Well, it appears that I have JUST ABOUT moved fully through my most recent "Steemit Nervous Breakdown" this past week, and looking back in hindsight it surely has been one enlightening - and masochistically ENJOYABLE - ride. One of the most important realizations that I have had from THIS breakdown has been the frequency and degree to which OTHER Steemians are dealing with this same general issue of "Steemit Stress" and/or "Steemit Stuckness"; in ADDITION to similar stress and stuckness out there in the "real world". After all, our lives on Steemit are essentially just an alternative - and complementary - extension of our "real" lives. I mean, this is after all the "Age Of Reality TV", where the lines of "real" and "NOT real" have become SO BLURRED that one of the top reality show stars has become the Leader Of The FRIGGIN' Free World! In fact, in MANY ways, our lives on Steemit tend to be BETTER than our "real world" existence, in so far as our participation on Steemit allows us a certain amount of HEALTHY DISTANCE from the rampant CHAOS of "reality", in addition to a comfortable level of "safe space" (in the TRUE meaning of the term) which allows us to be more authentic, honest, and experimental in our interactions and endeavors. We then take that experience out into our "real" lives. I don't know about you, but when I am out there in the "big, bad REAL world" I often feel OVERWHELMED by all of the energies floating about. Sometimes it's even TOO MUCH of a challenge to muster the energy to go "out there". But THAT'S OKAY, because I don't even HAVE to go "our there" to explore the Steemiverse from the comfort of my hermitage.

So what is the main lesson I have learned from this most recent, temporary sojourn into - and then partially out from - the "underworld"? It is that stress and breakdowns are PRIME OPPORTUNITIES for CHANGE! It's like when we come down with a cold, or the flu. Our bodies are signaling to us that we are pushing ourselves too hard. Nervous breakdowns are simply a way that our "psychic bodies" signal to us that we need to "Stop, Drop, and SPIRITUALLY ROLL" in a new direction. The key for us, then, is to figure out HOW to do the ROLLIN', and in WHICH DIRECTION to roll.

Take It Out On The Keyboard

In the previous "Day 14" post I explored how meditation is a VITAL TOOL to incorporate into our "Steemit Productivity Strategy", as it provides us the TIME and SPACE to process the massive amount of sensory input we are consuming continuously, on Steemit - and in everyday life - each day. I also mentioned that there are VARIOUS different FORMS of meditation, many of which involve physical and/or mental activity - instead of the more common conception of "sitting in the lotus posture contemplating one's navel". One thing that people often fail to consider is that the process of WRITING can be a form of meditation - and a DAMN POWERFUL one as well. I would consider writing - depending on the type - to fall more into the "Zen meditation" category, as you are ACTIVE in the process. Of course, during the writing process we ALSO need to incorporate some of our more "passive meditation" techniques, in which we reflect on the ideas we are writing about, and consolidate our writing. But the MORE ACTIVE phase of writing enables us to PUSH THROUGH any blockages we are experiencing, in terms of processing the ideas we are taking in and fine-tuning the ones we are putting out. Writing out our thoughts, feelings, and ideas helps to "physicalize" them; to bring them forth into the world so that they can be more easily "handled". As we're going through our nervous breakdowns we have the dreadful sense that there is nothing to grab onto. There is so much chaos going on in our psychic space that it is difficult to reach out and GRAB something, which we can then utilize to help us reestablish our ground. The writing process enables us to SEE our mental activity, and through SEEING we can begin to more easily TOUCH it, FEEL it, MANIPULATE it, and give it some DIRECTION.

Free Your Mind

There are various different writing activities which have been shown effective in the process of getting UN-STUCK. I will deal with one of the most effective ones in this post, and will likely examine other techniques into the future. The one, most powerful, writing technique which is effective in freeing one's self from the abyss of stuckness is "free writing". Free writing simply involves setting a timer and writing WHATEVER arises in your mind. It is full-on "stream of consciousness" writing. There is ZERO EDITING, and there is ZERO PAUSING. You are simply attempting to UN-CONSTIPATE your mind through the process of SPEWING your mental activity onto your paper, or digital screen. Through the technique of free-writing we push our mind THROUGH the blockages. By allowing the mind to dance around freely we remove its focus on the field of thought-energy which IS the obstacle, and we thus make the obstacle less powerful. Then we are better able to move through it.

Nervous breakdowns are a NATURAL part of life - both our "Steemit Lives" and our "NON-Steemit Lives". Nervous breakdowns are like FARTS. They arise from our DEPTHS to signal an "overload of pressure", and once we pass them we feel invigorated, refreshed, and better able to carry on and move forward.

Today's Dreaded Homework Task

You guessed it! It's time for a HARDCORE free-writing session. Open your notebook or text document and unleash a can of "VERBAL WHOOPASS" for FIVE MINUTES! Whatever is going on inside your mind, just let it all pour out as fast as you can. Let those "psychic farts" really rip! If ideas arise, write them. If feelings arise, describe them in words. If you feel the need to draw little PICTURES, or brainstorming-type graphics, go for it, as this will also bring the visual parts of your brain into the process. Write as the mental activity arises, which means that the writing is NON-LINEAR. You can write about something that is happening to you RIGHT NOW, and then in the next sentence, something that happened last week, or last year. Write about the GOOD stuff, the "BAD" stuff, and all the STUFF in between. Noone else is going to see this - except, perhaps, the NSA (so it is advised that you encrypt your text file, if possible) - and so just let it all hang out.

Once you have finished your five-minute, active free-writing session, take a couple of minutes to relax. Then, go back and read the masterpiece of chaos which you have created. Take a few minutes to meditate on what has come out of your subconscious bowels. There are likely some thoughts, ideas, feeling, etcetera, which you were not aware were important to you, but which have manifested on the paper. Okay, now go do something COMPLETELY UNRELATED to Steemit, your writing, your current nervous breakdown, etcetera. Wash the dishes, mow the lawn, go for a run, listen to some music - just do something which COMPLETELY detaches from the rigorous ENEMA you have just undergone. Then, after on hour or two, come back to Steemit and see if you are able to make some progress in moving out of your STUCKNESS.

As usual, feel free to share your thoughts, ideas, insults, challenges, etc. and as you continue moving forward, just remember to take life (both ON and OFF Steemit)...

"One nervous breakdown at a time".

@transcript-junky