Are you good at compartalizing and many different aspects of your life

low-key

14001, 60056, 224
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
I try to keep the core me, but so many issues, you cant be dwelling on one and let it effect all of the others, But anyway Im good at it, but sometimes they bleed over
 
Nope, everything runs together into one anxiety-ridden lake in my life. I'm sometimes a complete mess and dwell on everything, what someone said to me, what minor embarrassing thing I still remember from thirty years ago that still has the power to make me cringe, etc. I know it's the mental illness talking, but sometimes I let it get to me and take over.
 


Not really. I am who I am. I can't turn off real life while I am at work. More than once you will have found me with tears in my eyes because a song will come on the radio that hits too close to home.
 
At work everything personal stays home.

At home everything from work comes home. My husband works at the same place. It makes it hard to leave work at work.
 


Yes, I am very good at this. When I start work, I can fully concentrate on work. When I stop working, I stop thinking about it. When I am with someone, I focus on them. When I am at home, I worry about home stuff.

The only time this doesn't work is 3am when I am awake thinking about all of it.

Compartmentalizing has hurt DH and I's marriage from time to time. He is much more emotional than I am and lets his emotions take over. I don't understand this - if you are being paid to do a job (work) than do your work and worry about the other stuff later. He thinks this makes me seem unloving and uncaring. I try to tell him that yes, I do care, but I if one part of my life is going to c**p I'm not going to just sit back and let the rest of it! I will deal with the problem when I can fully concentrate on it.
 
It depends.

I think most of the time, actually (surprisingly!), I can.

I am a sensitive person, but I'm also able to compose myself & do what I need to do when I need to do it.

I'm a stay-at-home mom now, but, when I worked, I was 100% there & was able to put personal things aside. However, I admit - the reverse was harder for me, & I'd often come home w/ work and/or come home w/ my frustrations & anxieties around work.

Now, even though I'm no longer employed, if I'm working on a project or doing something related to school or one of my volunteer positions, I'm still able to put aside personal and/or home issues & focus on what I'm doing, if that makes sense.

I spoke at my grandfather's funeral & did so by telling myself as I walked up to the podium, "Right now, you're a speaker telling everyone about your grandfather. You're not a granddaughter right now - You're the speaker."

The day of my father-in-law's visitation & 2 days after he passed away, I taught my class at our co-op because I knew they were depending on me & it'd be hard to get a sub. And, for that morning, I just put my father-in-law's passing & all the associated family stuff to the side & taught the class.

Years ago, I played volleyball in high school. Our coach was also the high school math teacher, & she was a sort of mentor for me. She lived a very disciplined, organized, no nonsense kind of life & had a certain standard of behavior she expected from herself & her students. I remember once, towards the end of a very high-stakes volleyball game, during our last time-out, she told the team, "No matter what happens. We are not emotional bubbles" meaning, if we won, we'd be gracious winners &, if we lost, we'd be gracious losers & conduct ourselves properly.

Over the years, that's stuck w/ me.

I am a worrier & over-analyze frequently, & I also have anxiety. But there's definitely an "on" me who can act & do accordingly & then the person I am when I'm not "on".
 
I never take my home life to work.

I used to take work stress home but now I made a rule I can only stress on the commute home. Once I open my front door my work stress needs to leave. Hard to do but my life is so much better because if it.
 
I am trying to get to the point where I can compartmentalize my life but it isn't easy. I am trying mindfulness and meditation. I try to leave work stuff at work once I close the door to the building to go home. But, if it was a bad day, it is hard. I worry too much so I have to try to stay in the moment and only deal with what is happening now.
 
oh GOD no!! As soon as the work week starts its all blah, blah anxiety and misery. And that has affected my health in a negative way too. And then I just get down right &*(^ at home sometimes. I am the most relaxed and happy by FRI night and all day Sat, and come Sun am, I get the work week anxiety started. It's SUN pm right now, when I go to bed, I expect to just lay there while my head spins. btw, I am thinking of retiring.
 
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No. If I'm worried about something at work, that doesn't end when I get home. Same for the stuff at home--if I'm anxious about an upcoming doctor's appointment I think about it a lot while I'm working. Been having a lot of that lately. I make an effort to let stuff go when I'm trying to have some quality time with my kids, but I'm not always good at it.
 
Those of us (including me) who are prone to anxiety and worriers by nature can find it really difficult to compartmentalize. If something is on my mind, its on my mind, and there's not much that will take my mind off it until its resolved somehow. So while I may not be able to compartmentalize, I can multi-task and have learned how to function with things weighing on me.
 
Those of us (including me) who are prone to anxiety and worriers by nature can find it really difficult to compartmentalize. If something is on my mind, its on my mind, and there's not much that will take my mind off it until its resolved somehow. So while I may not be able to compartmentalize, I can multi-task and have learned how to function with things weighing on me.
I think for most of us it’s really a matter of doing this. Can anyone ever totally “turn off” a serious, pressing issue or heartache? I’m not a worrier and don’t suffer from any type of clinical depression or anxiety but still, my life is one big thing, not a series of separate, small things. I deal with it all, minute by minute, according to whichever priority is most pressing, but the rest of it never entirely leaves me.
 
Sometimes I'm a little too good at it. When I'm in one area of my life, I tend to forget about the others (like if I was supposed to make a home-related call on my lunch break at work).
 
It depends.

I think most of the time, actually (surprisingly!), I can.

I am a sensitive person, but I'm also able to compose myself & do what I need to do when I need to do it.

I'm a stay-at-home mom now, but, when I worked, I was 100% there & was able to put personal things aside. However, I admit - the reverse was harder for me, & I'd often come home w/ work and/or come home w/ my frustrations & anxieties around work.

Now, even though I'm no longer employed, if I'm working on a project or doing something related to school or one of my volunteer positions, I'm still able to put aside personal and/or home issues & focus on what I'm doing, if that makes sense.

I spoke at my grandfather's funeral & did so by telling myself as I walked up to the podium, "Right now, you're a speaker telling everyone about your grandfather. You're not a granddaughter right now - You're the speaker."

The day of my father-in-law's visitation & 2 days after he passed away, I taught my class at our co-op because I knew they were depending on me & it'd be hard to get a sub. And, for that morning, I just put my father-in-law's passing & all the associated family stuff to the side & taught the class.

Years ago, I played volleyball in high school. Our coach was also the high school math teacher, & she was a sort of mentor for me. She lived a very disciplined, organized, no nonsense kind of life & had a certain standard of behavior she expected from herself & her students. I remember once, towards the end of a very high-stakes volleyball game, during our last time-out, she told the team, "No matter what happens. We are not emotional bubbles" meaning, if we won, we'd be gracious winners &, if we lost, we'd be gracious losers & conduct ourselves properly.

Over the years, that's stuck w/ me.

I am a worrier & over-analyze frequently, & I also have anxiety. But there's definitely an "on" me who can act & do accordingly & then the person I am when I'm not "on".

You said it so much better than I did, but yes - I am 100% the same.
 
I'm a great compartmentalizer. My BFF of 40 years tells me I think like a man.

When my DS was diagnosed with leukemia, I didn't break down. It was time to listen, learn and plan our attack. I broke down later, when I was away from everyone.

I'm the person who talks everyone up. My motto is, "you can't worry about what is." It just makes you sick if you do. You need to take everything in its time and handle it. You can't take it all on at once.

It works for me.

My Mom has told me that she's amazed that nothing ever seems to bother me or get me down. I tell her that I do feel low sometimes. I just plan time for it when I'm away from others. No one wants to be around someone who is sad all the time. Why show that card to others?
 
You said it so much better than I did, but yes - I am 100% the same.

It just took me a thousand words to say it, as usual!! But I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!

I'm a great compartmentalizer. My BFF of 40 years tells me I think like a man.

When my DS was diagnosed with leukemia, I didn't break down. It was time to listen, learn and plan our attack. I broke down later, when I was away from everyone.

I'm the person who talks everyone up. My motto is, "you can't worry about what is." It just makes you sick if you do. You need to take everything in its time and handle it. You can't take it all on at once.

It works for me.

My Mom has told me that she's amazed that nothing ever seems to bother me or get me down. I tell her that I do feel low sometimes. I just plan time for it when I'm away from others. No one wants to be around someone who is sad all the time. Why show that card to others?

This is sort of the way I am as well.

I feel emotion, & I feel strongly. I get sad & depressed. I'm very sensitive & empathetic. I just wait until I'm by myself to let myself feel those things & process my emotions. And I will fall apart when I'm by myself.

If there's something I need to or something that needs my focus & attention, I'm able to compartmentalize my feelings.

There have been 2 times in my recent adult life where I was not able to accomplish that though:

When our younger son was about 3, I thought he had gotten lost or kidnapped during a huge community yard sale thing. While everyone around me, including strangers, was scurrying around trying to find him, I was frozen. I remember having my phone in my hand, trying to decide if I needed to call the police or my husband first, and I couldn't even remember how to use my phone to call anyone. (Thankfully, he was found under a table - he'd been playing hide-and-seek.)

Fast-forward about 2 years, & the same son fell off a couch backward onto a tile floor. When the ER doctor told us that the x-ray showed a small crack in his skull, I absolutely fell apart. And, thankfully, he is completely fine now.

But I think I have PTSD from both events. LOL!
 

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