UNITED STATES—My brain feels like it is always firing on all cylinders 24/7 and it literally drives me crazy sometimes. I just wish I could turn off that switch so I can just not have anything going on in my brain. The peace is what I am looking for. I know what you’re going to say, just try to decompress. That is so much easier said than done.
Yes, you can listen to music, watch a TV show, write, exercise, cook, watch a movie, do yoga, meditate, take deep breathes, but all it takes is a moment of distraction and whatever nagging thought you had in your brain comes back to you. This might sound bad, but I sometimes wish you could rid your brain of memories especially troubling ones because you wouldn’t have them replay over and over again with no positive result in the process.
You might not even be thinking about it, but the moment something in society triggers that memory it comes flooding back in a way that you can never explain. I think as Americans we just worry too much and it is so easy to tell a person to just stop worrying. However, the brain doesn’t operate like that. The brain is always operating and hate to say it, you want it to because the moment it stops, you’re in trouble.
Even when you’re asleep your brain is operating because that’s why you dream. I have always been fascinated by dreams because I know the difference between REM sleep and NON-REM sleep, but I prefer not to sleep at all. Why? I sleep best when I am not dreaming or thinking about anything. Why? I’m at peace, I’m completely relaxed and there is that clarity in the head. I’m not thinking about family, work, personal or life in general. Life can be hectic; it can be crazy and there is always, and I mean always something going on and the moment you’re able to push the NOISE out the window it makes things easier.
When it comes to work, try to do what you can and let the rest go to the wayside. You will not be able to do everything all the time and that can create a bit of anxiety as you worry about what could go wrong. I guess the best advice I can give is to try to worry about what can go right. Yes, that is not the easiest and so many people tell me to just think positively, relax, but my brain is always wanting to do the opposite.
If I can get into the zone of doing something that requires my brain to fully focus on what I’m doing at the time, it makes such a difference America. I see that occur quite often if I’m gaming, but that is a rarity for me because my schedule is so busy I barely have time. Movie watching is the best, but it tends to have to be in a dark theater, where there are no distractions because I have no choice but to focus on the big screen and the story that is unfolding in front of me.
I guess it is hitting me more and more that if I can fully occupy my brain with a task that I focus my energy on, the other noise that can be a distraction or pesky disappears. I just wish sometimes it was much easier to do than what it feels a lot of the time.
