Does anybody else intentionally avert their eyes from things in life that they find overwhelming/can't be bothered with?

[TheManIllNeverBe]

Like the title says. I have a million things that I will obsess about if I look at them. My lawn that won't stop growing but that I find it difficult to get out and mow. I mean, I'm barely showering 1x / week right now... getting out and doing yard work for a couple of hours? Fuck that! So I avoid looking out the windows so I don't see it and it's not eating away at me. Same with things that are broken around the house. Trim that's rotting and needs paint/replaced? Don't look at it when I'm pulling the car into the yard. There are literally dozens of things in my life that I have this reaction to right now, and it's been going on to some extent or another for years. It's gotten to the point where I feel like this behavior is actually contributing to my brain fog, because there's a "fuzziness" around what I'm intentionally blocking out. Almost as if I'm intentionally ignoring what's in the periphery of my vision. Is this a form of dissociation? Can anybody else relate?

I feel like it's the part of myself that used to be functional fighting with the part of me that no longer is, and they can't come to an agreement.

 

[jodes2]

I can relate. I close the curtains so I don't have to look outside and think about the lawn that needs mowing, or generally about the outside which makes me anxious. I shove away papers just so I don't need to look at them.

 

[whywere]

In a simple word, yes. I am 66, reference point for this post, and I have learned through the years to not look, not hear and not think when certain things come up or get in my presence.

Most, if not all, the time whatever it is I can/could do nothing about it, but have it become a backpack full of rocks weighing me down with no benefit at all.

Every human is unique upon themselves, but for me at least it is a form of protection for my mental health.

There are the cases like hoarders or the like where something gets way out of control, but having my eyes, ears and mind not having to deal with certain things is fine with me.

Walter

 

[Cathy Ames]

Yes.

 

[FuneralCry]

I guess that it makes sense to do that as the less aware of something you are, the less that it will bother you. Having too much awareness just leads to more suffering. Unfortunately I can never seem to ignore the things that I find overwhelming. There is no escape from my thoughts as long as I exist.

 

[theboy]

Sometimes

 

[befandbored]

Increasingly. Struggle to open post. Don't listen to voicemail. Don't watch news. Don't make plans.

 

[wljourney]

Absolutely.

Avoidance is a fairly normal reaction to negative things.
It keeps us safe from harm, avoidance means we are staying away from danger (or things that make us feel bad).

It becomes a problem when avoidance leads to further harm though.
That's what many of us struggle with. Especially when it comes to self-care and when we avoid doing things that would be helpful to us. Paying bills, showering, taking out the garbage, making dinner.

When people get overwhelmed it's often easier to "close the curtains", it's a form of self-protection.