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Originally Posted by fern46
I would love to do a real barre routine. I don't have a studio like that either. I did a floor barre workout which just utilizes some of the same concepts and muscle groups.
That's an awesome lunch break idea. I enjoy walking. The scenery helps me get out of my own head usually.
I wholeheartedly agree with what you said. Most of my behavior is what I have called hyperfocus. When I work, it is one of my best traits. Mostly it manifests as me uncovering or having some sort of idea and then jumping in to learn it or research it from all angles. I decompose all of the data and then put it back together like a puzzle to develop an optimal big picture.
Sometimes I get caught up in the details and connot find my way out enough to focus properly on the other areas of my life. My therapist noticed my 'all I'm tendencies, but noted that I've taken great care to maintain balance lately. For example, she noticed how excited I am about my writing and all of the research I have done. She also noted all of the research I have done to understand mental illness, psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience etc.
Her main concern is that I be able to dig in and then let it go to take proper breaks. Before my breakdown I was deeply invested in a work project and working nonstop doing analysis work for a volunteer effort. The latter was so 'important' that it took on a life of its own and my home life suffered because I was also a full time homeschool mom. I was trying to help save abuse victims, but it eventually shattered my mind.
She said what I hear from everyone.... My presentation is not typical, but I exhibit some OCD like behaviors. I wanted to dig into that to learn all.about OCD, but I felt that might be counter productive. Ha!
I told my husband and he said he can see it too and agreed to help keep an eye out for obsessive behavior. That's a huge help. Like you said, I can use this aspect of myself for good and it does not have to be dysfunctional. It helped me pull myself out of the deep hole of mental yucky and in general, I have been pretty successful using my skills in the past.
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The topic of "hyperfocusing" is interesting to me. The term is most often used when describing ADHD, but also sometimes OCD. Then there is the manic "project/goal driven" symptom. How different is that from hyperfocusing? This is perhaps a topic best addressed someday in a separate thread, for sure. I have written a little on this topic in a past blog post. This symptom has been a significant one in my life. It helped me achieve amazing things, at times. It was also a contributing factor leading to my worst years with bipolar disorder, and subsequent disability. There are similar stories of other people with bipolar disorder. The composer Robert Schumann comes to mind.