D'vorahDavida
Yetzirah

Standard Time Meltdown
Fri Nov 12 2010


Okay, I'm not going to lie to you.

I have the heebie jeebies. The willies. The wild eyed wigged out wonkers.

For some reason I cannot fathom at the moment, I am not able to focus on one thing for more than 5 seconds. So I thought I would sit down here at the computer and type until my head clears.

(And you expect us to read your mindless drivel until that happens? Just a minute while I call out for pizza, it's going to be a long, long day...)

Don't I know it.

This happens to me sometimes when I have too many little piddly things that need to be done. The 30 minute projects, the 20 minute projects, the 10 minute projects, you know. And juxtaposed with this pile are a couple of two hour yardwork sessions that should get done before the really bad weather sets in, on top of a rather muddled set of knitting priorities that keep shifting in mid stitch, [I have four projects on the needles....] plus a few other creative ideas that keep popping in and out of my consciousness that I think I should make time for, and you have the recipe for a full blown case of Attention Deficit Dementia brewing at 6:18 in the morning.

Up early you say? Oh, you don't know the half of it. I have been up for an hour and a quarter already. The time change... my most favoritest time of year.... NOT! , has messed up my biorhythms something fierce this time. I HATE that stupid system SO bad!!!

I need to do some prioritizing and detailed list making to navigate my way out of this maze. Wait, it's not a maze, it's some kind of convoluted merry-go-round. Only it's not going just around and around. It's going up and down too. No wonder I'm reeling.

I've slipped on my Fetchings to keep my hands warm, but allow me to type. It's chilly in here this morning even though the heater is on. Mine are dark green tweed and of course look pretty silly when one is still in one's jammies.
But they are doing the job and are actually the only comforting thing in my current condition.

I think this 'global disconnect' state of mind is only something that happens to women. Because we are multi-taskers, so they say and ummm, what do you call it when your brain sees a lot of things at once??

(Hallucinations.)

Oh shut up. I'm trying to be serious here.

(So am I.)

No, I mean ummm... women tend to have global awareness or situational awareness. Or ...

Wikipedia!

Under "Multitasking" [which evidently is a bit of a myth...according to them] they sort of touch on what I am trying to express ...

Quote:

Another study by René Marois, a psychologist of Vanderbilt University, discovered that the brain exhibits a 'selection bottleneck' when asked to perform several tasks at once. The brain must then decide which activity is most important, thereby taking more time. Psychologist David Meyer of the University of Michigan claims that, instead of a bottleneck the brain experiences 'adaptive executive control' which places priorities on each activity. These viewpoints differ in that, while bottlenecking attempts to force many thoughts through the brain at once, adaptive executive control prioritizes tasks to maintain resemblance of order. The brain better understands this order and, as psychologists such as Dr. Meyer believe, can therefore be trained to multitask [6]. Because the brain is an expanse of yet uncharted territory, psychologists do not understand how the brain truly processes input and reacts to overstimulation.

End quote.

Well there you have it. This morning I have a severe lack of 'adaptive executive control'. I feel so much better knowing what is going on! And if "psychologists do not understand how the brain truly processes input and reacts to overstimulation" , then I am in good company. I don't understand it either!!!

Even in this small corner of the universe, I am experiencing overstimulation. . . in my own home, early of a Friday morning, even when I have no appointments or other external obligations. Only my own self imposed ones. I need to ramp up my 'executive control functions'. I'm in a feedback loop. The merry-go-round needs a set of brakes, pronto. Someone needs to hold those horses. I am in a bottleneck of epic proportions!

Dang. This sucks.

(You should see what it looks like from MY perspective.)

Long pause.

Right now, you look suspiciously like a cork...


4 Comments
  • From:
    Supertrooper (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Nov 12 2010
    I prescribe hot chocolate and a home made cookie for your condition of over load ..to be drunk sitting in your garden with your dogs at your feet ..with 30 minutes of nature watching and gratitude thoughts ..
    Hugs and love xxxx
  • From:
    Mamallama (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Nov 12 2010
    Sounds a little scary, Sista for this early in the morning.
    Maybe a nice strong cup of tea?
    A walk to clear the senses?
    A nice LOUD scream, perhaps?
    Where's the Duck when you need him?
    Hugs! Huge ones!
  • From:
    FutureCat (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Nov 12 2010
    I know exactly what you're talking about - I get into that state quite often, when there's so many little jobs that they start feeling overwhelming.

    My solution is to stop everything, give myself a few minutes to be calm, then make a list. Then I pretend nothing else needs to be done, and just deal with the first thing on the list like I have all the time in the world. Then the next thing, and so on. By the time I've ticked 2 or 3 10-minute tasks off my list, the rest seems a lot more manageable.

    ^ ^
    00
    =+=
    v
  • From:
    InStitches (Legacy)
    On:
    Fri Nov 12 2010
    What you describe is EXACTLY what my computer has been doing. Apparently I give it to much to do too quickly and the thing can't handle it so it bogs down, freezes up and then sends out a feeble message that its virtual memory is low.

    Clearly you are in need of more virtual memory. Not sure where it comes from, but that's the cure.

    Is there a virtual memory bank you can tap into or is there perhaps a virtual memory press where you could have some printed? The Government does it with money so there must be a way. :)