Ever had an Overactive mind that’s prone to bad choices. Daniel Doggett, a creative, shares how his mind has often led him to make questionable decisions.
Having an overactive mind that’s prone to bad choices has proven to do me rather well creatively. Mainly because all of the daft stuff that it’s led me to do which gave me plenty to write about. Other than that, all it’s really done is cause me a lot of grief.
Just last night, I had to exercise the lacking amount of self-control I have to stop myself doing something that I’m guessing most people probably wouldn’t even have thought of. My sleeping pattern has been a mess in recent weeks (it has never been good). So yesterday I decided to take action. I convinced my Dad to come to the pub, knowing we’d get reasonably drunk, and be tucked in bed by 10. In my head, alcohol is a fail-safe idea. It gets my sleeping pattern back on track. As I had predicted, I was in for 21:00, wrapped up all warm and snug in a duvet cocoon. I was excited and content to finally get a decent night’s sleep.
As the months roll into winter, the UK is living in perpetual darkness, making it near impossible to determine the time without a watch or a phone. Neither of which I currently have, as I lost them at the weekend when a few drinks turned into watching a drag show, my cousin spiked, her boyfriend throwing up in the back of the taxi, and me, wetting the bed. Again.
So I’m under the false impression that it’s nearing dawn. Chuffed with myself, I begin my morning routine of rolling a cigarette (although admittedly it usually takes place late afternoon). Smoking it with content, I watch my hand shake uncontrollably. I should probably check with the doctor, but I know that I won’t. I turn to check the kitchen clock and I see it’s only midnight. My slumber had been more like a three-hour nap. I’m fuming.
After another three or four hours getting increasingly irritated while I toss and turn in bed, as alert and awake as I have ever been, I put my energy into conjuring ideas on how best to knock myself out. I play with the idea of drinking more booze, but there’s a shortage of alcohol in the house. One tinny of Carling isn’t going to do much other than raise concern amongst my parents, as to why I’m drinking alone in the middle of the pitch-black night in utter silence.
Then I consider taking one of my mum’s heavy painkillers. She has severe chronic back pain and severed nerves, and her pills seem to knock her out for a few hours. As the hours roll on, this becomes more and more of an appealing solution… but then logic comes into play and I realise:
- She keeps her medication in her bedside table, and she’s an incredibly light sleeper.
- She will almost certainly notice that one of her tablets has gone missing. And as my Dad has pharmacophobia (meaning a phobia of medication, a term which I just googled). She’ll know it was me.
- I have a somewhat addictive personality, and I’d most likely make a habit out of it. I’d become a subscription drug addict, without the subscription.
I looked up across my room to see the inflatable Jesus which I had drunkenly kidnapped from my supervisor’s house after she had a house party in the summer a few months back but never returned, despite promising I would.
Others could have interpreted this as a sign, but I’m not religious. I don’t care for God. But it did convince me not to steal my mum’s medication and run the risk of subsequently becoming an addict. So instead I went for another cigarette and a glass of milk. Also, I opted to watch “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia“, a show which I have been binge-watching for several months now. As a result know almost every one of its 124 episodes’ word for word. A fact that I’m both proud and ashamed of. I toyed with the idea of huffing glue and eating cat food like Charlie and Frank do in the show.
Then I remembered I’m vegetarian. I don’t know what glues are huff-able and it also seemed kind of gross.
I decided to start work on the play I’m currently developing. Though not after playing with my cat in my mum’s room while she gets ready for work. Followed by creating a new family on Sims 3 and using the ‘motherlode’ cheat to make them millionaires. And then my laptop crashing. I figured that if I’m going to be a night owl, I might as well use the time productively. Rather than lying in bed and twiddling my thumbs all night thinking of ridiculous plans’ and scenarios. I finally crash at around mid-day while watching Home Alone. Finally, I got a few hours’ kip in till I was woken by a delivery man, who’s come to drop off my insurance phone.
In just one insignificant night, I learned two valuable lessons:
- Firstly, that it’s probably never a good idea to steal your mum’s incredibly strong painkillers.
- Secondly, that being productive is a lot more gratifying than using cheats to make your Sims rich.
Despite saying that he’s got an overactive mind that’s prone to bad choices, Dan has found success in the creative industry. Working on his scripts, and collaborating with directors and actors, Daniel completed his Bronze Arts Award at Cornerhouse. In addition, he has also collaborated with us on media projects this year. A related story, Kimmy Walker has shared her experiences with eating disorders.
