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May 8, 2008
Ink Blot - neshuk thuhrd
This is from the first bit of my recent Rorschach test. My comments are in whatever color this is.
Be sure to read the Rorschach Info blurb (Disclaimer) or my less-formal explanation before continuing.
Let the fun begin.
Situational Stress
- Whatever current stress may be present in your life, you seem to be able to handle it.
- You are about as aware of stress in your life as most people are.
This sounds pretty good, doesn't it. I don't typically feel stressed and it's nice to know that I'm about as aware of the stress I have as the average person is about his or hers. If nothing else I always strive to be average.
Emotionality
Ongoing Depression
- The test did not detect indications of long-term depression. If you experience symptoms of depression, they may be reactions to temporary situations rather than to long-standing personality characteristics.
The interesting thing about depression is just how all-encompassing it is. I've been separated/divorced for about four years and the whole thing was pretty rough. Every so often I'd have depressed spells and each time I had one it felt like this is all life is. It was suffocating and it felt like I was depressed all the time. And it never failed, I was never depressed when I was with my therapist and wanting to tell her about it. So, I started keeping track of my depression and found that great periods of time would pass — four, six, eight weeks — between depressed spells. And, they were lasting for short periods of time; about a day. AND, AND, AND, when they were over I had trouble remembering just how bad they were; I felt like I was never depressed.
When I get depressed now I know I'll be better tomorrow or sooner (Ted Nugent albums pick me up pretty quick). Even though I know this they still suck and have that this-is-all-life-is feel even though I know it isn't. If it wasn't for the life-suckiness of the whole thing it would be an interesting event.
I'm typically only depressed when I'm by myself. And more and more infrequently these days.
Situational Depression
- Stress does not appear to be making you feel depressed.
Nope. Not stress.
Coping Style: People usually learn habits that help them deal with new and unfamiliar situations and problems. Those habits are called a "coping style." Having a well developed coping style to rely on helps people more efficiently solve problems both in the world and in themselves. Like many habits, we can change how we approach problems.
- Your coping style is one in which you prefer to deal with problems thoughtfully to decide how to solve them before actually taking action. While you may seek information from others, you weigh the options on your own. This may make you less distracted by others and less influenced by what authority figures have to say.
- When solving a problem, you tend to make a decision or take action only after thoroughly thinking about all the available information.
- The degree to which you adhere to this style makes your approach to problems less flexible.
- This can be limiting when different kinds of problems require more of a "thinking" or a "feeling" way of handling them..
I, as mentioned in an earlier blog entry, sometimes take too long to make decisions as I always want to have just a little more information; the doc called this "overincorporation." This is something I've known about me for a while and that I'm trying to fix. An example is when I was rolling out a new e-mail server. The solution was a pretty good one but I knew if I did x it would be better and doing y would make it better still. Doing x and y were dragging things out and in the end had to be dropped and added later — so, the users got the same thing they were going to get originally (which they were happy with) and I missed my (self-imposed) roll-out date. Yesterday I was looking at new laser printers and found myself getting caught up in things; I finally said f*ck it! I'm getting that one.
I'm aware of how my problem-solving skills sort of fall down when it comes to problems that require "thinking" and "feeling." The doc said this is something I could work on with the regular therapy person I see.
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Posted by delmer at May 8, 2008 10:40 PM
Comments
OMG! The 'Pon farr' reference had me in stitches. That was simply perfect! I remember that episode too!! (How did you ever remember that reference??)
On a more serious note, I've known people much more vulcan-like with regards to emotions, than you. You're more than capable of identifying a feeling, and have.
That's some good stuff there Delmer.
~ZZ
Posted by: Greeneyezz at May 9, 2008 12:01 AM
Great. Now I've got "Wango Tango" running in my brain. Thank you so much!
Posted by: Ginger at May 9, 2008 12:49 AM
That must be where the "Seven year itch" reference came from.
Posted by: mikeo at May 9, 2008 12:53 AM
ZZ: Pon Farr comes up more often than you might guess. Expecially if you TiVo the series. Not long ago T'Pol (my favorite Vulcan) went through it in "Enterprise." There was also a reference to it in "The Big Bang Theory" a couple of Mondays ago. (And a month or so back a Vulcan lad on Voyager had a thing for B'Elana Torres during Pon Farr.)
Ginger: Wango Tango is one of those songs that pulls me out of a funk. So it Wang Dang Sweet Poontang -- just the fact a grown man sings that cracks me up.
MikeO: Nice comparrision. I'd never considered that -- I wonder if that's what the writers were going for?
Posted by: delmer at May 9, 2008 8:39 AM
Ah. "Overincorporation", you say? I now have a scientific term for what I always thought was just my boyfriend having "IT Guy Brain" & "Excel Spreadsheet Addiction." :)
Posted by: diane at May 9, 2008 3:52 PM
I have IT Guy Brain as well and have to say that I like the sound of "overincorporation" better. And it would look nicer on a shirt.
Posted by: delmer at May 10, 2008 9:35 AM
I am glad you all referenced "Pon Farr" and "Vulcan" otherwise I'd never be able to recall where I'd heard the term; I watched a lot of Star Trek in my day but was never a "Trekkie"
"IT Guy Brain" - yeah, that is much more apropos for well, IT Guys as it can be made into a TLA (ITG Brain). Plus, IT Guys generally avoid words with "corporation" in it.
When it comes to depression, I avoid it as much as possible and will call it by any other name ("The Blues", "A bit down") until the dark waves overwhelm me and I have to admit, "Dang. I'm depressed."
Thankfully my depressions have never lasted for long and I've never had to go to therapy. Last summer I went through a Not So Great Time and I kept telling myself that I would work through it and that in working through it, my life would be much better.
The thing was, I wasn't quite sure if I was depressed - it IS difficult to see and being analytical can be of very little use. In my case I had to become more spiritual.
Posted by: Ms. Q at May 10, 2008 12:55 PM