That'll be that protestant work ethic I've heard so much about, then?

[cosmolinguist]

I went right from "Phew, I finally finished that work task that's been hanging over my head too long and making me anxious!" to "...I don't have enough work to do, and that makes me anxious."

Not a second's satisfaction or feeling accomplished. Straight to another misery, even though this one is directly opposite the first. My brain really amazes me sometimes.

Comments

[quirkytizzy]

Brains really are an amazing thing, aren't they? I sometimes get that. I think some of us are just so conditioned to be under stress that our brains become literally wired that way. Like, physically.

[cosmolinguist]

Sometimes I think the anxiety is just there and will latch on to whatever's conveniently plausible at the time.

Although I'm also curious if my tendency to procrastination is in some kind of evil cause/effect loop with my anxiety; if I'm putting off something I have no reason to be, it gives me something to be stressed about. It really baffles me that I will immediately put off the most trivial of things, as soon as I think of them. Part of that's habit of course, but I wonder if the habit's there because I'm trying to justify why I feel so stressed/anxious.

[quirkytizzy]

I can totally see that. I have "math avoidance anxiety" which is pretty much "Math makes me anxious, so I avoid it, which makes any looming contact with math even MORE anxious." I think some of us just don't function without a little anxiety, lol.

[cosmolinguist]

Why would I say that? You have insecurity and no confidence, which is at least functionally indistinguishable from a work ethic.

[cosmolinguist]

Yeah, i think complaining about it's another sign you're doing it wrong. :) I dont think that's supposed to happen.