The Extrovert Reward Pathway

[aciel]

Dreams have been treating me strangely of late. Two nights ago, I dreamt I was dying of social anxiety disorder. There were these little sores on my neck and cheeks, much more severe and scary looking than hives, but basically still caused by stress

Comments

[3fgburner]

Last night, I dreamt I was talking to the bus driver on the way to campus--some blend between Virginia Tech and University of Texas, not any specific campus--and suddenly she looked to be in a great deal of pain, doubling over. Heart attack.

One of my persistent nightmares, and conscious fears, is of being powerless or helpless. It's why I have, and maintain, my first aid / CPR cards. It's why I'm a gear geek. It's why I'm a survivalist. It's why I'm a member of my County's CERT program

[aciel]

It's good to know other people are familiar with this. Thank you for sharing that with me.

[ruthytoothy]

"I can replenish it simply by feeling like I'm Accomplishing Things."
This immediately reminded me of something that my psychotherapist introduced me to last year, and which I have found really useful in improving my depression. I'm a writer of to do lists, and it always seems that the worse my depression is, the longer the list is, and the longer the list, the worse I feel. So my psychotherapist suggested that instead of a To Do List, I write a Ta Da List, i.e. "Ta Da, look what I just did!". The idea is that rather than focussing on all the things that you haven't achieved or hit targets on, you focus on what you have achieved. The real secret to it, though, is that the more you are struggling, the more detail your Ta Da List should contain. So on a good day, my list might read something like this

[a_glaciered_sun]

I found this comment very useful. Thank you. :]

[aciel]

I can't decide if this is the same Accomplishing Things that I mean. It's like, if I'm running from lab to meetings where I'm arguing with people about guns and gay marriage and evolution and then running back to lab to do research on disease genes, then I feel GREAT. But a lot of that comes from interacting with people, solving problems, etc.

On the other hand, maybe it's just easier for me to compose affirmations on those things. Maybe I'll try harder to come up with nice things to say to myself about making breakfast and such.

Feel free, with the resolutions thing. I know I'm not alone with that! A month into the new year and the gym has pretty much emptied out.

And definitely useful. Thank you for sharing. =)

[ekellar]

You asked me once how it is that I never stop having things to do, and how I manage to do it all.....i think you're starting to understand it in your "accomplishing things" bit.....i'm not the superhuman dreadnought that people think i am...i'm just afraid to stop sometimes :(

[a_glaciered_sun]

[I always feel odd about commenting on your entries as I never quite have anything (I feel is) useful to say but...]

Although not always pleasant, lucky is the one who dreams at all. Despite the pain or subconscious translation, there are some who sleep under the blackest of skies, with such a clouded mind that their vision with closed eyes is completely blind.

[aciel]

This is true. They remind me of how fleeting life is, if only because they vanish from my memory so quickly if I don't write them down. And then there are the nights when I don't get enough sleep and thus remember nothing at all.

[a_glaciered_sun]

Maybe their tendency to flee our minds is what makes them so [all encompassingly] precious?

Lack of dreams is a side effect of not getting enough sleep? And here I just thought I was one of those blackest of skies people.

[aciel]

I think it's a little different for everyone. Another thing you can try is--when you wake up--don't move right away. Stay in the same position, and just let your mind wander.