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• Saturday, April 8, 2006 06:10 AM

  Are we all hiding a common dysfunction?

  Wow.

  One of the problems with this problem is that I hide, so I thought I was alone in this. What a relief to read all these letters from others suffering from this syndrome. Yet, it distresses me, too, that so many of us are hiding what appears to be a common dysfunction.

  I recently decided to tackle this. I’ve had lots of therapy, was on anti-depressants for five years, have a master’s degree in psychology, lead personal growth workshops (when I’m not avoiding my work) and still my avoidance behavior was spiraling out of control.

  I know that my problem is driven by anxiety. For me there is a hormonal component that is related to menopause. Natural supplements are helping.

  But also, there is a cognitive component that is related to habits. May I suggest a book?

  The author, David Allen, writes about his method in Getting Things Done. He contends that the nature of our work has changed in the last 50 years. Work used to be clearly defined. It was all about making things and moving things: do this now do that.

  But we no longer have those clearly defined boundaries in our work or lives: things just spread out endlessly in all directions. Yet Allen says, “it’s hard to stay on track without rails”. His system was personally painful for me to put into place, but I was desperate so I did it. It’s been 3 months since I set it up. It’s easy to maintain and the system is working. I’m getting things done and feeling much better about my life.

  LW, I hope it helps to know you’re not alone. Thanks for writing.

  —jrchilton Read jrchilton's other letters
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