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My surgeon used a polysyllabic word yesterday that I figured from context meant something like:
dwelling [perhaps on negative outcomes]
or thinking about something too much--perhaps obsessively
picking something to pieces mentally
His polysyllabic word sounded something like preseverate--but maybe only in a couple of syllables.
The context was I described to him how very worried I am that I'll ever fully recover my musical performance capacity since I have a plate in my arm--I notice every single nuance of what I cannot do. And he told me several tines to stop ____________________________ing.
I can't find his unusual word. Can you figure it out?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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perseverating
Definition: [v] psychology: repeat a response after the cessation of the original stimulus; "The subjects in this study perseverated"
Obsessing would also have been appropriate. Ignore it as
much as you can.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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You hsould get a second opinion :).
Here it is. Bill's right.
But beyond that, this is a typical surgeon. In the main I dislike them as a class except for the guy who removed my brain tumor (coincidentally) six years ago today. Why would a person use a word like that when talking to laity?
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Ah, I do like this surgeon a great deal. But I don't quite understand the definition, Dr. Bill. To repeat a response? What am I repeating here with my anxiety over nuances--and large factors, too, such as current inability to turn my hand back around to grasp the neck of a violin?
Could you give me a concrete example of perseveration? Thanks!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear WW: If you are having pain or limitation of motion when you try to grasp violin neck, it may be that you
have some adhesions limiting rotation of radius about the
ulna. Ask your surgeon about the desirability of some
physiotherapy for that.
He shouldn't call that "perseveration", which would mean
presistence in complaining of pain from a cause no longer
present. The bad news is that you are likely to have a lot
of discomfort before the degree of rotation you need comes
back. You have to keep trying to regain the motion, and not
let any adhesions, if that is indeed the problem, become
strengthened. It will take a lot of courage on your part.
Don't let the surgeon bully you. That "perseveration" was
a putdown. Bill
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What am I repeating here with my anxiety over nuances--and large factors, too
I don't have Dr. Bill's know-how, Wordwind, but I think it's a 'once bitten, twice shy' kind of response.
When we experience something traumatic, we become instantly programed beneath the level of consciousness to fear it.
Some time ago I read that visual stimuli travel thru 2 separate pathways, one pathway leads to an 'emotional' center in the so-called reptilian brain, and the other pathway leads to the cerebral center which processes information from the eyes.
The pathway to the eyes is somewhat longer. This is why irrational phobias, precipitated by a traumatic event, are so hard to erase.
The traumatic visual signal triggers an emotional response before the brain has a chance to deduce that the emotional response is irrational.
By the time the brain makes up its mind, the 'screech!' is already out of the bag.
This is why equestrians say if you are thrown from a horse, you must get right back on immediately. If you don't, you will perseverate endlessly about it, and you may never have the courage to mount a horse again.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I ran into an old friend who has ridden horses all his life. He told me he was thrown from a horse he had never ridden before and people rushed to his aid as he lay dazed on the ground.
He declined their assistance and immediately climbed back on the horse, knowing that if he didn't, he might never ride again. Even so, he said he was rattled by the experience for many months afterwards.
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For a gnat, you gave a good example of perseveration.
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For a gnat, you gave a good example of perseveration.Gnats have been thrown for a loop a lot more often than equestrians, wwh ... which is surprising perhaps because we often ride together. We don't perseverate about it, however. We just count it as a 'near miss'. 
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We just count it as a 'near miss'.Perhaps an explanation is in order, Dr. Bill: A gnat has no time for fear
The next "swat" is always so near
If he stops to exclaim
"I've survived yet again!"
The next "swat" is the last "swat" he'll hear.
A gnat just gets on with business
You might ask what business it is
Of his to make trouble
His efforts redoubled
But a gnat just gets on with business.
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For a gnat, you gave a good example
That really shouldn't surprise anyone, Dr. Bill.
Allow me to explain:
Gnats are smarter than people
They have no fear which can cripple
Their response to peril
Or marrow
Ergo, gnats are smarter than people.
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