Restlessness:

Today, I am feeling restless. Not the kind of restless where you can't sit still, but more of a mental restlessness. I want to get in my car and drive away, never looking back. I have no idea where this feeling is coming from, either. Nothing new and/or big has happened. Maybe the tedium is getting to me. All I know, is I feel like I could cry at the drop of a hat. The same hat falling could also cause me to grab an overnight bag, some food and my dog and just take off for the weekend...

Maybe I have "modern neurasthenia". A few of the symptoms are being "plagued by a sense of 'unreality'" and feeling "shiftlessness, anxious, and restlessness." The author of a blog about modern neurasthenia says the following about what causes this unrecognized psycho-physical disorder:

"Neurasthenia is back for the same reason it plagued our forbearers; our expectations have not kept pace with changing technology and culture. Technology has leapfrogged ahead in the past couple of decades with the internet, cell phones, Twitter, Facebook, and Blackberries putting us in instant touch with anyone in the world. With Google maps we can virtually zoom anywhere on earth and a wealth of information is right at our fingertips.

Our lives are also saturated with media. We’ve been exposed to thousands of commercials, movies, and televisions shows. How many images have we absorbed of SUV’s powering to the edge of a cliff, awesome rooftop parties in LA, sweet Manhattan apartments miraculously rented by struggling 20-somethings, vacations on private islands, legendary road trips and so on. The images we consume are full of moments showcasing life at its most vital and extraordinary.

And so our minds are filled with the vast possibilities the world has to offer, and technology makes us feel that all these possibilities are just within our reach. But the realities of our lives really haven’t changed much. Many aspects of our lives have sped up and become easier, but lots of things haven’t. We can instantly chat with our friend in Argentina, but we’re no closer to instantly teleporting there. Tons of information is available on the web but it still takes just as long as it ever did to read and absorb it. We still need to get jobs and pay rent and work at our relationships."

The cure?

1) Figure out what you can do.
2) Figure out what you want to do.
3) Take small steps.

So, I guess the solution to my restlessness is to acknowledge what I can do, what I want to do and find a way to take small steps towards what I want. I think I'll also consult with God on this one. Restlessness usually means I'm not getting something I need out of life, and what better place to look for it than God.