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Is the work you're doing really so important if you won't focus on it without modafinil? What else is it you'd rather be doing right before you take modafinil?

beaconstudios 7y ago
I know what you're thinking - that I'm using modafinil to force myself to work on something I don't really want to. That isn't the case for me, and not something I'd do anyway as I value passionate pursuits much more highly than economic ones. I have issues with anxiety, which causes my mind to get jumpy and distracted. Meditation and mindset techniques usually help, but that's because I've gotten much better at managing my life and stressors. Even still, sometimes these techniques don't work but I still want to maintain my habits and work on my projects so that I don't regress. So yes, it's important both on the level that these are the things I love doing and want to do, and also that I know from experience that if I fall off the wagon for too long then I'll end up regressing on a personal level.
- jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
  Thanks for sharing. I understand now that you use modafinil when meditation and mindset techniques don't help you focus. I feel sad to hear you're having such strong anxious feelings that you're getting distracted when you're needing to do important things. I hope you can find a way to get the clarity you need in those moments without modafinil, mostly because I still feel a little uneasy about it and worry that it's making it difficult for you to heal from whatever trauma has brought about your anxiety. I'm mostly ignorant about modanifil, so I'm also open to the idea that it can help you.
  - beaconstudios 7y ago
    Nonviolent communication is rather weird and robotic - you can just talk normally, I like to think I'm quite a good communicator in terms of both listening and explaining. I wouldn't worry about me - it doesn't make it difficult to heal, and my therapist is already well aware of it (and obviously the fact that I have a therapist means I'm pursuing conventional means of working on my anxiety, if you were worried I was trying to "hack" mental health). If you're mostly ignorant about modafinil, what reason do you have to be worried? Are you assuming I haven't done my research, or that perhaps I'm willing to take risks with my health to pursue productivity while not directly dealing with my anxiety? Because that isn't the case - modafinil is extremely safe, and I am pursuing long-term improvements while using it to fill the gap. If you're interested in nonviolent communication then I would assume you are wanting to empathise better with others, and communicate more equitably. I would suggest that rather than working from your initial judgement, you could use Socratic questioning to better understand the other person's perspective and decision-making before jumping to conclusions. I use this technique all the time to navigate such situations. For example: your initial judgement of "I still feel a little uneasy about it and worry that it's making it difficult for you to heal from whatever trauma has brought about your anxiety" hinges on presumptions that: 1. Modafinil impedes my ability to make longer-term progress 2. I am using modafinil instead of a longer-term approach, as opposed to supplementing a longer-term approach with a short-term stopgap Rather than assuming these presumptions are true, you can probe using questions like "are you not concerned that modafinil might make focusing more difficult in the long term?" or "have you considered seeking more traditional help with focus, such as a doctor or therapist?". This usually leads to either learning on your part, or at least a direction in the conversation where you can identify where the disconnect between your thinking and mine is.

beaconstudios 7y ago

I know what you're thinking - that I'm using modafinil to force myself to work on something I don't really want to. That isn't the case for me, and not something I'd do anyway as I value passionate pursuits much more highly than economic ones. I have issues with anxiety, which causes my mind to get jumpy and distracted. Meditation and mindset techniques usually help, but that's because I've gotten much better at managing my life and stressors. Even still, sometimes these techniques don't work but I still want to maintain my habits and work on my projects so that I don't regress. So yes, it's important both on the level that these are the things I love doing and want to do, and also that I know from experience that if I fall off the wagon for too long then I'll end up regressing on a personal level.

jacobwilliamroy 7y ago
Thanks for sharing. I understand now that you use modafinil when meditation and mindset techniques don't help you focus. I feel sad to hear you're having such strong anxious feelings that you're getting distracted when you're needing to do important things. I hope you can find a way to get the clarity you need in those moments without modafinil, mostly because I still feel a little uneasy about it and worry that it's making it difficult for you to heal from whatever trauma has brought about your anxiety. I'm mostly ignorant about modanifil, so I'm also open to the idea that it can help you.
- beaconstudios 7y ago
  Nonviolent communication is rather weird and robotic - you can just talk normally, I like to think I'm quite a good communicator in terms of both listening and explaining. I wouldn't worry about me - it doesn't make it difficult to heal, and my therapist is already well aware of it (and obviously the fact that I have a therapist means I'm pursuing conventional means of working on my anxiety, if you were worried I was trying to "hack" mental health). If you're mostly ignorant about modafinil, what reason do you have to be worried? Are you assuming I haven't done my research, or that perhaps I'm willing to take risks with my health to pursue productivity while not directly dealing with my anxiety? Because that isn't the case - modafinil is extremely safe, and I am pursuing long-term improvements while using it to fill the gap. If you're interested in nonviolent communication then I would assume you are wanting to empathise better with others, and communicate more equitably. I would suggest that rather than working from your initial judgement, you could use Socratic questioning to better understand the other person's perspective and decision-making before jumping to conclusions. I use this technique all the time to navigate such situations. For example: your initial judgement of "I still feel a little uneasy about it and worry that it's making it difficult for you to heal from whatever trauma has brought about your anxiety" hinges on presumptions that: 1. Modafinil impedes my ability to make longer-term progress 2. I am using modafinil instead of a longer-term approach, as opposed to supplementing a longer-term approach with a short-term stopgap Rather than assuming these presumptions are true, you can probe using questions like "are you not concerned that modafinil might make focusing more difficult in the long term?" or "have you considered seeking more traditional help with focus, such as a doctor or therapist?". This usually leads to either learning on your part, or at least a direction in the conversation where you can identify where the disconnect between your thinking and mine is.