psych-facts:

It is easier not to write than to write. Writing is an intense activity that requires us to look inside ourselves, to concentrate, and to make a commitment of what we think and feel. To what extent do you find yourself reflected in statements like these? All of these statements reveal some reluctance or resistance, some fear or frustration, some insecurity or self-delusion. Most of these writers also feel that their egos are at stake.

• Blank-paper paralysis. “When I look at a blank piece of paper, all I can think about is that I can’t write what I think in a way that will do me or the reader any good. It’s a defense mechanism.”
• Anxiety. “I spend time fidgeting and twitching nervously before actually struggling with a rough draft. I get anxious because my main desire is to think of a good opening statement that will inspire me and help me go on with the piece.”
• Procrastination. ”I got up this morning thinking that I would write after breakfast. Then I noticed how dirty the kitchen floor looked. I couldn’t stand that, so I got out the bucket and mop. Then I decided it was time to clean out my closet. After a whole day of puttering, I’m now sitting at my desk waiting for the pressure to build.”
• Defeatism. ”When I have to write a paper, I receive the first signal of distress, a physical reaction in my neck right under the jawline. First I feel hopeless, then I feel inadequate, and, finally, I get to a stage of catatonic resignation. When I’m in the third of these mental states, I decide that nothing will be lost if I try to begin because I am already defeated.”
• Perfectionism. “In everything I’ve undertaken, I’ve tried to be the best, number 1, not some clod who gets trapped in the average. I’ve always tried to put forth the effort it takes to be an example for others, I strive for utter perfection in writing.”
• Gamesmanship. “I use a method of looking at the clock and saying, ‘I’ll start in five minutes’ or ‘At a quarter after, no more fooling around.’ The trick is that when I check the time, if it is past the designated mark, say 16 minutes after instead of 15, I figure that section of time is blown and wait for the next half-hour. The game can be played almost endlessly until guilt finally takes over.”
• Ritualism. “To write, I have to have a quiet room with no distractions such as music. It has to have enough lighting to keep me from squinting at anything in the corners of the room - I have to have at least two or three lights on around me. The chair must be fairly straight-backed but have a soft seat - an armchair puts me to sleep and a hard seat makes me squirm. I clear the table of all encumbrances except the paper. My best time for writing is between dinner and midnight.”
• Struggling. “My writing is a long struggling process. It does not come naturally. I know the only way I’m going to improve my writing is to make myself write.”

(Source: titotito)

psych-facts:

1. Our brains create dreams through random electrical activity. About every 90 minutes, the brain stem sends electrical impulses and the analytic portion of the brain tries to make sense of these signals. 

2. Some dreams are meaningful as they give us insight into ourselves. Dreams help us connect to our unconscious mind and make sense of our wishes and fears. Dreams help us  make sense of our past, present and future by getting us in tune with our emotions. 

3.  Even though we can dream at any time of our sleep, we are most likely to dream during REM sleep. 

4. We can sometimes control our dream through what is called ‘lucid dreaming.’ Some people can train themselves to do this such as keeping a journal of their dreams and mind training. 

5. Some researchers believe that lucid dream helps us cope with grief and developing creativity. 

6. Despite how attractive it might be to learn to lucid dream, lucid dream can cause sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is when you are awake, but your body is still not able to move. Sleep paralysis is sometimes developed from trying to lucid dream because we are playing on the edge between wakefulness and dreaming. 

7. Lucid dreaming is not the same as out of body experience (OBE). In lucid dreaming, one is dreaming and is aware that one is in a dream. But in OBE, the person may not necessarily be dreaming. Furthermore, OBE is when you are outside your body and you can see your body lying somewhere (lucid dreaming isn’t about being outside your body). 

8. As mention earlier, most of our dreams occur during deep sleep. This is often during the REM stage of sleep, where our brain most resemble wakefulness. 

9. During our dreams, information from the day are being transferred from short to long term memory. 

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