Too much to process.

I'm on the same boat, I am unable to process massive amounts of information, I start getting paranoid and get anxiety attacks, I would not really know the reason though, but I think this is a common introverted thing, us introverts naturally need time to stop and think for a while so we can process our information..but I could be wrong..

 

I prefer to take my time on things, too.

 

As others have said, you take in alot of information. This is the nature of higher level Ni. Whether you like it or not, it is going to pull in as much information as possible. Ni wants everything to be interconnected, and it wants there to be a reason to it all. The thing is, Ni takes an aweful lot of mental power for it to work. I wonder if it is even possible for Ni to work while taking something in. It needs to have isolation for things to be processed. Think of it as a one lane bridge. The traffic lights at the end have to signal to allow cars to go one way or another.

Lack of Ne or Se can make the need for processing higher. The upshot is things tend to be thurough. The downshot is things are slow, and outsiders will see this as inefficent.

 

All I can say is that I tend to be the same way. Thank you for making this thread.. reading your situation and the others input helps to shed some light on it all.

 

Do you compartmentalize information for later analysis, or do you try to tackle it all at once?

 

Yes, big question.

 

This is me, to the letter.

I have the same problem. Maybe daunting, but with help, IT CAN BE DONE! However big a task it seems.

 

This was a problem I came across during college

I kept getting lectured by my teachers to "just do the work" to learn the new concepts in class
but I had such a hard time.. I felt it was worth nothing being there, if I didn't put *myself* in my work. I didn't want to do work for work's sake. I needed to actually grow and the only way was to do the work in a way that had the most meaning for me. Otherwise it was a waste of time...

So, most of my classes became meaningless.. I would do the assignments the last minute while I spent most of my time working on more important things. The problem became that, it was impossible to do them at the last minute because they were so time intensive. Those classes were not part of my priority but I went through them because they were part of the program. And just having them were burdens, they kept me worrying, how much time do I have left to do what I want? I would be thinking. Plus there was an issue of perfection involved.
It was hell, and after graduation I wouldn't do that to myself again. I only take the most important things, which is usually 1 or 2.

I think it's part of being efficient.....
You take time to figure out what's really needed, and you cut everything out...
You are consistently looking at the past and possible future... weighing what is the best to do
You're really an energy-saver.

 

+1

That do your way when you have time. Our cultures are somehow put quick responses as good responses. But, it's not important, important is that you take as much time as you need to process.
I realised that I can "buy" time. I was lame in acting immediatly and people around me would usually take that fact as proof of my weakness or lability. Now, I buy time by simply saying "Ok, I'll think about that" or something like that. Or I am being neutral untill I do my thinking at peace.
I don't know if I helped you, but I know exactly that feeling of being pushed to act. Yes, anxiety attack also. But, think of processing as of your right. Computers also need time

 

I think this is a standard response for INFJ. We take in info, go somewhere and process it, and then come back later. I seem to remember reading that on an INFJ Career site.

I'm the same way. I hate having to instantly respond unless there's actually a standard response.

 

My suspicion is it's primarily the introversion. It may manifest somewhat differently with different forms of dominant introversion, but I suspect all introverts struggle with processing immediately actionable information.

I tend to be able to fairly quickly see a summary outline of how things need to get broken down and handled, but where I struggle is with immediately then producing a synthesized summary analysis of a situation. It's like I have slow moving mechanics in my brain that first have to remember where all the components of the topic being raised are located in mind and then grind heavy gears to get there. Once in place, it has to sift through all the accessible information to evaluate and synthesize each piece before composing a best summary of it's essence. That doesn't happen quickly.

I can give summary analysis, but it takes time and sometimes it contains more complexities than people express wanting to deal with. However the situations usually are complex and wishing it were more simple doesn't make it so. To be fair, I think sometimes things can be boiled down to an essence that contains deep complexity in a simple expression, but that is not easily arrived at when someone stops by out of the blue and says, "So how are we going to handle X?"

Addendum:

I've just realized I can come very quickly to answers. I have to have quiet and space to draw in my inner wisdom and then there is an answer. It's almost always right. I think the process I described above might be me by-passing my dominant functions and drawing on Ti for more socially acceptable and explainable answers. I think my more dominant function just knows when I give it a little quiet space and a podium to speak.

 

I can relate to this. The biggest issue are arbitrary, random types of details that don't form any kind of pattern. I tend to live in a state of mild anxiety because I just know I'm going to forget something.

This can become much worst if you are processing internal things about yourself or relationships. That happened to me a couple of years ago when I was going through a divorce. I had started a counseling program at school and while the subject matter wasn't hard and I wished they would go into 10X the depth in the theories and philosophies, but what messed me up were the myriad of logistical details. Each class had a different process for submitting assignments, you had to schedule and set up interviews and observations all over town, the room numbers in the building were somewhat erratic, etc. It was like a nightmare to be in this constant state of flux and confusion over pithy details. I actually couldn't keep up and felt continually lost. The personal distraction clinched it for me, but external details would have caused stress and expended a lot of energy regardless.

If everything isn't written down I will not remember when one person is scheduled to meet me or what I need to buy at the store. It's a weird feeling to feel so memory deficient over the types of details that make up the bulk of living. I started writing everything down in a single notebook whether it was a phone message, something I had to pick up at the store, and would cross each thing off as I did it. It does create a horrible underlying anxiety to get easily lost in one's mind because the external consequences come no matter what.

I think I have heard of other INFJs dealing with this sort of stress.

 

[FONT=&quot]Hmm I’m the same way. But if pressed,(And I often am) I can perform on the spot. My preference is to have time to think. Hence my infamous line to people during times of stress “I’m going for a walk to think” I don’t know what I’d do without solitary walks and long hot baths. I’d probably be insane, I’d wager. But I’m very good at thinking on the spot if I can’t escape to process. It’s just out of my comfort zone[/FONT]

 

I think this statement requires some deep reflection.

How much of your analysis do you think is truly beneficial and how much of it do you think is simply overhead that could be done away with?


Jana mentioned computers needing time to process, that is good. Remember, computers work within the means of how they were programmed, not how others expect them to work!

 

That's a good way of putting it. Never thought about that.