3 ms·

It's also counter to what many people with ADD experience and comment upon. Some people, including medical professionals, will lump me into the ADD camp; other

It's also counter to what many people with ADD experience and comment upon. Some people, including medical professionals, will lump me into the ADD camp; others not. The condition and diagnosis themselves seem broad and with unclear boundaries. Perhaps think of the "autistic spectrum" as a superficial (and insufficient; nonetheless) comparison. I'm very sensitive to human noise; I cannot "just tune it out" and concentrate despite its presence. I spent years, decades, struggling with aspects of school, work, society, that insisted I do and that I just needed to "get used to it". I agree with other comments here that greater consideration needs to be given to environment. For myself, people would wonder how the hell I did something ([I removed my examples as, in combination, they are a bit more personally identifying than I'd like to leave, here.]) But when it came to environment, no one was willing to listen to me. I didn't need enormous expenditure, just a simple accommodation. When I look at so many contemporary problems, one of my first thoughts is simply, "fix the environment". And have some basic belief in people, that wherever they're at, they'll actually tell you what they need. If you'll only listen. You haven't walked a mile in their shoes. So, don't presume to tell them how to do it. P.S. At home, I ended up with neighbors who blasted sub-woofer car stereos frequently and for hours on end, at times -- anytime between 8 am and 10 pm, and sometimes at 1 am when they got home and listened to a couple of songs while parked, before going in. For me, this triggered a very strong "fight or flight" reaction. And, when you are in that state -- when I am -- there is simply no access to higher-level cognitive functions and memory. They are simply "not there". There is no thinking yourself out of that problem, when you're in the midst of it. There is no thinking going on, on that level. I just saw a quote from a Martin Luther King Jr. interview (I haven't seen the interview, yet). It ran something like: You can't expect people to 'pull themselves up by their bootstraps' when they have no boots. People in poverty, in poor and dangerous neighborhoods, want better neighborhoods. Better schools. Jobs. Try giving them that. Instead of a bunch of guilt they don't really deserve, and often already have enough of -- internalized -- on their own. How do I know this? Through my own, different experience, where the few people who did respect and act upon what I asked for, got much better performance out of me. I have no problem with people who want a noisier environment. I really couldn't care less, and if it works for them, great! Just don't insist that it be my environment. (Nor that I perpetually pick up their slack.) (And, in case anyone wants to bring up "collaboration", I actually am quite good at it. I'd end up with connections throughout multinationals having 10's of thousands of employees. Genuine, and highly productive, connections. I didn't need to sit next to them and work all day to tune out their phone calls and cube meetings, in order to achieve this.)

loup-vaillant 8y ago
Ah, the joys of the Open Plan. Here's how I see the thing: First, Open Plan offices pack more people in a smaller space. It's measurably cheaper than proper individual offices, or even 3-4 people offices. And what can be measured tends to be optimised. Second, whatever they tell you about the supposed benefits is but a sales pitch to get you to accept that we should all work in boiler rooms. Third, many actually believe their own lies. One big reason is that despite having their desk at the Open Plan like everyone else, they're not subjected to half of the inconveniences: they spend most of their time in meetings, because that's what managers and executives do (coordinate and decide). They often have their desk closer to the corners of the Open Plan, where it's quieter, and they don't have everyone passing by taking a glance at their screen behind their back. Fourth, good luck criticising your work environment without being perceived as the outlier that cannot adapt. I once did, an the HR lead "checked" by asking people face to face what they thought about the noise. Of course nobody told to her face that there was too much noise, most were still on probation, and they didn't want to appear as though they didn't fit in. There is one solution: unions. You're not the only one who can't stand noise, you're just the only one crazy enough to actually talk about it.
jm__87 8y ago
For me, this triggered a very strong "fight or flight" reaction. And, when you are in that state -- when I am -- there is simply no access to higher-level cognitive functions and memory. They are simply "not there" An exercise that can help when anxiety like this hits is practicing some mindfulness. Instead of sitting there in a loop thinking about how terrible the thing causing your anxiety is and how you just want it to go away, try to observe the feelings of anxiety like you're a scientist studying it instead. Where in the body are the sensations located, what kind of sensations are they, etc. Really try to focus on the sensations of anxiety as opposed to what is triggering it. The goal isn't to fix the anxiety or make it go away, just observe it and let it pass on its own. Practicing a body scan meditation daily would likely help you prepare for your next bout of anxiety (try this one https://youtu.be/_DTmGtznab4 https://youtu.be/_DTmGtznab4). Do this enough times and hopefully that pattern that is triggering your anxiety won't have as much of a hold on you. I've heard CBT for anxiety is also useful, though haven't tried it myself. Good luck!

loup-vaillant 8y ago

Ah, the joys of the Open Plan. Here's how I see the thing: First, Open Plan offices pack more people in a smaller space. It's measurably cheaper than proper individual offices, or even 3-4 people offices. And what can be measured tends to be optimised. Second, whatever they tell you about the supposed benefits is but a sales pitch to get you to accept that we should all work in boiler rooms. Third, many actually believe their own lies. One big reason is that despite having their desk at the Open Plan like everyone else, they're not subjected to half of the inconveniences: they spend most of their time in meetings, because that's what managers and executives do (coordinate and decide). They often have their desk closer to the corners of the Open Plan, where it's quieter, and they don't have everyone passing by taking a glance at their screen behind their back. Fourth, good luck criticising your work environment without being perceived as the outlier that cannot adapt. I once did, an the HR lead "checked" by asking people face to face what they thought about the noise. Of course nobody told to her face that there was too much noise, most were still on probation, and they didn't want to appear as though they didn't fit in. There is one solution: unions. You're not the only one who can't stand noise, you're just the only one crazy enough to actually talk about it.

jm__87 8y ago

For me, this triggered a very strong "fight or flight" reaction. And, when you are in that state -- when I am -- there is simply no access to higher-level cognitive functions and memory. They are simply "not there" An exercise that can help when anxiety like this hits is practicing some mindfulness. Instead of sitting there in a loop thinking about how terrible the thing causing your anxiety is and how you just want it to go away, try to observe the feelings of anxiety like you're a scientist studying it instead. Where in the body are the sensations located, what kind of sensations are they, etc. Really try to focus on the sensations of anxiety as opposed to what is triggering it. The goal isn't to fix the anxiety or make it go away, just observe it and let it pass on its own. Practicing a body scan meditation daily would likely help you prepare for your next bout of anxiety (try this one https://youtu.be/_DTmGtznab4 https://youtu.be/_DTmGtznab4). Do this enough times and hopefully that pattern that is triggering your anxiety won't have as much of a hold on you. I've heard CBT for anxiety is also useful, though haven't tried it myself. Good luck!