Ways a diagnosis can change your life all by itself

[sami]

Tonight, despite having been good to okay all day on mood scales, I was starting to feel strung out and frenetic, like I was heading for a breakdown, and was having trouble calming down.

Then I remembered something my psychologist had said about how one way to help handle exams is to ask to be permitted to take it in a room where there will be as few distractions as possible. It occurred to me that being out in the main part of the house, sharing a table with velithya and hearing the shouts and comments of Chas and Dave playing Left for Dead, the traffic going past, etc... there was too much stimulus around me after a day that had burned through a lot of emotional energy.

So I moved into the bedroom with my laptop, dim lighting, and closed doors for quiet. Less stuff throwing itself at my under-sheathed nerves (that being the physical cause of ADD, I'm told), demanding my attention HERE HERE HERE and HERE.

And almost instantly, I was calmer. My mind was no longer shredding itself on too much input. (Normally I can handle stimulus, but not always.) And I got through the evening without the breakdown that earlier seemed inevitable.

It's something to bear in mind for uni - if things are getting a little too much, I should find myself a quiet corner of the Reid Library, or settle on the grass with my canalphones to block out noise, and just chill on as little stimulus as I can manage, and I might well be okay.

Comments

[firefly21.livejournal.com]

Nice work coming to that realisation by yourself and doing something about it. You really are coming a long way :)

(That's meant to sound encouraging, not patronising!)

Keep up the good work!!!

[tevriel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't take that as patronising. :)

Sometimes it really feels like I'm going nowhere, but if I think about it, I can realise that I've made tremendous progress over the last six months towards a proper and permanent recovery.

I appreciate the encouragement, truly.