I Can't Read Anymore

I have been a bookworm since I was a child. Up until the last few years, I would eagerly devour books. I love reading!! Nothing better then tuning out the world and diving into a great fictional story.

I can't read anymore. I just can't stay focused on the story. I lose track of who is doing what. I can't relax enough to enjoy the thrill of an entertaining story.

Any suggestions as to how to get my mind to stay focused on the book?? I have nothing to do with my time, and books were always my best friends. Now I just sit and play Solitaire....which is as mind-numbing as you can get. I can't stand it. I want to read again!

Help.

Hi, Sandy! I'm so sorry you've lost your favorite hobby/activity! Have you tried taking notes or summarizing the story as you go along? I use this method when I'm studying things, & like for reading more difficult things like Shakespeare. And maybe try reading one page at a time & think about it? I do know how hard it is to concentrate when anxious & stressed, though.

I've been there. I love to read, but in a depressive episode I just can't focus.

Have you talked to your doctor about this? For me, adjusting my anti-depressants usually fixes the problem.

Also, have you tried audiobooks? Sometimes it is easier for me to listen to audiobooks than to read. If have a library card, you can use the Libby app to get free audiobooks to your phone.

I started reading an author that I love this morning. It's a series, so I just had to remember who was who and what had happened in different books. Then Chapter 2 came.....and FIVE new male characters were added just to get me all mixed up as to what each man is up to!! LOL.

There is one author who has very long, detailed books that are a series. She has SO many quaint characters in each book, and I ALWAYS would write down who each person was and how they were related to one another in the little community. Otherwise, I would get mixed up until I got fully into the book. I'm definitely not able to read something that detailed yet!

Yes, it's very difficult to concentrate. I was doing okay....actually enjoying it while I whispered it out loud to myself....and then my roommate got up. End of story. I think I need to be alone without any distractions. My MAIN distraction (other than my roommate) is the constant buzzing throughout my whole body that NEVER stops. I just want a peaceful body and maybe then I would have a peaceful mind.

Yes, notes will be taken. I really enjoy these different authors, and it's been so long since I've visited their worlds. I want to be the avid reader I once was....so excited to sit down and read. And it made the day go by so pleasantly.

Thanks for the suggestions. I appreciate it.

I don't have a pdoc anymore, and I'm not on anti-depressants. I'm just on anti-anxiety. But I've been in a depressed mood for the past month or so. I can't concentrate or be interested in anything lately.

I've never been interested in audiobooks. I love the feel of a book in my hands, especially a hard cover, and turning the pages. It just adds to the pleasure of reading.

I actually get my books from the library through a program called "Books By Mail". I go online, pick out the book I want, and they mail it to me for as long as I need it. Then I mail it back to them, postage paid. My anxiety won't allow me to visit an actual library, but this works out much better.

Thank you for responding to my message. Reading will help me make it through each day. I haven't even been out of my pj's for the past two days. I NEVER do that!! I hate being depressed.

I don't go to the library either. With the app, I can get ebooks and audiobooks to my phone.

That's cool about the books by mail thing. Libraries here have curbside service, but not sure if they mail books.

If I lived in the city itself, the library has a program where they actually DELIVER the books directly to you. You have a calendar, and when you have picked out the books online that you want, they arrive on your particular day to pick up the old ones and give you the new ones.

I live in a town outside of the city now, so no one drives here to deliver. But the Books By Mail program is great. You should check into it. And no fines for being late in returning anything!

Can you try a different genre....sometimes for example fantasy is too complex so I started back with romance which is about as simple as you can get.

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If my concentration is having a slow day, the worst thing I could do is not adjust my expectations. Otherwise I could find myself reading over the top of things.

Oh, I sincerely don't like fantasy or ROMANCE. LOL. I would definitely have a problem following those stories. Romance would probably put me to sleep.

I like psychological thrillers. I am doing okay so far with the book I'm trying to read. I can only go for little spurts, and I do tend to get some of the new characters mixed up. But I'm trying. The stories aren't too complicated. It's just that my mind doesn't want to focus well enough.

Thanks for the advice.

I can relate, as books have always been my escape since I was a kid.

But lately I'm having trouble focusing, it could be because of everything going on now both here and globally. One book I'm having more trouble concentrating on for some reason I can't explain.

Sorry I don't know what to say or do either, just wanted to send some hugs your way and say I know what you mean.

Yes, books are a lovely way to escape. I'm sorry that you are having problems focusing as well. It becomes so depressing.

One problem I'm having right now is that I'm TRYING to focus on the storyline, taking it simply, and I'm moving along in the story. Then my roommate will come out to the livingroom and I have to put the book down. No idea when I'll get back to the story, or if I'll even remember what had followed up to that point. It's frustrating. I'm trying to get back into reading books as a therapy for me.

Thank you for the hugs. They are ALWAYS welcomed! I hope you overcome your reading difficulties.

Have you been tested for adhd....I didn’t have onset until late in adulthood....

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I was also thinking long-term benzo use could account for your lack of ability to focus. You mentioned ant-anxiety meds.

No, I haven't been tested for adhd. I honestly don't believe I have that, though. I'm not hyper. I'm more of a mellow type of person now....I used to be full of energy, kooky, and funny.....but now I just sit around and watch my toenails grow. Lol.

I'm more active the higher my anxiety goes. I talk more, I pace, I wring my hands, I can't sit still, and I certainly can't focus on reading.

Thanks for looking in on me. I don't know how I would even be tested for adhd, but I don't believe that is an issue for me.

Gosh, I've been on Clonazepam for YEARS. I've really built up a tolerance to it. My family doctor was prescribing 12mg per day, and then when I got a pdoc, he took me down to 8mg per day. I no longer have a pdoc and have to return to my family doctor, and I'm going to ask for 12mg per day. I don't always need that much, but nothing under 8mg works. I'm under a lot of stress lately because of my roommate. He wants to control me. He doesn't understand anything about anxiety, although he thinks he does and criticizes me about everything. But I need him here because my anxiety would turn into fear if I had to be in this apartment alone.

I don't think that being on a benzo for such a long time has interfered with my ability to focus. I used to read constantly up until a few years ago, and I was on a high level at that time. I think it's just that I feel that I've already lived my life, and there is nothing left for me anymore. I don't DO anything, and I don't have any friends. Am I supposed to spend the many years left in my life just sitting around reading books? If I had a LIFE, sitting down with a book would be exciting. But now I'm trying to read because I have nothing else left in my world. I need the stimulation and distraction of getting into a good story.

Thanks so much for responding to me. I'm depressed, stressed, and anxious. I want to feel HAPPY with a good story to read.

Most people don’t get hyperactivity so much as they get lack of focus and attention....

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I had the same issue with movies / tv. But I have come to conclude isn't me... it is them. They just aren't good anymore.

When I do find something good I don't have an issue maintaining focus.

Also, I wonder if you over do the focus on something so your body yearns for something different.

Like now I find you tube so much more interesting than regular tv. It is like my body just lost interest in scripted items.

I still enjoy certain authors that I've followed for years. I used to read only the classics. I couldn't imagine reading modern-day stories. But then I gave it a try, and found some really good authors out there that I continued to follow. It's just that I haven't been able to focus for the past few years.

I thought it was funny about YouTube. I got hooked a few years ago on some of the channels that I found. It was so interesting to watch people daily or weekly....funny or serious or just going about their days. I hadn't even realized there was more to YouTube than just music! Lol. I haven't been on YouTube for a few years now, either. I'm not much interested in sitting in front of the monitor watching programs.

I hope you are enjoying your day with YouTube. There used to be some really great channels. I might have to check it out again.

You have my complete sympathy, SandyWeb. When my depression became very bad (I can only speak from my own experience), I lost the ability to read anything longer than a single page in a book. And I was always, all of my life, an avid reader, too. So it felt like losing a best friend.

It's been 15 years since I was diagnosed, and I am no longer needing medication to manage my depression, which has really backed off (gratefully!). But I am still dealing with a lot of anxiety.

Slowly, when I did start to really feel much better, I could tell some processes which I felt had abandoned me for forever were actually returning to me. I still can't read for protracted periods like I used to, but my focus and retention are better, and I'm even getting back the desire to create some artwork again. My thinking, overall, is much healthier and my reasoning skills are much faster and stronger.

So please don't despair. If it's a problem for awhile, perhaps it will also return after a bit.

I like a lot of the suggestions people have offered, here.

Also, I would definitely ask a medical professional about it. Perhaps there is some way they can help.

Here's a p.s.: Finding support forums was an almost instant boon to me. It helped me in several ways, one of them being improving my ability to focus while reading. As I continued on, I could tell that gentle cognitive exercise was helping a great deal.

Wishing you all the best, as well as answers for you!

Have you tried collections of short stories? It’s something to dip in and out of and generally less complex plot.

I had readers block a long time and although a little better I still have times I can’t concentrate as well. I think little bits of reading are better than none. In my case I think technology use has affected my ability to stick with a plain old book.

I agree with this idea. A collection of short stories or a novelette could be less overwhelming and not a full-length novel. If you like crime fiction, James Patterson's "Bookshots" series of novelettes might appeal to you. They are about 120 pages or less. I've read a lot of them, and I could read them in one sitting but I broke it up into an hour at a time. They are very fast-paced and action/suspense packed.

Novelettes are longer than short stories but still quite short compared to a novella or novel!

Certain genres might help. I've sort of gotten my concentration back by reading fantasy/horror/sci-fi. They take me into another world, which I need since this world is going insane and is very scary to me now.

Mindfulness and meditation can help hone our attention spans, if that might be something that interests you to try?

I like Discombobulated's idea of reading short stories.


I'll add, consider taking a trip to your local library and just peruse the stacks. Sometimes that's motivating to me. I get excited seeing the books and then I want to read.

And I seconded that idea.

Browsing the stacks is good too, as I've found some good stuff that way. Sometimes the library has lists of books that are popular now, but that doesn't mean it's for everyone.

My library system has cut down to just 50% capacity (due to COVID, till the end of January) but I'm so glad they are OPEN so I can have face to face contact with staff. It isn't busy anyway, so it won't affect my going inside to get my books or use the computer.