The Way-Back Machine

[mlerules]

Way back when, one Winter quarter (so 'twas grey & cold out quite a bit) at UC Santa Cruz in the early 1980s, a mess of folks in the dorms took AbPsych and/or Psych of Death & Dying. (I did NOT, but was surrounded by those who did.) Perhaps inevitably, lotsa people started becoming convinced - or at least talking/worrying lots 'bout the possibility - that they were suffering from various psych symptoms, conditions, abnormalities, &c., often including depression.

Heh. Now, as I'm reading things 'bout various brain functions, experiments, problems, and issues, I find myself starting to do the same thing: worrying 'bout whether I'm suffering from what I'm reading about, as well as wondering what it all means to me. Narcissism run rampant? Or something else?

Finding/realizing that my feelings of late are far more muted than they "should be," or, rather, than they have been and what I consider my "normal." My reactions to things feel dulled, different (less) from what I'd expect from past experience. Dunno what's up w/this, although I have some ideas. Dunno what to DO 'bout it, exactly, although I suspect that worrying (overly much, certainly) isn't particularly useful or healthy.

Comments

[defyaugury.livejournal.com]

The teenage brain is one in a state of transition. I would be more concerned if you were feeling things now as intensely as you were when you were at college! Time, experiences, seasoning (for lack of a better word) allows us to put events in a broader perspective. This is a good thing.

Worrying is only useful if it gets you off your @ss to do something about it, otherwise it does just lead to Narcissistic behavior. So, to quote Madonna, 'what are you going to do?'

[mlerules.livejournal.com]

Actually, as I suspected, getting a good night's sleep went a long way towards feeling a lot better. As far as "muted" feelings when I'd prefer (and'm more used to) more intense ones, I'll just wait for that to return slowly, as the volume and brightness dials twirl up some.