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You are here: Home / Featured Home / Getting help keeping it in the lane

Getting help keeping it in the lane

October 24, 2019 by Depression Is Not My Boss Leave a Comment

unhelpful thinking keeps me from staying focused, I need bumpers sometimes

Today I am scattered.

There is so much on my mind, I am having trouble slowing things down.

Getting to the most important tasks is what I need to focus on. I have a list in my head, which would be easier to manage if I had written it down.

But I can’t seem to stop long enough to write out the list.

My drive to get these things off my plate, to keep the ball moving. As I sit to write, the image of bumpers for bowling flashed into my head. I have seen these used in some bowling alleys. There are times when my score would have been better if I had activated the bumpers.

Today, I need to activate the bumpers.

There must be a way to keep myself on track, to focus on what I must get done. Then I can deal with what I would like to get done, then look at all the other stuff I am dragging behind me. I am also not doing a good job of staying in the moment. If I were more present, it would be easier.

I seem to be time traveling again. Read: I didn’t time travel last weekend.

Here I go off to the future with all the things I need to do weighing on me. If I were in the present, I could break it down to manageable steps, taking it a little slower and sorting it out so it is more manageable. Clumping it all together in the future, it is a huge forbidding mass of whirling thoughts, ideas, and deadlines, swirling around in front of me.

Picking out just one issue to look at requires split second timing.

With my thoughts swirling at light speed, grabbing one and dealing with it is very, very hard. So, I have been throwing up my hands and telling myself I can deal with this another day. Read: Why am I a whirling Dervish?

However, when I slow down my thinking, when I put the lane bumpers on before I throw the bowling ball, I have a better chance of knocking down some pins. I have a better chance of finishing something on my list.

So, I will slow down, write out my list on an old-fashioned sheet of paper, then tackle the issues one by one.

How do you stay focused?

Filed Under: Featured Home, Unhelpful thinking Tagged With: all or nothing thinking, bowling, catstrophizing, concealed depression, coping strategies, depression and anxiety, High-functioning depression, unhealthy thinking styles, unhelpful thinking styles

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I write My Concealed Depression to create Mental Health AwarenessHello, I am Joel. I have Major Depressive Disorder. As I meet others with mental illness, they often tell me they feel alone.

With 40+ years of living with concealed depression, I write my blog to let others know you are not alone. Others are going through the same things.

And I write to share what I am learning so you and I can lead a balanced life.

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