Re: Concentration and Distrac...

[Claudia Elliott <Pitowitch@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Allen.  My name is Claudia Elliott.  I've been reading your postings and
hearing about you from Louise Rodrigues for awhile now.  The question you ask
touches on the thing I am most interested in.  I am a therapist, and
therefore, concentration and focus are everything.  There have been periods
when I experienced a variety of cognitive deficits--like problems with word
retrieval, going blank, flight of ideas (from the dyskenesia).   I have tried
a variety of things to fix this, and find that my concentration is better in
some ways now than it was before, unless I become anxious or overwhelmed.  My
theory is that in order to create the necessary new synapses, we have to come
in from the side door, so to speak--through the right brain.  This can
involve things like meditation,  drawing, playing music--even writing if I
have something on my mind.  I have learned alot about this from the
experiential standpoint by having been in psychoanalysis, but also with the
help of the Alexander Technique.  The trick is to focus, and then hold it.
 In addition, balance training has helped--walking a beam, using a balance
board.  My PD has fortunately progressed slowly--I have the one-sided type.
 However, I think this focusing thing has really helped.  As soon as I
experience some deficit, I start working on it.    I hope this ideas help.
 I'd be happy to talk more about it.  My address is 1915 N. Wolcott, Chicago,
Ill.    Phone:  312- 489-3607.     Claudia