Isn’t it amazing that with all of the technological advances such as cell phones, faster running computers, the Internet, texting, I-phones, etc that all of this is actually causing us more stress rather than relieving it. Who would have thought? It is said that we are living in an attention deficient disorder society, and that all of these modern technologies are literally overloading our circuits. That is our brains are unable to take in the massive amounts of information that we are subjected to everyday. Not only are we dealing with between 60, 000 to 80,000 thoughts per day, we are also dealing with incoming information from a variety of sources.
Many folks are being diagnosed with ADD, Attention Deficient Disorder and put on medication to bring some balance back into their lives. While I realize that many times this is an accurate diagnosis, it would be interesting to have these same folks look at their current life and work style. What they may find is that through all of their multi-tasking and usage of various “time saving” gadgets that it is too much for their system to handle; and that instead of having ADD they may very well have ADDT, Attention Deficient Disorder Trait. And that the symptoms they are experiencing will subside once the stressor is taken away, and some proactive steps toward rebalancing occur as well.
A book written several years ago called, Driven to Distraction, by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey verified just that. With all of their observations and collecting of data, they found that folks, not only children, but also adults have attention deficient disorder traits.
So now that you have a basic idea of what being overwhelmed and overworked does to our brains, what are some of the symptoms?
The symptoms can show up in a variety of ways. Having an overloaded mind can affect one’s sleep. Because some people may have a difficult time leaving their work at the office, their minds are not settled down when their head hits the pillow. Initially an individual may fall right to sleep only to wake up an hour or few hours later with thoughts rushing around their head. Unable to go to sleep they may wake up very groggy and not rested. So a large cup of coffee, or two, gets them up and running; at least for a few hours. When the caffeine wears off, they are reminded of the fatigue and to remedy that, may have another cup or two of coffee. So the cycle begins. If gone unnoticed, the repetition can become a habit.
Other symptoms can include being less productive, a bit edgy, feeling anxious, short tempered and unmotivated. If folks are unable to focus on one project at a time, this can lead to “too many pies in the sky, and one will surely land in your eye!”
What this means is an individual’s attention is scattered when too many demands are placed on them at once. It’s fascinating how we have created a culture of multi-taskers and are rewarded for that. It’s as if one person was expected to do the job of 5 folks. As a result, some tasks remain undone or done poorly creating more stress of having to re-do.
If someone gets too scattered it can lead to a sense of feeling “fragmented” and with fragmentation manipulation can occur. This means that if we aren’t thinking straight the decisions we make may not be our own, rather the decisions of others. An example of this is the amount of fear and anxiety many are feeling during this economic turn. The media has a tendency to send out “the sky is falling” scenarios and because some may feel out of control and “maxed” out in their lives, begin to feel emotionally flooded, or overloaded and one more bit of news breaks the camels back.
So what’s a person to do?
One beginning step is to increase your personal awareness. Again, an individual has to realize that they are experiencing stress before they can stop it. Rather than counting to 10, begin to consciously change your perception of what you think is happening. A change of thought changes everything. If done with consistency, results will be noticeable. Learn how to neutralize or take the emotion out of a reaction as they occur rather than having them build up and drain your health and well-being.
Doing these single steps will lead to greater clarity, higher productivity and a general sense of well-being. When we can slow down enough and breath into a situation rather than pushing it away, options become clearer. When this occurs we can become more resourceful and proactive, thus decreasing stress.
So one simple way to start is to begin to notice how you are in different situations. Do this without judgment with a curious and open heart. Practice this again and again. When you catch yourself being reactive and unresourceful, thank yourself for noticing. With practice and gentleness, over time you will begin to notice a shift in your attitude and how you view stress. Thus making life easier.
Catherine VanWetter, MSW is a Holistic Family Healing Practitioner trained in a variety of techniques that help people come to a place of peace within themselves. She offers Inner healing Circles, Inner Family Healing Workshops and Deep Healing Retreats. Her newest book and meditation CD, "The Soul of the Heart", offers inspiration, deep healing and hope. Catherine invites you to listen to her Morning Meditation, Welcoming A New Day, Free at http://www.ToTheHeartOfTheMatter.com.
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