Total inability to relax, switch off, or stop thinking.
Discussion
I don’t know if this is ‘an issue’, normal behaviour, or what, but I thought I would see what the people of PH think.
I get bored very easily. It depends on the situation, but usually, the onset of boredom happens rapidly with me, and I start trying to find things to do, things to read, things to fiddle with, jobs to do, and so on.
I just can’t relax in the traditional sense of the word. Doing nothing drives me nuts within minutes.
My wife knows what I am like, and as a consequence, we rarely go on ‘relaxing’ holidays where laying by the pool or on the beach are involved. We usually go on holidays where there are things to see and do. City breaks, historical sites, road trips, safaris, that sort of thing.
We have been on several ‘relaxing holidays’ and while my wife had a great time, I was going out of my mind. About 4 years ago we rented a really fancy private villa in Portugal, and by mid morning on the first day, my wife was on a sun lounger by the pool loving it. The peace and quiet, the amazing views, the pool, the surroundings, not being at work, all that kind of thing.
But by the same time, I was bored out of my mind, had unpacked the suitcases and organised all our stuff, and then had spent an hour pacing up and down. I then found the pool plant room and was examining all the pumps and pipework to see how it all worked, and was even fiddling with the electrics trying to diagnose a fault I had noticed with some of the driveway lighting.
On other ‘relaxing exotic holidays’ we have been on, I have read the paper and browsed the internet and become bored again by the first afternoon, and then basically just got pissed at the pool bar talking to other blokes. Then got pissed the next day. And so on, just to kill the boredom.
When I get bored, it feels like my brain is ‘fizzing’ and I can’t stop it. It forces me to look for stuff to do.
I enjoy watching films, but even get bored with that at times, and often find myself watching a film while browsing on my iPad at the same time.
When people start a conversation with me, and it isn’t something really interesting, I switch off almost immediately and start thinking about something else, and just pretend to listen to them.
It’s like I cannot bring myself to concentrate on what is being said to me.
I really throw myself into work, and I enjoy getting on with things, and tackling work projects and suchlike.
But so much other stuff bores me that I don’t know where to start. I will obsessively read very long and detailed Wikipedia articles about stuff like how a nuclear submarine works, but sometimes dread going to parties because I know I’ll have to talk to people and be bored when I could be watching an interesting technical documentary on the mechanics of a diesel locomotive or something.
Outwardly I appear fine, I can feign interest, and manage to not be rude to people, but inside I’m so bored and my mind is all over the place.
My wife is fine with it, as she knows what I’m like, and it generally doesn’t cause any issues, but I kind of want to know if I’m a bit weird
Anyone else or just me?
I get bored very easily. It depends on the situation, but usually, the onset of boredom happens rapidly with me, and I start trying to find things to do, things to read, things to fiddle with, jobs to do, and so on.
I just can’t relax in the traditional sense of the word. Doing nothing drives me nuts within minutes.
My wife knows what I am like, and as a consequence, we rarely go on ‘relaxing’ holidays where laying by the pool or on the beach are involved. We usually go on holidays where there are things to see and do. City breaks, historical sites, road trips, safaris, that sort of thing.
We have been on several ‘relaxing holidays’ and while my wife had a great time, I was going out of my mind. About 4 years ago we rented a really fancy private villa in Portugal, and by mid morning on the first day, my wife was on a sun lounger by the pool loving it. The peace and quiet, the amazing views, the pool, the surroundings, not being at work, all that kind of thing.
But by the same time, I was bored out of my mind, had unpacked the suitcases and organised all our stuff, and then had spent an hour pacing up and down. I then found the pool plant room and was examining all the pumps and pipework to see how it all worked, and was even fiddling with the electrics trying to diagnose a fault I had noticed with some of the driveway lighting.
On other ‘relaxing exotic holidays’ we have been on, I have read the paper and browsed the internet and become bored again by the first afternoon, and then basically just got pissed at the pool bar talking to other blokes. Then got pissed the next day. And so on, just to kill the boredom.
When I get bored, it feels like my brain is ‘fizzing’ and I can’t stop it. It forces me to look for stuff to do.
I enjoy watching films, but even get bored with that at times, and often find myself watching a film while browsing on my iPad at the same time.
When people start a conversation with me, and it isn’t something really interesting, I switch off almost immediately and start thinking about something else, and just pretend to listen to them.
It’s like I cannot bring myself to concentrate on what is being said to me.
I really throw myself into work, and I enjoy getting on with things, and tackling work projects and suchlike.
But so much other stuff bores me that I don’t know where to start. I will obsessively read very long and detailed Wikipedia articles about stuff like how a nuclear submarine works, but sometimes dread going to parties because I know I’ll have to talk to people and be bored when I could be watching an interesting technical documentary on the mechanics of a diesel locomotive or something.
Outwardly I appear fine, I can feign interest, and manage to not be rude to people, but inside I’m so bored and my mind is all over the place.
My wife is fine with it, as she knows what I’m like, and it generally doesn’t cause any issues, but I kind of want to know if I’m a bit weird
Anyone else or just me?
Interesting that you should raise the question now. Do you think your feelings may be affected by switching from self-employment to employment? I think you previously mentioned welcoming the change away from "responsibilities" (my word, not yours) and perhaps it's the very absence of that self reliance which is getting at you?
Some humans are built to be active people in body and mind. Sounds like you might be a member of the club.
Some humans are built to be active people in body and mind. Sounds like you might be a member of the club.
I’m a bit like this. I will wait all week on my girlfriend going off to visit family for some time to relax and within an hour I’ll be fixing at something or starting into some long put off piece of diy.
I’ll often take part in a full conversation with someone and realise I am miles away thinking about fixing the blade engage cable on my lawnmower and not taking in a word they’ve said unless I deem it relevant to whatever’s on my mind at the time (which could be anything). Not something I do on purpose, it just happens, seem to lack an ability to focus on some areas whereas I am like a laser with others.
Often there’s no one better to have on a project at work, will work like a trooper on anything assigned, IF I can see the relevance and benefit of it and I’ll do everything I can within reason to make it is good as it can be.
If I am short of something to do I get bored and will be off googling something about the CU in the garage and if something mundane lands on my desk it’ll be on the back burner.
Not bad at holidays, but generally I’ll be thinking and looking into places to go or things to do or worse still how to do diy jobs or gardening when I get home again. Doesn’t help we have been basically renovating and living in both of the houses we’ve lived in over the last 4 years.
I’ll often take part in a full conversation with someone and realise I am miles away thinking about fixing the blade engage cable on my lawnmower and not taking in a word they’ve said unless I deem it relevant to whatever’s on my mind at the time (which could be anything). Not something I do on purpose, it just happens, seem to lack an ability to focus on some areas whereas I am like a laser with others.
Often there’s no one better to have on a project at work, will work like a trooper on anything assigned, IF I can see the relevance and benefit of it and I’ll do everything I can within reason to make it is good as it can be.
If I am short of something to do I get bored and will be off googling something about the CU in the garage and if something mundane lands on my desk it’ll be on the back burner.
Not bad at holidays, but generally I’ll be thinking and looking into places to go or things to do or worse still how to do diy jobs or gardening when I get home again. Doesn’t help we have been basically renovating and living in both of the houses we’ve lived in over the last 4 years.
rockin said:
Interesting that you should raise the question now. Do you think your feelings may be affected by switching from self-employment to employment? I think you previously mentioned welcoming the change away from "responsibilities" (my word, not yours) and perhaps it's the very absence of that self reliance which is getting at you?
Some humans are built to be active people in body and mind. Sounds like you might be a member of the club.
Interesting point about employment.Some humans are built to be active people in body and mind. Sounds like you might be a member of the club.
I’ve been like this ever since I can remember. Ever since school I suppose, which would explain a lot...
But yes, I’ve been self employed for about 8 years, and doing whatever the heck I’ve wanted and having no one else to blame but myself has been great, and very productive.
Maybe the switch to being employed again has caused me to wonder why I am like I am.
I have some similar issues, and have had since my teens. For example, we visited Disneyland back in 2017, I was more interested in looking to see evidence of how the equipment and rides worked than I was about enjoying the time there. One ride had an old London Taxi as part of the display, I actually went onto the "Check MOT" site to see if it was genuine.
Easily bored and like yourself OP, find conversations with others difficult unless there is some common interest.
Even at weekends, I need to occupy myself with something mentally stimulating, when watching a film all I do is look for continuity mistakes and other errors (unless I'm really engrossed in it) , if watching a doco I'll then go straight upstairs to do more research.
My Mrs sat me down one evening and asked me to take a few tests, which I did. The tests were for Asperger's and although by no means definitive, I did actually score fairly high on them. This one I managed to hit 38 on.
https://www.aspergerstestsite.com/aq-test/
She cuts me a ton of slack because at times I can be difficult to live with, I've not been to see anyone professional over it due to, to put it blunty, embarrassment, like many of us I imagine, seeking help for something which I'm not actually sure I have is not worth it (which is basically me in denial and convincing myself that I'm fine - too much of a wimp to actually face the possibility of it being a truth).
Easily bored and like yourself OP, find conversations with others difficult unless there is some common interest.
Even at weekends, I need to occupy myself with something mentally stimulating, when watching a film all I do is look for continuity mistakes and other errors (unless I'm really engrossed in it) , if watching a doco I'll then go straight upstairs to do more research.
My Mrs sat me down one evening and asked me to take a few tests, which I did. The tests were for Asperger's and although by no means definitive, I did actually score fairly high on them. This one I managed to hit 38 on.
https://www.aspergerstestsite.com/aq-test/
She cuts me a ton of slack because at times I can be difficult to live with, I've not been to see anyone professional over it due to, to put it blunty, embarrassment, like many of us I imagine, seeking help for something which I'm not actually sure I have is not worth it (which is basically me in denial and convincing myself that I'm fine - too much of a wimp to actually face the possibility of it being a truth).
I get it which is why I still work at 72. Love the work and doing nothing bores me. I will never go on a cruise, go to a resort or stay in one place for a long time. Holidays for me are short trips to cities ,(say London or Singapore ) for a week where there is lots to do, or long road trips where I am on the move. I never watch TV unless it an F1 Race.
The idea of sitting by a beach for days jumping in an out of the water would drive me insane. I don't think you are crazy, just have a strong tendency to be bored doing nothing.
I also go deep on things that interest me, I have over 100 books about Porsches and Porsche history for instance. Lots of repetitive stuff but there is alway some fact I did not know,. It is an utterly useless pastime.
I am not socially awkward in the least but I do not enjoy talking personally to people and can fairly deflect questions without causing offence.
There are more of us out there
The idea of sitting by a beach for days jumping in an out of the water would drive me insane. I don't think you are crazy, just have a strong tendency to be bored doing nothing.
I also go deep on things that interest me, I have over 100 books about Porsches and Porsche history for instance. Lots of repetitive stuff but there is alway some fact I did not know,. It is an utterly useless pastime.
I am not socially awkward in the least but I do not enjoy talking personally to people and can fairly deflect questions without causing offence.
There are more of us out there
Not the only one. I get bored very easily and just recently am finding it increasingly difficult to ‘switch off’. The only way I seem to able to relax is by building, cleaning or fixing things or reading about stuff that interests me. Then I’ll get absorbed for hours, losing track of time.
Mundane tasks at work bore me senseless, whereas the elements of the job I enjoy I get completely lost in. Definitely not autistic/ Aspergers but more like a complete inability to unwind or focus on anything other than stuff I’m interested in. Definitely seems to be getting worse as I get older.
Mundane tasks at work bore me senseless, whereas the elements of the job I enjoy I get completely lost in. Definitely not autistic/ Aspergers but more like a complete inability to unwind or focus on anything other than stuff I’m interested in. Definitely seems to be getting worse as I get older.
You sound just like me - I got diagnosed with ADHD at 37 and have exactly the same lifestyle. My better half has just read this out to me and said, hey there is another one of you here.
There are loads of groups for people who are ‘on the spectrum’ which is an awful saying as it makes us sound like freaks!
Just for reference ADHD is co-morbid with many other neurological differences so the post about not having autism as you are socially active isn’t entirely correct. I like you have the whole bored at parties and not interested in peoples stories thing, but play the game and think about things that interest me - while looking interested.
I also struggle massively with empathy and have trained myself to looking like I care - when it not that I don’t but I just don’t understand their issue.
There are loads of groups for people who are ‘on the spectrum’ which is an awful saying as it makes us sound like freaks!
Just for reference ADHD is co-morbid with many other neurological differences so the post about not having autism as you are socially active isn’t entirely correct. I like you have the whole bored at parties and not interested in peoples stories thing, but play the game and think about things that interest me - while looking interested.
I also struggle massively with empathy and have trained myself to looking like I care - when it not that I don’t but I just don’t understand their issue.
Hugo Stiglitz said:
Try cycling.
I have adhd and it really helps however some days I ride daily/gets obsessive as it calms me.
I don't think you are on the autism spectrum unless you avoid social contact etc.
Yes, do this... or try running. There are loads of stats to obsess over when you get home, but you'll be much calmer and fitter for having been out.I have adhd and it really helps however some days I ride daily/gets obsessive as it calms me.
I don't think you are on the autism spectrum unless you avoid social contact etc.
Edited by Hugo Stiglitz on Monday 26th April 07:07
It works for me.
Thanks to all who replied
Somewhat of a relief to know I’m not that unusual.
Interesting comments, and some really made me laugh as I completely identify with them, especially the one about being at Disneyland and being more interested in if the London taxi was still on the MOT database. That is exactly the sort of thing I would do. I would probably be trying to peek through the grill to see if it had a Nissan or Perkins engine..
Thankfully, as I pointed out, it causes no social issues. Apparently most people see me as polite, friendly, easy going. I have a great circle of friends and get on with pretty much everyone I’ve worked with. It’s just that inside, I struggle to find them particularly interesting on any great level, and conversations do require effort on my part to stay engaged and ‘look interested’ or ‘look sympathetic’.
When my friends are on a topic that I find interesting, then I have a great time. Topics could be stuff like cars, politics, the economy, construction/building etc.
Steve touched on it above, but sympathy does not come naturally to me at all. When someone tells me their mum has died, or whatever, I have to try to look like I care, which I appreciate sounds really awful. When my grandparents died, I remember not being particularly upset at all, and just thought “Well that’s what people do. They die.” I have had friends killed in accidents, and everyone around me was weeping and wailing for days, and I just thought “It must be awful for their parents and family” but wasn’t personally upset.
I get upset about anyone mistreating animals though. That is the one thing that does get me annoyed or upset.
One thing I am good at though is adapting my personality like some kind of chameleon which has helped a lot with my career. I can sit down in a boardroom and behave very ‘senior management’ while getting nods of approval to my comments from others, I can go and visit a site behave a bit ‘down to earth’ and get on the good side of the lads laying the bricks and pouring the concrete.
I think all of this is a reaction to having to feign interest and emotion over many years. I can now just turn it on to suit the situation. Or maybe it’s just normal and everyone adapts their personality to suit a situation, to greater or lesser degrees?
I worry I’m the sort of chap who will be talked about on the news in 20 years time after having committed a serious fraud, and all my friends and colleagues will be interviewed and say something like “He had us all completely fooled”
The constant boredom and inability to just sit and have 5 minutes does grate on me and tire me after a while though. I need to try to control it a bit better though as I really would like my wife to enjoy things like sitting on a beach or sun lounger for days without me hassling her to go and do something else.
Somewhat of a relief to know I’m not that unusual.
Interesting comments, and some really made me laugh as I completely identify with them, especially the one about being at Disneyland and being more interested in if the London taxi was still on the MOT database. That is exactly the sort of thing I would do. I would probably be trying to peek through the grill to see if it had a Nissan or Perkins engine..
Thankfully, as I pointed out, it causes no social issues. Apparently most people see me as polite, friendly, easy going. I have a great circle of friends and get on with pretty much everyone I’ve worked with. It’s just that inside, I struggle to find them particularly interesting on any great level, and conversations do require effort on my part to stay engaged and ‘look interested’ or ‘look sympathetic’.
When my friends are on a topic that I find interesting, then I have a great time. Topics could be stuff like cars, politics, the economy, construction/building etc.
Steve touched on it above, but sympathy does not come naturally to me at all. When someone tells me their mum has died, or whatever, I have to try to look like I care, which I appreciate sounds really awful. When my grandparents died, I remember not being particularly upset at all, and just thought “Well that’s what people do. They die.” I have had friends killed in accidents, and everyone around me was weeping and wailing for days, and I just thought “It must be awful for their parents and family” but wasn’t personally upset.
I get upset about anyone mistreating animals though. That is the one thing that does get me annoyed or upset.
One thing I am good at though is adapting my personality like some kind of chameleon which has helped a lot with my career. I can sit down in a boardroom and behave very ‘senior management’ while getting nods of approval to my comments from others, I can go and visit a site behave a bit ‘down to earth’ and get on the good side of the lads laying the bricks and pouring the concrete.
I think all of this is a reaction to having to feign interest and emotion over many years. I can now just turn it on to suit the situation. Or maybe it’s just normal and everyone adapts their personality to suit a situation, to greater or lesser degrees?
I worry I’m the sort of chap who will be talked about on the news in 20 years time after having committed a serious fraud, and all my friends and colleagues will be interviewed and say something like “He had us all completely fooled”
The constant boredom and inability to just sit and have 5 minutes does grate on me and tire me after a while though. I need to try to control it a bit better though as I really would like my wife to enjoy things like sitting on a beach or sun lounger for days without me hassling her to go and do something else.
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 26th April 08:42
Hmmm, intelligent sociopath; serial killer 
No seriously I am exactly the same as you both in terms of brain racing, occasional (
) obsessive behaviour - not in an OCD way, more in a deep dive (pun intended) kind of a way, lack of emotional empathy etc.
This is random but may chime; do you see yourself as a creative person? I never did as I can't draw or play music etc. However I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing artists over the years and the one thing they have taught (and told) me is how creative you need to be to effectively solve problems and get things done. Artists are good at creating things, not so good at working out how to curate it, fund it, exhibit it etc. They are narrow, whereas perhaps you creativity is broad?
That may sound obvious when you read it but as it doesn't comply with traditional notions of creativity you can be blind to it. Your creativity (if like mine) might be the ability to 'see' and make connections between things that others simply cannot. Do you find yourself constantly frustrated at other people's failure in pursuing a course of action which to you only has one inevitable conclusion but they can't see it?
If that makes any sense to you, then recognising yourself as a creative person can perhaps allow you to think and appreciate things a little differently?
Apologies if none of that makes sense! The only other advice I can give is to learn to be in the moment. The constant racing of the brain means that you are never really present, just always distracted.
I don't overtly practice mindfulness, but like others have suggested above, activities that require you to be in the moment - cycling, running, building lego, whatever, are a really good at giving your mind space to breathe. Mine is a boxing ring as there are few things as good as putting you in the moment as not trying to be kicked in the head!
No seriously I am exactly the same as you both in terms of brain racing, occasional (
) obsessive behaviour - not in an OCD way, more in a deep dive (pun intended) kind of a way, lack of emotional empathy etc. This is random but may chime; do you see yourself as a creative person? I never did as I can't draw or play music etc. However I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing artists over the years and the one thing they have taught (and told) me is how creative you need to be to effectively solve problems and get things done. Artists are good at creating things, not so good at working out how to curate it, fund it, exhibit it etc. They are narrow, whereas perhaps you creativity is broad?
That may sound obvious when you read it but as it doesn't comply with traditional notions of creativity you can be blind to it. Your creativity (if like mine) might be the ability to 'see' and make connections between things that others simply cannot. Do you find yourself constantly frustrated at other people's failure in pursuing a course of action which to you only has one inevitable conclusion but they can't see it?
If that makes any sense to you, then recognising yourself as a creative person can perhaps allow you to think and appreciate things a little differently?
Apologies if none of that makes sense!
The only other advice I can give is to learn to be in the moment. The constant racing of the brain means that you are never really present, just always distracted. I don't overtly practice mindfulness, but like others have suggested above, activities that require you to be in the moment - cycling, running, building lego, whatever, are a really good at giving your mind space to breathe. Mine is a boxing ring as there are few things as good as putting you in the moment as not trying to be kicked in the head!
ben5575 said:
Hmmm, intelligent sociopath; serial killer
No seriously I am exactly the same as you both in terms of brain racing, occasional () obsessive behaviour - not in an OCD way, more in a deep dive (pun intended) kind of a way, lack of emotional empathy etc.
This is random but may chime; do you see yourself as a creative person? I never did as I can't draw or play music etc. However I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing artists over the years and the one thing they have taught (and told) me is how creative you need to be to effectively solve problems and get things done. Artists are good at creating things, not so good at working out how to curate it, fund it, exhibit it etc. They are narrow, whereas perhaps you creativity is broad?
That may sound obvious when you read it but as it doesn't comply with traditional notions of creativity you can be blind to it. Your creativity (if like mine) might be the ability to 'see' and make connections between things that others simply cannot. Do you find yourself constantly frustrated at other people's failure in pursuing a course of action which to you only has one inevitable conclusion but they can't see it?
If that makes any sense to you, then recognising yourself as a creative person can perhaps allow you to think and appreciate things a little differently?
Apologies if none of that makes sense! The only other advice I can give is to learn to be in the moment. The constant racing of the brain means that you are never really present, just always distracted.
I don't overtly practice mindfulness, but like others have suggested above, activities that require you to be in the moment - cycling, running, building lego, whatever, are a really good at giving your mind space to breathe. Mine is a boxing ring as there are few things as good as putting you in the moment as not trying to be kicked in the head!
Great points.No seriously I am exactly the same as you both in terms of brain racing, occasional (
) obsessive behaviour - not in an OCD way, more in a deep dive (pun intended) kind of a way, lack of emotional empathy etc. This is random but may chime; do you see yourself as a creative person? I never did as I can't draw or play music etc. However I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing artists over the years and the one thing they have taught (and told) me is how creative you need to be to effectively solve problems and get things done. Artists are good at creating things, not so good at working out how to curate it, fund it, exhibit it etc. They are narrow, whereas perhaps you creativity is broad?
That may sound obvious when you read it but as it doesn't comply with traditional notions of creativity you can be blind to it. Your creativity (if like mine) might be the ability to 'see' and make connections between things that others simply cannot. Do you find yourself constantly frustrated at other people's failure in pursuing a course of action which to you only has one inevitable conclusion but they can't see it?
If that makes any sense to you, then recognising yourself as a creative person can perhaps allow you to think and appreciate things a little differently?
Apologies if none of that makes sense!
The only other advice I can give is to learn to be in the moment. The constant racing of the brain means that you are never really present, just always distracted. I don't overtly practice mindfulness, but like others have suggested above, activities that require you to be in the moment - cycling, running, building lego, whatever, are a really good at giving your mind space to breathe. Mine is a boxing ring as there are few things as good as putting you in the moment as not trying to be kicked in the head!
In answer to your question about creativity. I would say no. I am utterly hopeless at drawing, painting, design, musical instruments, anything that requires ‘an eye’ or some flair.
This extends to DIY. Anything that bolts together, or is electronic, or can only be put together one way, I really enjoy. But anything that requires any sort of artistic or creative skill such as painting and decorating, or woodwork, I am 100% hopeless at.
I have built a few custom/modified cars in my time, and they have always turned out great (and been in magazines), and exactly what I wanted, but that is likely more to do with me looking at photos of other cars and deciding exactly which elements of design to simply steal, then carefully assemble my own.
With regards to the bit in bold, I can say absolutely yes. I get frustrated at the lack of clear logic displayed by others, and also the decision making process that other people go through, when to me, the outcome is obvious (or seems obvious).
I often find the decision making process to be a logical set of choices, but with others, they seems to fudge about and not be able to see it, or they introduce emotion into the decision making process which winds me up as well.
I sit in meetings at work, listen to the discussion, and sometimes feel like I’m the only one with any sense. I’m like “Look, we need to get from A to B here, and it seems the quickest and most efficient way of doing this is X Y and Z”
Probably why I liked it when I owned my own business. I could just make straightforward ‘A to B’ decisions without anyone slowing down or interfering with the process.
My wife actually mentioned mindfulness a few weeks ago. She right pointed out, as you do, that I need to learn how to relax and maybe start doing some activities that take my mind off the world.
This is really interesting. The OP has described me to a T.
I was trying to explain myself to my girlfriend recently I was trying to say that the emotional, artistic, feeling of highs and lows etc, just don’t exist in my brain. I turn everything into a process, think logically, plan etc. I feel like my brain is constantly processing like a computer, it never shuts off.
I wake a 5am and my brain is in overdrive - I never manage to get back to sleep. I have to put on tv, radio or read a book to clear my head of 100mph thoughts, plans and problems. It’s draining.
I was trying to explain myself to my girlfriend recently I was trying to say that the emotional, artistic, feeling of highs and lows etc, just don’t exist in my brain. I turn everything into a process, think logically, plan etc. I feel like my brain is constantly processing like a computer, it never shuts off.
I wake a 5am and my brain is in overdrive - I never manage to get back to sleep. I have to put on tv, radio or read a book to clear my head of 100mph thoughts, plans and problems. It’s draining.
My mind is constantly going, I struggle to watch a movie without being bored or distracted.
I have tried all sorts to find what works for me, being able to "switch off" is difficult but when it happens it's amazing. Don't laugh but here's a few things I've tried, what works for me and what doesn't:-
Meditation - Can't get to where I want to be unless it's in a group and led by a professional and then it has to be scheduled so inconvenient
Apps like Calm or Headspace - No chance
Flotation tank - One of my favourites. It seems ridiculous at first but after a few sessions I could be in the zone after about 10 minutes and then I have 40 minutes of "nothing" to look forward to. Kind of pricey though https://floatworks.com/
Swimming laps of a pool - Love this one, it takes a reasonable level of fitness to be able to do it for as long as is required to get my head in the zone but once I'm there I love it
Yoga - (I told you not to laugh) The stretching and relaxation at the end of a yoga class sometimes works
I have tried all sorts to find what works for me, being able to "switch off" is difficult but when it happens it's amazing. Don't laugh but here's a few things I've tried, what works for me and what doesn't:-
Meditation - Can't get to where I want to be unless it's in a group and led by a professional and then it has to be scheduled so inconvenient
Apps like Calm or Headspace - No chance
Flotation tank - One of my favourites. It seems ridiculous at first but after a few sessions I could be in the zone after about 10 minutes and then I have 40 minutes of "nothing" to look forward to. Kind of pricey though https://floatworks.com/
Swimming laps of a pool - Love this one, it takes a reasonable level of fitness to be able to do it for as long as is required to get my head in the zone but once I'm there I love it
Yoga - (I told you not to laugh) The stretching and relaxation at the end of a yoga class sometimes works
Drezza said:
Do you get enough exercise? I struggle to focus with work unless I've been for a run/ cycle to settle myself down and my mind will dart all over the place.
In my opinion, I probably do not get enough exercise. I have a sedentary job and work at a computer, often for 10 hours a day. My wife is quite active and likes walking and jogging, and she encourages me to get out each evening for a good hour long walk, which I manage most days.
Most weekends we get out for a 2 or 3 hour walk at a decent pace.
So I do get exercise, but not sure it is enough. I’m reasonably heathy though. Watch what I eat and not overweight.
I agree that I do feel more ‘at peace’ once I have had a walk.
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