Busy or Inefficient?

So, now that I have a job that I actually like, I am less inclined to while away the hours at work updating my blog. I can't really say that I am all that busy, although I certainly feel busy. But, I think it's more likely that I am not all that efficient with my time these days. My hope is to be back visiting all of your blogs soon. Since I haven't visited you all in so long, I feel so alone.

For the last couple of weeks I have been in a hypomanic state and such a mental status makes me mighty lofty. I don't sit down long enough to read anything longer than a sentence or two. But, this week feels quite a bit different. I am on my way back down. I miss my friends in the computer and am no longer enjoying the same work-related high.

Last week, I did some research for an attorney concerning the theory of learned helplessness. I was astonished at what I found, even though, the research falls in line with my intuition. Many of the relevant studies indicate that once a person or animal experiences repeated environmental stressors that are beyond their control, that person or animal will inevitably give up on everything. The subject learns through past experience that nothing they do can prevent bad things from happening. Then, that subject simply stops trying to change their circumstances. So a rat that is subjected to repeated shocks that they cannot avoid (compared to a rat who can stop the shocks by pressing a bar), eventually lies down in its cage refusing to eat, drink, or move.

I really don't want to be that rat, but sometimes I think it happens anyway.