The Adventures of Dysfunctional Dan

I've had a tough few weeks. Just when I thought I had finally got my shit together a new wave of self-doubt flooded over me like a tsunami. I wonder if I will ever reach a stage where I feel like I actually work like something resembling a normal human being. This week I saw Ad Astra , an excellent sci-fi film starring Brad Pitt. In it his character says "I've been trained to compartmentalize. It seems to me that's how I approach my life." For some reason this quote stuck with me. I'm about a million miles away from his astronaut whose heart rate never goes above 80 beats per minute and I certainly haven't been trained to compartmentalise but I have begun to realise that when I'm working at my best that's exactly what I do. To compartmentalise means to divide your life into discrete sections. With practically no thinking I can neatly divide myself into three categories. This is the perfect opportunity to use an image from 'The Numskulls...

It's well recognized by psychologists that the older you become, the faster you perceive time passing. There are various explanations to why this is with the knowledge that from the age of 20 dopamine levels begin to drop being one. All I know is that I find it incredible to think that I began my time at university nine years ago. Like most other new students, I found the prospect of leaving home to go to uni both exciting and daunting. I think a lot of people put that down to the idea of having to look after yourself and do your own cooking, washing and cleaning. I think thought that the vast majority of people are more than ready by 18 to do that stuff. The thing that was most daunting for me was to be forced into a situation where you must make friends or face complete solitude for several years of your life. One weekend in September 2010 I was dropped off at my uni halls. My stuff was unloaded, goodbyes were said and my parents drove off leaving me along in an empty buil...

With no obvious topic coming to mind this week I thought I'd attempt something different: go for a walk and record my stream of thought. Right now I'm walking across the field near my house and realising it's quite chilly despite it being sunny. It's about 11 degrees which is really a sign that Autumn has arrived. The weather might be reasonable during the day but temperatures are dipping at night- the heating actually came on in my house last night and woke me up. Artist's Impression of the walk (OK, it wasn't that cold) I'm not sleeping very well since going back to work. It's due to my dyspraxic mind. My brain processes information slowly and come bedtime it's analyzing the day that's ending and planning for the one ahead. This is not conducive to falling asleep. I had started to develop the ability to reign it in but with my new job role starting this week I've suddenly got a lot to think about and my sleep is the first victim of th...