Sally, you are funny. Love you!

I have to say that I am doing BETTER rather than worse at shopping now than in the past decades when I could hardly do it. What happened? I can't say for sure. Probably some healing. Probably some willingness to go slow in what I do, to plan ahead, to always wear dark glasses, to not be afraid to ask for help in getting products from the bottom shelf, or in finding products on the shelves. Also, my local Smith's grocery people are very nice and helpful. Probably we don't have an overwhelming crowd, even though Smith's is the only store in our little town. The Smith's in the "other" part of Los Alamos is much more crowded and smelly and I hate going there, and begin to feel overwhelmed, but usually if I go to that store it's only because I am up there for the afternoon and need something right away, like water--one or two items. My coop natural foods in Santa Fe is also quiet, not crowded (although it has plenty enough business to thrive and expand) and I take my time. I never go in "on the fly." Or if I go in "on the fly" it's because I'm on the way to the doctor in Santa Fe, or the dentist, and need to stop for one item, such as lunch.

When I was younger I was trying to "multi-task" (Sally, I love your example of multitasking). And I couldn't do it well, even became sort of catatonic, staring off into space until my mind kicked in again. I had no idea why I could not multitask in a store...I did not have a diagnosis.
I was given the impression that I was depressed and that made it difficult to think. No, I was depressed because it was difficult to think, so difficult that I had to quit my job teaching when they put a brain-frying new rug in the building. I had a Mensa IQ and a graduate degree--I wasn't dumb, so supposedly I could rev the brain up. I tried all sorts of alternate therapies (meditating, body work) and supplements, and it's possible they helped, but not enough to make going to the store easy, or working easier.

On another thread I have told what supplements I take, and I do believe I would not be doing as well as I am--now or during those years when it was difficult to shop--without my supplements. They help even if they don't fix everything. Don't shun them on the basis that someone told you they couldn't do any good. Just beware of excesses in some of them, as for instance, B6 should not be taken by many people above about 20 units a day, so don't buy a B complex with a very high B6 in it. Be careful of some minerals which might have an upper limit, such as Selenium (do some research on this). Don't take supplements which give you indigestion. Try something else. Think about an enzyme to help digest them.