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SUBJECT>Re: Staying focused
POSTER>Dreamer
EMAIL>abgale@earthlink.net
DATE>Monday, 24 January 2000, at 4:50 p.m.

Dear Carol,
A tough call. When I was younger, high-school, college, the start of a career in T.V. I was doing a million things at one time. Very fulfilling, yet I was a wreck. I've noticed over time I've been less and less able to handle so much "input".... I would hazard a guess that yes, many non-DPd people pack their lives with activities and they are not overstressed. I have a number of girlfriends from college who have kids, career, and a million other activities. They are extremely productive and suffer only the usual day to day stress non-DPd people have.

It's up to you to decide the best things to focus on. Maybe eliminate one activity and see if you feel less stressed. I would guess you would. Less stress for me means less DP or rather fewer bad DP episodes where I dip way down from my usual "regular" DP level. It's unfortunate but I do think being DPd means having a lower tolerance for input of any kind -- the more input/stress or activity can sometime take one's mind off the DP, but can also cause the DP to worsen.

I really hate feeling limited by it, but doing things at my own pace works best for me.

Best,
Dreamer