Workin' with OCD.

So I'm a little OCD. I've never been diagnosed but when, as a young child, you realize that if you take an odd number of steps within one of the square blocks of the sidewalk that you have a small panic attack you kind of put two and two together.


In order to operate with the numerous psychoses I have without resorting to taking a truckload of pills everyday, I've taught myself the most basic of coping mechanisms. Ignoring shit. As the bible says, the heart is treacherous, and therefore a lot of effort is, and should be, put towards ignoring all the little, pointless feelings and urges you get through out the day. Wanting cake at 9:30pm, feeling jealous when you see a girl you are totally not dating or trying to talking to another guy, the urge to punch your boss in the face... these are all feelings that everyone has that are only made 1000 times worse when you find it easy to obsess over things or worse, have panic attacks when you don't follow through.

What does this have to do with art?

Well, in order to work efficiently I often have to find ways to completely block out any sort of stimuli which can distract me from working. Most notably is throwing on music to occupy one third of my brain, while another third usually focuses on a lot of random crap and the last bit- the focused, purposeful, conscious bit- focuses on my art. Often times I HAVE to do this or else I can go a full day without getting anything done. Not for lack of trying but because with OCD procrastination takes on an inhumanly great level of power. You never obsess over things you SHOULD... just the other stuff. This is to illustrate that sometimes the art of ignoring stuff comes not from sheer force of will but from tricking yourself into paying attention to something else more beneficial.

I realize that perhaps I haven't been using this technique enough. Sometimes ignoring shit is the technique needed for everyday life. Dealing with friends, family, finances, etc. If you're busy worrying about everyone and everything then it's hard to get the important things in your life dealt with because, well, your focus is elsewhere.
Just a thought I had and then had to write down because, well, I don't mind procrastinating so much at 8am when I'm stuck answering emails at a place I hate.

There's a day ahead of you. Have at it.

Cheers.