well ive hit a deadlock.. i got to 577 and started confusing all the kanji with each other.. ugh.. so ive stopped adding new kanji and im trying my best to work through it.. however im feeling very stressed out.. a few days ago my left eye started twitching uncontrollably (eye doctor said it was stress).. when i think of doing my kanji for the day it twitches more.. so i figure that might be the cause.. its very annoying especially because thats my good eye and its messing with my vision.. i can see the lower lid twitching away and its very distracting.. i cant sit and write many kanji because my hands will start to shake after about 30 or so kanji.. because of the stress ive stopped with my strict schedule that i had been on.. i dont think i could take the pressure.. ive been having trouble sleeping too.. even with my sleeping pills it takes me hours to fall asleep.. im sure the lack of sleep only worsens the stress..

im not sure what i should do to stop the stress.. i already tried taking a week off from the kanji but if i take off another week i wont finish by september.. the reason i want to finish by september is because im going to try and go to a college level class for japanese.. i want to be able to learn the vocab words in full kanji.. i really need to pass the course.. that one course costs as much as my whole semester's tuition at community college.. so im feeling extra stress from that..

how do you all deal with stress?

so far ive tried
*long baths
*taking a week off from kanji (this worsened the problem because when i started up again i felt worse.. and that was about the time my eye started twitching)
*going out to the movies and other fun things
*watching more tv
*exercizing (this caused my chronic pain to flare up bad and caused more stress)
*watching lots of comedy shows (this used to work well.. but not this time)


any ideas?

whatever you do, don't stop your daily reviews.

Last week my left eye had the twitch too. I didn't feel stressed out, but the eyelid wouldn't stop.. I guess I was a little concerned about finishing a few projects for school at the last minute :p

The twitch continued for at least 4 straight days.. It was quite annoying.


Really you just need to stop thinking about it. Don't go out of your way to 'look for a solution to the stress'. Just take it easy, without being so conscious that you're trying to give yourself a break. Don't stop reviewing the kanji, but it might be already to stop adding new ones for the time being. Then again, you could easily squeeze in 5-10 a day, even if you were super stressed, so why not?


Oh yeh, exercise is a great stress killer. During my eye twitching, I hadn't had a decent workout in over a week, though the day after I brought a close to my projects, I got a great workout in.. and it seems around that time the twitching stopped.

I'm surprised it didn't help you... But maybe once just isn't enough. Please exercise again soon. Really wear yourself out, then take a long nap.. You'll feel great!

cerulean Wrote:whatever you do, don't stop your daily reviews.

Last week my left eye had the twitch too. I didn't feel stressed out, but the eyelid wouldn't stop.. I guess I was a little concerned about finishing a few projects for school at the last minute :p

The twitch continued for at least 4 straight days.. It was quite annoying.


Really you just need to stop thinking about it. Don't go out of your way to 'look for a solution to the stress'. Just take it easy, without being so conscious that you're trying to give yourself a break. Don't stop reviewing the kanji, but it might be already to stop adding new ones for the time being. Then again, you could easily squeeze in 5-10 a day, even if you were super stressed, so why not?


Oh yeh, exercise is a great stress killer. During my eye twitching, I hadn't had a decent workout in over a week, though the day after I brought a close to my projects, I got a great workout in.. and it seems around that time the twitching stopped.

I'm surprised it didn't help you... But maybe once just isn't enough. Please exercise again soon. Really wear yourself out, then take a long nap.. You'll feel great!

its nice to know im not the only one who has experienced the eye twitch problem..
i have stopped adding new ones because after my week off i ended up with 242 failed kanji.. i think i should probably learn those before adding new ones.. well actually ill probably start adding new ones when im down to like 50 failed ones..

the thing about exercise.. im not actually supposed to do much.. im not supposed to run or jump or lift weights.. because of my chronic pain exercising for an hour can cause me to be bedridden for 2 days.. i once tried to lift a small A/C unit and injured myself so badly that i couldnt take a full breath or yawn for over a month.. my doctor actually scolded me like i was a child or something.. i would love to learn how to swim this summer but its too cold right now.. swiming is the only excersise cleared by my doctors.. unfortunatly i can only swim for about 14 feet because i dont float without a full breath.. so the second i let my air out and try for another breath i sink to the bottom.. but i think ive got that problem solved.. i bought myself a kick board.. but like i said its too cold and the local pool isnt open yet..

Wow, just reading that I felt stressed! Do you feel like maybe you're trying to go through all the kanji too quickly, without stopping to fully concentrate on each and every one? That might be why you confuse them with each other. There's a lot of importance in putting lots of concentration on the story. Visualize the story and use that opportunity to kind of "meditate." 一石二鳥だろう

Taking one day off of daily reviews isn't the end of the world, really. Means more makeup work later, sure, but in my experience, I'm ready to tackle an extra day of reviews by then anyway. One day off can really help to put things into perspective and clear your head, especially during periods of stress.

Also, lots and lots of Youtube videos of cats. Trust me.

[ファブリス]

Interesting. It happened to me on occasion last year (to have an eyelid twitch slightly), and I was wondering what it could be. But honestly I don't know if it's related to stress. I don't remember being particularly stressed at those times. I wouldn't worry about it!

I'd stay off the sleeping pills at all costs, unless those are based on plants? If you start relying on sleepind aids you're just making things worse over time.

Watching TV or comedy shows, I don't think that's relaxing. I think you'd be better off relaxing with a good book! There was a period I was stressed of trying to push myself to do programming in the evening, it seemed like my mind wasn't getting a rest. I started reading a book while I have a coffee, after I came back from work, took a shower etc, and it really helps to settle the mind and I feel much better afterwards if I want to work some more. And also it forces me to drink coffee away from the PC, which I also find stressful, it's like TV, you don't pay attention to it, and then you see the empty cup and feel like you didn't have the pleasure of drinking your coffee at all! Take some time away in your sofa with a good drink and read something for even just 10 min each day, and I'm convinced you will feel a lot better than watching TV.

Also when you go to bed I know it's hard when you're really into something.. some people have it natural but if not .. you really need to try and discipline your mind and make a contract wiht yourself that when you enter your bed you WILL NOT think about any of your projects. If an idea comes up , write it down, then leave it at that. Don't make plans AT ALL. Loosing sleep has huge costs on both physical and mental health and a snowball effect.

I think exercise is definitely the key. And swimming is the best exercise! It works your heart so much and is really easy on your body. You might consider some cheap red-cross adult swim lessons so that you can stay at the top of the water and learn elementary backstroke and front crawl. I swim 4 days a week now and even though I lose all that time going to and from the gym and swimming, I actually find I get more done in a day when I exercise (especially in the morning). It helps my mind focus and gets me high on life.

A nice double rum & coke works well for me

Sake. (Keepin' it Japanese - 'cuz Katsumoto says so)

Sounds like you're in good hands, Squippyflop. good luck with it.

There's some good suggestions here. I had the same issue once when things were piling up. I tried the same things, like exercise and tv... because I'd heard the whole "brain is more relaxed watching tv than during sleep" thing. But the conclusion I came to is that whatever you do to de-stress, it's got to really take up all your attention. You can't be doing it, say watching tv, and thinking "I really should be studying." I find with competitive sports I get so caught up in the game I forget about work etc. But each to their own. You might not be into sport or have other factors.
And I find memory retention is much, much worse when you're stressed. I agree that perhaps finishing the whole book is not necessary? There is so much in the first half that you'll have a huge advantage over someone who's never seen a kanji!

Good luck!

Don't be so hard on yourself. I saw "strict schedule," and that right there is a Red Flag in my book. Give yourself the flexibility to sit back, smell the roses, and enjoy life. Japanese isn't going anywhere, and you won't lose if you don't nail it tomorrow. Do what you can, when you can, and don't worry about getting it done NOW.

If you destroy yourself trying to reach artificial goals and ruin yourself along the way, you're NOT having FUN, and FUN is what's it's ALL about. Life, that is. Not just Japanese.

When I was doing RTK, one thing I did was cue up some classical music and listen to that while studying. I found it helped a lot with retention. No idea why. It also made me sleepy, and helped me relax. Again, no idea why.

As for exercise, even a nice easy walk is better than nothing. If you can walk, that alone will help. Just going out for a nice easy walk for 20-30 minutes will get your blood flowing and engage your cardio systems a bit. (Naturally, clear it with your doc first!)

And yeah, diet is huge. A balanced diet is key. Eat more fruits and veggies.

But try not to worry so much about getting things PERFECT the first time. Just do what you can when you can, and enjoy the ride. Learning a language is a process, not a launch procedure. Nobody's going to die if you don't know 原子力発電所 by tomorrow. (Unless you're going to be working at one...)

I had an eye twitch several times. Cutting way back on caffeine fixed it for me.

All good suggestions - sleep, exercise, etc.

However, also would recommend magnesium. Not a magnesium and calcium combo (those are good, too, but won't help the muscle twitch). There's a product in the US called Calm that is a magnesium powder. Has helped me when I've had an occasional eye twitch. The powder in warm water seems to work better than pills, etc.

I've had the eye twitch quite a few times, especially times of high stress, little sleep or poor nutrition. I suspect that a combination of the three is usually the problem. Try to make sure you're getting balanced diet, have a regular sleeping pattern (regularity of sleeping times is more important than how long you sleep for), and don't let the kanji get you down. Just take it at a pace that makes it fun - try to balance learning the kanji with watching some anime or movies to cement what you're learning. I find that if I learn a few kanji, then watch an anime, they almost always occur. This helps remember them more easily and gives you a chance to unwind.

edit: caffeine has also been a cause in the past

I get occasional eye twitches and I have as close to a stress-free life as one could possibly have: Easy job I walk to, view of the ocean, no debt, no relatives within 2,000 miles. I assume it is because I sleep less than 6 hours a night trying to make my day as productive as possible. I have a good diet (vegetarian) but drink a lot of coffee so that might be it.

bodhisamaya Wrote:I get occasional eye twitches and I have as close to a stress-free life as one could possibly have: Easy job I walk to, view of the ocean, no debt, no relatives within 2,000 miles. I assume it is because I sleep less than 6 hours a night trying to make my day as productive as possible. I have a good diet (vegetarian) but drink a lot of coffee so that might be it.

That's right.

The main cause of eye twitches is the lack of sleep. You should sleep for at least 8 consecutive hours.

Jen_Ai_Chan Wrote:Hi,

I once read somewhere that watching TV can actually hinder sleep. Maybe cut down on TV watching, to get to sleep more easily?

Recently, I discovered that taking a walk in the park, hiking along forest trails and looking out over a lake can really help with de-stressing. If you have access to those, why not try it out?

Good luck.

I think it's not a direct relationship. What most sleep experts recommend is to not use your bedroom for anything other than sleep and sex. (Maybe to make it a pavlovian response. bedroom=sleepytime) Therefore it's detrimental to regularly watch tv (or read, or study, etc) in bed.

Personally I have no trouble sleeping despite always reading/studying in bed.

And yet so many folks turn on the tv in bed and fall asleep before the first commercial break. Ritual, I think, is important.

squiggyflop Wrote:how do you all deal with stress?

I wake up crying every four hours.

Shouldn't this be moved to "Community"?

This year I took a course, that looking back was not suitable for me. It was a degree level essay course. Unluckily at the same time my partner was working so hard that over the 12 weeks of the course only in the last week was I able to get him to even read my final essay once. So I was pretty much alone with it. I do walk daily, and listen to Japanese lessons as I walk but during that time the essay would just go over and over in my head. I would dream about the essay. All that went through my head was the essay. Except when I played my video game. When I played that everything went out of my head. Plus you can play for 1minute or several hours. I dropped all TV/films and when I wanted to relax I played my game. I had no guilt about it. That was my down time. Funnily enough its what my partner does when he is stressed - and he works a tough job, flies all over the world and works crazy hours. So if a high achiver like him can do it so can I.

So I think you need to find your hobby, the thing you can turn to in times of stress. If your going to college/at college in the long term think of it as an investment in yourself. No play will in the long term come back to bite you.


Your other problem - the kanji problem. I have this also. I am just restarting after a break @#950. I am also recapping my 'problem' kanji. I think that one of the things I have noticed - I have been rushing, not spending enough time on making good pictures. I have been spending some time trying to work out why some pictures work and why some do not. Why do I remember some of the dumb and very brief images but others won't stick no matter what? The other thing I have noticed is that quite a few of the kanji are used later on. Which means that atm you may have come across a kanji your struggling with, but by the end of the book maybe its been in 4 other kanji. Which means you will have have other opportunities to get it to stick. So I would advise just working through it. There are so many kanji that get remembered easily on the first go. And if you can get those done then you can spend time on sorting out the problem one.

I presume you have used the study section of this web site to see other peoples stories?

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