4 ms·
That was an interesting read. At first I suspected it might be about ignoring one's own physical/mental well-being in order to be more productive, but it's more
by n4r9 4y ago
That was an interesting read. At first I suspected it might be about ignoring one's own physical/mental well-being in order to be more productive, but it's more nuanced than that. I feel like the message is encapsulated by the following lines towards the end:
> My brain felt slower, so I couldn’t worry as much about the future. I couldn’t multi-task too well, so I just made my way through one thing at a time. I was too tired to be irritable with my kids and partner.
and also by this line in the comments:
> this is a very real first-hand account of the joy of giving yourself permission to focus
I've noticed in the past couple of years that my anxiety levels decrease significantly when I get ill. I put it down to a combination of internalising that the office is not that important, and being too tired to ruminate on negative thoughts.
The trick now is to practise bringing that into my normal every day mindset. Turns out it's very difficult!
- sandos 4y agoI noticed several times that I can become hyper-efficient when I am extremely tired. I attribute to "not thinking so much" when being tired, and its probably as simple as the frontal lobe being less used, I think anyway. I just think a lot less cleverly and do rote stuff instead, but really quickly and without delays.
- lupire 4y agoColloquially we call that "stacking cans". Works best when brain is in low-activity mode.
- farrelle25 4y ago> I've noticed in the past couple of years that my anxiety levels decrease significantly when I get ill. Gosh that's really interesting to read. I suffer from huge anxiety at work but this summer was sick for 3 weeks (but still able to attend work). I was much more "relaxed" in my interactions with people and in a strange way got through the daily workload with less stress. As you say, I think my excess thoughts and worries were "dampened down" by the illness (and my perspective about the office changed).
- manmal 4y agoFWIW there’s anecdata out there that neurodivergent people (eg autists) get symptom improvements when they are ill. Maybe it’s a related mechanism for anxiety.
- n4r9 4y agoI've heard of that as well. There's a UK TV programme called The A Word about boy with autism, and in one episode his mother believes that he's suddenly developed a "normal" theory of mind, only to find out that it may be linked to his being ill. Although I don't have a diagnosis myself I do struggle with executive functioning and much of my anxiety is tied into that. Being ill definitely relieves this because there are no expectations on me to get things done to a schedule.
- manmal 4y agoI can relate a lot. Are you aware of PDA (pathological demand avoidance)? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_demand_avoidance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathological_demand_avoidance
- n4r9 4y agoNo, thank you for the reference. That's interesting, I don't have an issue with doing things that are asked of me but I do get easily overwhelmed when I have to start managing demands or expectations (e.g. by maintaining and committing to a schedule/roadmap). Then I have a tendency to distract myself with things that are more fun. I much prefer an academic style of work where I complete jobs as and when I feel in the zone.