Log in

No account? Create an account

Remember me

Forgot password

Facebook Twitter Google RAMBLER&Co ID

By logging in to LiveJournal using a third-party service you accept LiveJournal's User agreement

: Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
2014-05-30 03:45:00

Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
2014-05-30 03:45:00

Mood: busy

Overcoming Limits (or not)

Here's a post about overcoming limits, or not.

What it does not mention are limits that one could, but should not, push past. That is, a body/mind has things it can do safely, things that can be done but are unpleasant or harmful, and things that cannot be done at all. That middle range is where most people get into trouble, and they are far more likely to do so with other people yapping, "Go on, try! You can do it!"

It's like mad science. Just because you CAN do something, does not always mean you SHOULD. Always think about the cost-benefit balance. Don't hurt yourself on account of other people urging you forward where it's not safe, or because you really want to do something that is not safe for your body/mind. Know yourself. Know your limits. Understand which ones are soft limits that you can push sometimes but not routinely, and which ones are hard limits that will do real damage if you smack into them. Treat your limits with respect and your self with compassion.

Tags: safety

Recent Posts from This Journal

Goldenrod Gall Contents

Apparently all kinds of things go on inside goldenrod galls, beyond the caterpillars who make them. Fascinating. I've seen the galls but haven't…
Coping Skills:

Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This is the current…
Bingo

I have made bingo down the B, G, and O columns of my 6-1-21 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. I also have one extra fill. B1 (caretaking) --…

matrixmann

May 30 2014, 09:33:55 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

Kind of reminds to social workers and people of state entities that have to do with youth welfare service. Always have a problem if someone's not going for social interaction and doesn't like to spend his time among humans - as well as if someone's not the one to go for the "carreer"-thing too.
Surely also applies for all other services coming after that for more adult ages.

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

May 30 2014, 09:41:48 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

They act like it's not okay to be yourself if you are an introvert, or for that matter, if you think society is run by psychopaths and you don't want to be around such icky people. They act like you're only worth the job you can do, and if you want to do something else as your major life focus, somehow that's not good enough.

Which is life-destroying if you rely on those people for your survival needs in any way, as many people do. Either you break yourself trying to please people who despise you on principle, or you go without vital resources.

Re: Yes...

matrixmann

May 30 2014, 09:58:28 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

At most they cannot accept if you're one for the thing "I do not care for money, I do not care for carreer, I just need to follow my habits and my interests". If that's their personal opinion of if it's because a system is paying them that lives from individuals rather going to a job, earning money and bending their needs - I don't know.

Deleted comment

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

May 30 2014, 17:55:44 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

One thing about depression is that it seems to disable a lot of power lines. Things that used to give energy now do not, or even drain it.

johnpalmer

June 4 2014, 00:48:04 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

Um. Something I would say here, if you wouldn't feel I was poking my nose in your personal medical affairs. Would it be okay?

siege

May 31 2014, 02:18:50 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

One of the biggest causes of spiritual disability is forcing power through when it shouldn't be pushed so hard. You burn things out, rather like over-volting an electronic system. And recovery can take way too long, with lingering symptoms that can be gentle or intermittent at times until one is overdrawn (at which point the symptoms take over).

johnpalmer

June 4 2014, 00:37:09 UTC 7 years ago

Collapse
Expand
New comment

Heh. This is an interesting thing for me to ponder. My fatigue issues are such that sometimes pushing to do something means I'm less able to do something the next day. This isn't uncommon, I'm told - a lot of people find that if they over do it, they'll be wiped out, and, like me, they have no warning during the activity.

Now, on the one hand, for *me*, I want to find the limits of my activity - I want to live life as best as I can. But trying to do that can mean ending up doing a lot more and being miserable every minute of the way.

And my experience is that if I'm at the state where I'm not-fatigued, and happy, I might not do "as much" by most raw numbers, but what I do tends to be much more effective. So "overcoming my limits" is actually counterproductive.