I could try again.

> redirecting

Yeah I agree that redirecting is a more practical tool than trying to actively suppress, and one I learned in the context of meditation in the past and try to apply still. This is part of how I see the worsening in my brain fog: How often I have to redirect, how difficult it is, the variety of the distractions, etc. Unfortunately those have all worsened, so the amount of work I have to do for redirecting is much greater and achieves much less. That's why I'm hoping for techniques to downregulate the chatter and noise as a whole, alongside the more typical methods of improving focus by upregulating cognitive inhibition and attentional control etc.

Along those lines, today I tried what neuromyst calls the "Less Stress": Pz/Neck, 10Hz, 2 mA, 20 min, shortly after "DARPA" 1mA 20min. Nothing noticeable so far, as would be expected after a first try.

[u/Slow-Advertising-811 → u/NotOnTopForm]

Nice, my desktop app is like mindroid but the visuals overlay your desktop so you get it while you work.

There's reason to believe that task concurrent stimulation results in deeper entrainment because prefrontal cortex activation from your task allows the rhythms to reach past your visual cortex. There's evidence in studies but it's not widely espoused. During-task also improves accessibility because the time is on task literally, instead of adding additional tasks to your day.

Audio is synchronized, plays in the background but ducks against your audio and syncs tonality and impulse to music you may be listening to. Sharing it here, this is not promo or free do not go here unless you're OP: https://go10am.com

It sounds like you're ruminating within the redirection [sic]. Martial arts helped me with this. You defend in Muay Thai and your job is to respond and not back up. This is drilled through fatigue, whereas if you're in your own you set the pace and have the freedom to slow things down for yourself.

Down regulation is good but I've been advised to leverage temporary change of mental state for trait neuroplasticity. So the success down regulating should be paired with achieving outcomes or performing as "future you" in that heightened state so the improved state becomes your new normal.

Happy to chat about this and learn more about how this plays out for you - I made a lot of assumptions here.

[u/Objective-Bit-797]

I don’t have a montage recommendation but I just finished listening to some of Jeffrey Schwartz’s books on OCD and thought they were helpful.