Hi, I’m Kim and I am an addict.
My substance of choice? The constant chatter of my own thoughts.
This may not seem like much of a problem. After all, thinking is intellectual, right? Thinking is creative, right?
True, and true again, but like many addictions, a moderate amount can be good, or at least OK (for example, food or alcohol), but too much is a problem. While there is a positive side to my active mind – I get good ideas from time to time – I am beginning to realize how unproductive chatter seems to continue almost nonstop. While it does not really get in the way of my daily life and I function at a high level, there is a price to pay in terms of optimum contentment and the effects of stress on the body.
I only recently began to see this as a problem. Yes, there have always been annoying times when thoughts have kept me up at night and I can’t seem to shut them off, or a song would stick in my head. A little bit of neck and shoulder tension does tend to creep up on me too, but that’s normal stress, right?
Yes, all of this is what we label “normal” for human beings, but I have become less and less tolerant of mere “normal” standards for my happiness and contentment lately, ironically as I find more and more of both. A recent trip gave me more of a slap than a gentle nudge in the right direction . . . Continue reading
