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Most of us have heard of Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, a serious condition that affects people during the winter months and can result in severe depression. In an article published in The Globe and Mail in summer 2005, career advice columnist Wallace Immen identified SAD's (humorous) summertime counterpart: Seasonal Distractive Disorder, a condition that causes one's productivity to drop when the sun is shining (and one is stuck at work). We've discovered a few more workplace-related conditions. Here are the first four: • Pre-Vacation
Fugue State – Like a traditional
fugue state, in this condition, an individual suddenly
abandons a present activity or lifestyle and starts
a new one for a period of time. Typical onset is
several days prior to vacation, during which time
sufferers abandon their regular work, and spend their
time in a fog of obsessive minutia, trying to do
laundry, pack, obtain toiletries, ensure that the
dog is booked at the kennel, arrange for transport
to the airport, exchange currency, confirm flights,
etc. In rare instances where the individual engages
in work activity, s/he is semi-functional, existing
in a dreamlike state of altered consciousness, obsessed
with fantasies about the upcoming trip.
• Post-Vacation
Misplaced Mind Syndrome – This disorder
is also known as Post-Vacation Fugue State. In this
condition, individuals are in a dreamlike state,
brought on by exhaustion (perhaps exacerbated by
jetlag) and overindulgence of every variety, and
plagued by recurring visions (and sometimes hallucinations)
of the recent vacation.
• Post-Vacation
Grief – This condition has five
stages: Denial (that the vacation is over); Anger
(that the vacation is over); Bargaining (that maybe
if you call in sick for just one day, the vacation
isn't really over); Depression (because the vacation
really is over); Acceptance (as you stand
crushed in the subway car, or stuck in commuter traffic,
that the vacation really is over).
• Other Day of
the Long Weekend Tunnel Vision –
This rare visual disorder occurs only a few times
each year (e.g., the Friday of the Labor Day weekend).
During this day, individuals typically find that
they can only see fanciful visions of other places
and times, particularly those of the immediate past
or future. Sufferers also report that time slows
down. (NB: Some scientists suggest that this is an
anomaly of the physics and/or the time-space continuum,
rather than of the mind.) Also see: Newly Discovered Disorders – Part 2 and Newly Discovered Disorders – Part 3. Discuss This ArticleHave something you'd like to say? Tell us what you think! Read and post comments for this article. Like this article? Read more! Browse our archive of 1,108 articles. Also, see our master index of all MedHunters articles! Find a JobChoose your career: MedHunters is the world's biggest healthcare job board. Our job directory has 18,201 jobs with 2,536 hospitals and other direct employers. We want you to find your next job on MedHunters. Need Help? Call us at 1-888-884-8242, email us at info@medhunters.com or sign up now. Have an article or story for MedHunters? Email us today at submissions@medhunters.com. |
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