• Home
  • About
  • Around
  • Contributors
  • Applause

Daily Plate of Crazy

  • Relationships
    • Dating
    • Love
    • Marriage
    • Divorce
    • Life After Divorce
  • Parenting
    • Advice
    • Babies and Kids
    • Tweens and Teens
    • College Kids
    • Single Moms
    • Older Moms
    • Dads
    • Family Dynamics
    • Money Matters
    • Work-Life
  • Health
  • Sex
  • Women’s Issues
  • Fashion & Style
    • Chaussures
    • Fashion
    • Style
    • Lingerie
    • Interiors
  • Culture
  • More
    • Art Art Art
    • Business
    • En Français
    • Entertainment
      • Mad Men
      • Mad Men Reviews
      • Real Housewives
      • Movies
      • Celebrities
      • Work of Art Reviews
    • Flash
    • Food & Recipes
    • Lifestyle
    • Morning Musing
    • Starting Over
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Women and Money
You are here: Home / Lifestyle / The Restless Mind

The Restless Mind

July 16, 2014 by D. A. Wolf Leave a Comment

Ah, the summer restlessness – the desire to travel, to explore new locales, to read books; to kick back under a tree on a hammock, or stretched out on a lounge chair overlooking a glorious ocean.

Woman With Questions and IdeasAre you more restless in certain seasons? Are your thoughts more likely to wander? Do you corral them and scold yourself, or consider a little restlessness a pleasurable and necessary pastime for the mind?

Glancing at a bright sky (and a stack of work), I find myself energized for my day’s tasks, including those on the “must-do” and “hope-to-do” lists, while simultaneously wishing for a magic carpet to whisk me off somewhere… anywhere.

Curious about the origins of the restless mind, I tap-tapped my way through a few Internet searches, trying to better understand my periodic churning state.

What Causes a Restless Mind?

According to “The Restless Mind – The Constantly Thinking Mind,” we might consider the mind a “thought factory” as:

The mind always thinks and analyzes whatever it contacts. It likes to compare, to reason, and to ask questions…

For some of us, this is certainly more true than others; we fill our minds with gusto, though at times, especially if we’re worried or stressed, we’d like to turn them off.

The same article recommends that if we are looking to “tame” our random thoughts, we should consider strengthening self-discipline and concentration. Meditation is suggested. (My own preference is a brisk walk.)

More useful to me, however, are discussions of the cultural, interpersonal, and psychological aspects of the restless mind. In other words, are we talking about distractions that come from societal noise? Are we dabbling in an expectation gap set by media, friends, and internalized (unrealistic) standards of achievement? Are we putting a toe into the waters of a true inability to concentrate (ADD?), or a tendency of the (over?) active mind to resist filtering and organizing its options?

Too Many Choices Can Boggle the Mind

The following reference to the restless mind strikes a chord for me. Appearing on The Art of Manliness, it captures the abundance of choices available today, and addresses the impacts of technology that constantly demands our attention.

Note, too, the way seemingly limitless possibilities can leave us in a quandary and feeling uneasy, as in “How to Cure Neurasthenia,”  Brett and Kate McKay write:

… New media and technology has seemingly brought the whole world just within our reach… We want to magically take it all in and we can’t. And so we feel depressed and anxious…  We have this feeling that somewhere beyond our life, real life is taking place. It feels as if there are so many possibilities and choices out there… We don’t know where to start, where to dive in. We’re thus paralyzed, and don’t do anything. And then we feel shiftless and restless because we feel bad that we’re not doing stuff…

I may not be feeling inundated by options (much less shiftless), but I do frequently wish for that 30-hour day with which I could grab more of the “life” that I would like to experience.

For me, that isn’t restlessness so much as a hunger to live life fully. That said, I find substance in the McKay’s take on restlessness and its reasons.

Hello… Sleep?

Certainly, there are any number of physical and psychological causes for jumbled thoughts and poor concentration. Medications, caffeine, our emotions… these all come into play.

And finding myself still in the mood to mentally meander four avenues today (though I will restrict myself to two), I can’t ignore the importance of 40 winks or its absence.

When we’re tired, isn’t it harder to manage our competing thoughts and concerns? If we’re overworked, distracted, or perpetually stressed, isn’t it harder to focus?

As one who struggles with sleeping issues (though I’ve been sleeping superbly of late), I’m fully aware that I filter noise, words, and ideas far better on six or seven hours of zzzzs than I do on four. I also realize that we are generally calmer and more disciplined in all ways when the body is properly fed, and when the environment in which we’re working (or thinking) is comfortable.

We could also look to our cultural propensity for multitasking – and glorifying it. When the restless mind seems to be taking over, it just may be time to close three apps, minimize five windows, and set aside the smartphone. We may even choose the tactile satisfaction of picking up a pen and paper in order to productively “single thread.”

 

You May Also Enjoy

  • Multitasking Mania?
  • Decisions, Decisions
  • Environmental Education
  • How to Concentrate When You’re All Over the Map

 

FacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmailFacebooktwitterpinterestlinkedinmail

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: emotions, moods, psychology, sleep deprivation, well being, work, work life

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Us

FacebooktwitterrssinstagramFacebooktwitterrssinstagram

Search Daily Plate of Crazy

Subscribe for Your Daily Serving

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Categories

Archives

Recent Comments

  • Anonymous on Does Effort Matter If You Don’t Get Results?
  • D. A. Wolf on Mantras
  • D. A. Wolf on Over 50, Unemployed, Depressed and Powerless
  • Marty on When You Marry a Loner
  • Tina on Would You Brag About Your Age?
  • Sal on Over 50, Unemployed, Depressed and Powerless
  • Open More Doors If You Want More Skills - 3 Plus International on Open More Doors If You Want More Skills
  • Leonora C on Over 50, Unemployed, Depressed and Powerless
  • Maree on Mantras
  • kate on DON’T Call Me Dear!
  • Stephanie on Narcissism. Manipulation. Keeping Score.
  • S on When a Couple Wants Different Things

The Makeover Series

Daily Plate of Crazy: The Makeover Series

Essays From Guest Writers

Daily Plate of Crazy: Essay Series

Daily Reads

Daily Plate of Crazy Blogroll

Follow

Follow

Notices

All content on this site, DailyPlateOfCrazy.com, is copyrighted by D. A. Wolf unless copyright is otherwise attributed to guest writers. Do not use, borrow, repost or create derivative works without permission.

© D. A. Wolf 2009-2025. All Rights Reserved.

Parlez-vous francais?

Daily Plate of Crazy: En Français

© D. A. Wolf 2009-2025
All Rights Reserved

Daily Plate of Crazy ™

Privacy Notice

Popular This Month

  • 50 Years old and Starting Over
  • Best Places to Live When You're Over 50 and Reinventing
  • When the Person You Love Is Emotionally Unavailable
  • When a Couple Wants Different Things
  • How to Comfort Someone Who Is Stressed

Food for Thought

  • Why I Choose to Think Like a Man
  • When You Marry a Loner
  • Emotionally Needy Parents
  • Sex vs. Lovemaking: Why Are We So Confused?
  • Think Looks Don't Pay?
  • Rebranding Mediocrity: Why Good Enough Isn't Good Enough

Copyright © 2025 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This site uses cookies for the best browsing experience. By continuing to use this site, you accept our Cookie Policy.
Cookie SettingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT