Posting this mostly for the sake of finding out if anyone else experiences the following syndrome, and if they do, what strategies they use for dealing with it.
When referring to the syndrome as it happens to me personally, I call it the “mental paralysis” syndrome. It is a state of mind characterized by frenzied mental activity that occurs simultaneously with no apparent productivity other than staring at something, be it a book, a piece of work one is supposed to be doing, or a computer screen. If one’s brain were a copy machine, it would be the equivalent of a paper jam.
For me, there are several things that are guaranteed to bring on this wheel-spinning mess. One is a complete state of overwhelm—when the “to do” list reaches a certain point, the “memory full” prompt goes on and all activity ceases. The same thing can be caused by a fit of depression, a disappointment, a really positive and exciting thing that has now completely taken over my untrainable mind, something that is worrying me, or a personal or relationship-related conflict with someone (even a remarkably minor one -- or, I confess, one that turns out to have been imagined.)
A previous boss of mine once told me in an informal job evaluation that her only concern about me in terms of my employment performance was time management. I knew exactly what she meant, but I didn’t let on that the “time management” problems I have are almost always a result of this incredibly annoying “stop the presses” thing that my brain does.
You’d think meditation would help…it probably has; God knows what my brain would be like otherwise, but it hasn’t licked it. I want it to Stop Now. Does anyone have any suggestions? Anyone have this problem, and found a way to overcome it? I have a hell of a lot of work to do and it ain’t gonna stop anytime soon.
