Dyslexia stories

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I don't have OCD, but I do have leanings towards the condition. (For example, I check the oven is off or the door is properly locked once or twice more than necessary, and double check where my bank card is, even though I know where I put it).

So yes, I would say a degree of obsessional behaviour is 'normal' (whatever normal is). I also find it can be beneficial, ...[text shortened]... pedantic and over checking nature, I'm pretty good at doing things correctly and avoiding mistakes).

Did you read my mind?

@moonbus said
If you're later declared a saint, it's not called "obsession" anymore, it's called "devotion"; whereas, if you're later declared a traitor, it's called "delusion."

That's one way to look at it, just like brakes and accidents.

As I was told by a good friend who is really obsessed with some weird ideas, is this. It was suggested that obsession, particularly when directed towards a beneficial or productive goal, can be a positive attribute. This perspective acknowledges that obsessions can sometimes lead to significant achievements or advancements when they are channeled towards meaningful and constructive pursuits. Throughout history, many individuals have been driven by a single, intense focus on an idea or goal, which ultimately resulted in groundbreaking discoveries, innovations, or improvements in various fields. This concept is supported by the idea that a focused, single-minded approach can lead to remarkable outcomes, especially when the obsession is combined with hard work, dedication, and a willingness to push boundaries.

However, most observers who cannot envision the possible outcomes, nor fathom the goal as being achievable, will consider the obsession as being destructive and ill-fated, therefore a disorder. But it must also be admitted that these kinds of obsessions are extremely rare in the general population.

@pettytalk said
Did you read my mind?

Yes.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Yes.

Can you also read my location?

@pettytalk said
Can you also read my location?

I get pinged whenever you walk passed a Starbucks.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I get pinged whenever you walk passed a Starbucks.

You do? But I never go in. Believe it or not, I never bought coffee there.

I merely asked just in case you can, because I don't want Dive to know, just in case he takes me up on the bet.

You'll have to excuse me now, as I have to go outside and shovel the snow from the driveway.

@moonbus said
It may have more to do with spatial orientation than words (dyslexia).

Do mirrors confuse you?

No, I think it’s that I just don’t know which side is port and which is starboard. Suzi has given me a good tip on that though.

Mirrors can be confusing when there’s lots of them.

@drewnogal said
During pregnancy your brain shrinks and it takes a while to return to its original size; thus the term baby brain.

I thought this was you joking, but apparently it’s true.
And also there is no change in the grey matter of the father during or after pregnancy.

@divegeester said
No, I think it’s that I just don’t know which side is port and which is starboard. Suzi has given me a good tip on that though.

Mirrors can be confusing when there’s lots of them.

This topic jinxed me. I had two turns to make in a new area, turned left instead of right on the last going almost 40 miles out of my way after turning around and getting back to where I started from😁.

@divegeester said
I’ve not suffered with depression, although with some of the stuff I’ve been through in the last 5 years I do wonder how not. I have been susceptible to anxiety though, when work was a major stress some years ago. Neither of those impacted, nor were impacted by, the stuff in my OP about dyslexic traits.

My wife suffered from a bout of depression several years ago when ...[text shortened]... ioritisation and a doc recommended app on thinking therapy sorted it and she’s been fine ever since.

I’m sorry to hear this it’s not something I would wish on anyone. Special circumstances absolutely play a role in pushing these things through the roof. I used to deal with bad panic attacks also, even going to the hospital a couple times🙂. I had these my whole life up until a few years ago after analyzing myself, my whole life interactions and their effects on me along with my trust and faith in God and his strength ending them.

@mike69 said
I’m sorry to hear this it’s not something I would wish on anyone. Special circumstances absolutely play a role in pushing these things through the roof.

Thank you, I’m fine.

Dyslexia for me has been a mild annoyance, anxiety however can be a mentally crippling pathology. To my way of thinking anxiety and panic attacks were something which happened to “other people”. People who just couldn’t cope with the everyday stuff of life like making a sandwich or walking the dog. My ignorance tbh.

At the time it happened to me I was at the peak of my career, well thought of across the entire business, travelling across Europe and the US as a subject matter expert and delivering results. Life was good. But there was a malaise creeping into the entire business in terms of weaker leadership at various levels accompanied by a work-for-yourself attitude. The culture became increasingly toxic.

It was a couple of years building up, but I remember one day being sat at home on a day off, just doing nothing really. Suddenly a wave of (what I now know to be) anxiety came over me and my heart rate started rocketing, really rocketing. I checked my BP and it was something like 180/120 I can’t remember exactly, but that drove the anxiety harder. I was up pacing around the house, I felt like my head was going to explode and my heart was hurting, chest tight etc. A couple of nights later it happened in the middle of the night even worse and I was absolutely convinced I was going to die. Wife rushed me to A&E. Hooked up to a heart monitor which was was going crazy.

Kept in over night for heart attack check. Took bloods 24 hours after the first incidence so had to wake me up in middle of the night. Nurse said it will be one hour. I sat cross legged on the bed chin on chest thinking this is it, my life is never going to be the same.

Doc came back 90 mins later and said I can’t find anything physiological wrong with you but I think you may suffering from anxiety, but let’s get you checked anyway. Asked me some questions and booked me into a cardio clinic. That led back to hospital for an angiogram as they weren’t convinced. Signed my life away, had a pre-med as I was bricking it, and off we went. Watched my blood pumping normally around my heart, no flow restrictions.

Ok so I’m not going to die so I must be mental or something. Went to a cognitive therapist for five sessions, but tbh I was fixed after the second one. Three things she said gave me the basis of a way forward:

1) she explained what was happening physiologically, hormones like adrenaline going through the roof, fight or flight switch always on. So now I understood it.

2) thinking strategies to manage. One in particular was to “live in the moment” “because basically depression stems worrying about the past, and anxiety from worry about the future” I totally got it.

3) “the company you work for is keeping me an my colleagues around here in holidays” in other words I wasn’t alone.

Had the usual life ups and downs since, but never slipped back into that horrible ascending spiral of panic.

@mike69 said
I used to deal with bad panic attacks also, even going to the hospital a couple times🙂. I had these my whole life up until a few years ago after analyzing myself, my whole life interactions and their effects on me along with my trust and faith in God and his strength ending them.

Well done; help can come in various ways 🙂

@divegeester said

1) she explained what was happening physiologically, hormones like adrenaline going through the roof, fight or flight switch always on. So now I understood it.

2) thinking strategies to manage. One in particular was to “live in the moment” “because basically depression stems worrying about the past, and anxiety from worry about the future” I totally got it.

3) “ ...[text shortened]... usual life ups and downs since, but never slipped back into that horrible ascending spiral of panic.

The second of these is especially important. I'm probably caught saying 'live in the moment' at least once every day at work. (A clinical psychologist I once knew had her clients use a technique of tapping the table, to ground themselves in the here and now, or to perhaps focus on the smell or taste of the coffee they are drinking). We all tend to worry or fixate on the past (something we can't change) or overthink the future, when more often then not things are not as bad as we imagine.

I like the John Lennon lyric, 'life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.'

@ghost-of-a-duke said
The second of these is especially important. I'm probably caught saying 'live in the moment' at least once every day at work. (A clinical psychologist I once knew had her clients use a technique of tapping the table, to ground themselves in the here and now, or to perhaps focus on the smell or taste of the coffee they are drinking). We all tend to worry or fixate on t ...[text shortened]...

I like the John Lennon lyric, 'life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans.'

Agreed. The second point was pretty much the basis of the whole session. She asked me to think about doing something innocuous at work and picked driving as I was always about and about somewhere as a driver or passenger.

She coached me on techniques exactly like you describe; feel the steering wheel, sense it’s texture, what are the dials like on the dashboard. Now when you’re looking out see the trees, be aware of them passing no just the road. Think about your seat, how comfortable is it. That sort of stuff. It felt really odd at first but it disciplined me get out of the “point and shoot” journey where all I was doing was thinking about the shat-show at the workplace I was driving to.

Edit mistyped “techniques”, auto correct posted something else then I couldn’t remember how to spell it 😂

@divegeester said
Thank you, I’m fine.

Dyslexia for me has been a mild annoyance, anxiety however can be a mentally crippling pathology. To my way of thinking anxiety and panic attacks were something which happened to “other people”. People who just couldn’t cope with the everyday stuff of life like making a sandwich or walking the dog. My ignorance tbh.

At the time it happened to ...[text shortened]... usual life ups and downs since, but never slipped back into that horrible ascending spiral of panic.

I had a few panic attacks some that bad I had to take time off work,the only thing that helped was Valium,The doc would give me enough for 3 or 4 days,so I bought some of the internet from a verified british chemistthat I had family links to,I always have some in reserve & just knowing they are there has been a great comfort I had my last attack 8 years back when i decided to close down my company,Careing for my wife and running a firm was to much.