5 ms·

Thats just thinking. It is easy to think when you aren’t processing everything around you. I don’t think people are having coherent thoughts during an Absence S

Thats just thinking. It is easy to think when you aren’t processing everything around you. I don’t think people are having coherent thoughts during an Absence Seizure. If it is happening like 50 times a day, then see a doctor but probably not worth worrying about. I would recommend you don’t look up any health related articles if you are having minor symptoms of anything or you will become a hypochondriac. I had a very bad year of constant health anxiety and it almost ruined my life.

stevenjgarner 4y ago
Note to self on the becoming a hypochondriac. Yes I do get that epileptics are not (always?) aware when they are having Absence Seizures. Which is also a derivative concern: how may times when I "space out" programming do I actually loose awareness? A lot of time can pass when I am working and I am often surprised that I have been "working" so long - especially when it is a particularly challenging software design issue that may only be represented by a minimal amount of code.
- peanut_worm 4y ago
  It would probably happen when you aren’t programming if it were actually an absence seizure. It is totally normal to space out a bit when thinking. I cover my eyes and lay down sometimes if I need to think very hard when i’m coding. Im not a doctor or anything but what you described sounds very normal.
  - stevenjgarner 4y ago
    I'm sure it does "happen when (I'm not) programming". I walk a lot (like a LOT - greater than 10,000 steps daily), and often I will realize I have covered a lot of ground without any memory of doing so. Dare I say the same thing happens when I drive? Does anybody else get that driving? I treat it as a form of trying to be present. Usually drivers are mentally consumed with something they are driving from or to (or what is on the phone or the radio) and not with the roadway that is rapidly being navigated. Sometimes I find I have been mentally consumed with something unrelated to driving as I go from A to B, wondering how on earth I got there. I now try and be hyper-present with the roadway and driving conditions, even though my brain can process a lot more. I am really beginning to question what "normal" really is to homo sapiens that spent the better part of two million years as hunter gatherers up until only 12,000 years ago. It's not like we have had a chance to really evolve the finer points of critical thinking.

stevenjgarner 4y ago

Note to self on the becoming a hypochondriac. Yes I do get that epileptics are not (always?) aware when they are having Absence Seizures. Which is also a derivative concern: how may times when I "space out" programming do I actually loose awareness? A lot of time can pass when I am working and I am often surprised that I have been "working" so long - especially when it is a particularly challenging software design issue that may only be represented by a minimal amount of code.

peanut_worm 4y ago
It would probably happen when you aren’t programming if it were actually an absence seizure. It is totally normal to space out a bit when thinking. I cover my eyes and lay down sometimes if I need to think very hard when i’m coding. Im not a doctor or anything but what you described sounds very normal.
- stevenjgarner 4y ago
  I'm sure it does "happen when (I'm not) programming". I walk a lot (like a LOT - greater than 10,000 steps daily), and often I will realize I have covered a lot of ground without any memory of doing so. Dare I say the same thing happens when I drive? Does anybody else get that driving? I treat it as a form of trying to be present. Usually drivers are mentally consumed with something they are driving from or to (or what is on the phone or the radio) and not with the roadway that is rapidly being navigated. Sometimes I find I have been mentally consumed with something unrelated to driving as I go from A to B, wondering how on earth I got there. I now try and be hyper-present with the roadway and driving conditions, even though my brain can process a lot more. I am really beginning to question what "normal" really is to homo sapiens that spent the better part of two million years as hunter gatherers up until only 12,000 years ago. It's not like we have had a chance to really evolve the finer points of critical thinking.