It has been three days since I attended an academic conference. I only attended one of the two days, knowing I was not doing well physically. I’m still “shaky” — the best adjective I can conjure at the moment. It is like my senses are turned up a notch even…
Tag: anxiety
I get extremely anxious around stressful people. People with no humility, too much need to be right, too much intensity… they annoy me. I am currently reading Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. In the book, he mentions that the doctors most likely to be sued are the worst doctors: they are…
The following is the latest in a sudden “bubble” of stories about autism and access to spaces: churches, schools, and now airplanes. I have kept only the major sections of the story and suggest reading the ABC report. Autistic Boy and Mom Kicked Off PlaneMother Says Flight Crew Should Have…
November 29, 2007, was a lousy day. I did poorly, very poorly, on an exam in statistics. The damage to self-esteem was fairly deep. I’m not supposed to do poorly on any test, in any class. I’ve seldom done well with written tests — it is painful to write for…
The line between anxiety disorder and whatever it is I am is often too blurred to matter. Since my first semester at the university fell apart, the second and now the third bring nothing but dread. A lot of dread. I wish it were different, but there’s so many other…
I like my routines. Actually, predictability and safety are what I like. It isn’t that I follow the same routine every day, just that I like to have things available to me in case I feel stressed. I want my radio programs at the times I expect. I hate it…
I love my wife, my cats, my family… but I wish I knew how to sound and act nicer. I can be curt, rude, blunt, or whatever else you want to call it. I would like to sound much nicer to the people about whom I care most. (Tangent: The…
When I get nervous, like most people I stutter and stumble over words. I simply stumble more often than a lot of people. Speaking smoothly, clearly, and properly is an essential part of succeeding in life. It’s shallow, certainly, but I certainly admit that I’m also not above making quick…
Computers are the source of frustration for all of us at one time or another. Two nights ago, I lost a file with the outline of 50 pages I had read. I was using Windows, which was the problem — Windows can be a real nightmare when software misbehaves. (One…
Even as an adult in my mid-30s, I am struggling as a graduate student. I can do the work, I can read the texts, but I am struggling. What is the issue? Probably the most important of all: In eight months I have yet to form a single personal connection within…