Chronopathy: characteristics of the obsession to make the most of time

Let's take a look at what chronopathy is and how it can influence our habits and mental health.

We live in a society where we can say that we are governed by the tyranny of the clock. From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep we think about how to make the most of the time, filling every possible gap to feel that longed-for subjective sensation that we are productive, that we are not wasting time.

The problem is that, although the ideal is to make the most of time, if we become obsessed we will not only feel that we are wasting it, but that in the end the minutes will end up slipping through our fingers like grains through the walls of an hourglass.

Obsession with time and making the most of it has a name: chronopathy.. It is not a mental disorder, but it is a current problem that brings with it several mental health problems. Let's find out what it's all about.

Chronopathy: the obsession with time.

Chronopathy (Chronos, "god of time; time" and pathos "suffering") is the name given to the obsession of certain people to make the most of time. the obsession of certain people to make the most of time..

We say "certain", although depending on how you look at it, the truth is that everyone has this problem to a greater extent because in our Western society the maxim, almost tyrannical, that we must perform to the maximum, is very well established. It is instilled in us from a very young age that we must do everything possible to make the best use of the 24 hours that make up our day.

Although there are people who make better use of their time than others, there are many who end up developing an unhealthy preoccupation with the thought that time is slipping through their fingers.. This preoccupation causes them stress, anxiety and emotional tension, as well as feelings of worthlessness and of being perceived as less responsible than others.

Although chronopathy is a source of discomfort, it is not considered a mental disorder. If we look for it in a diagnostic manual of mental disorders, such as the DSM or the ICD, we will not find it.

However, it is something that does not appear in these manuals, the fact that it is something that does not appear in these manuals does not mean that we should not be concerned about it and that it does not deserve to be treated.. The chronopathy of some people can bring with it the ironic consequence of actually wasting time by obsessing about making the most of it.

Within this problem is not only the need to satisfy the social demand to be constantly productive, but also includes the problem, the enormous difficulty to stop and rest. People suffering from chronopathy are not able to stop despite their exhaustion and, in addition, they find it difficult to enjoy the moment, the family and the small pleasures of life.

The concept of chronopathy has been popularized in recent years thanks to the book by psychiatrist Marian Rojas Estapé, "How to make good things happen to you" (2018). The tendency to try to make the most of every day can end up being detrimental, causing the individual to sacrifice their mental health in their quest to try to squeeze more hours out of the day than they have. Rojas Estapé speaks of the false idea, very widespread in our western society, that "haste and acceleration produce better and better results"..

In our society we consider that what is right, what is good, is to be busy. If by any chance we recognize that our agenda is a little free, has some space, it gives us the feeling that we will be judged, that we will be considered a person who does not take advantage of the time or who is a little hedonistic and disorganized. You may even be surprised and negatively judge the person who tells you that you have free time and do not know what to do with it.

Consequences of time obsession.

While it is normal to want to make a little more out of time, if it becomes an obsession to perform to the maximum it can have serious consequences for our well-being and mental health.. This can be evidenced in multiple ways in our day-to-day lives, which ironically can cause us to waste time, feel overwhelmed by not being able to perform at our best and miss the opportunity to spend meaningful and enjoyable time with important spheres of life, such as family and friends.

By constantly thinking about how to make the most of our time and believing that if we stop we are wasting a lot of time, the state of constant acceleration and hyperactivity prevents us from thinking clearly. Because we do not stop and think calmly, we cannot think coolly and therefore we cannot think through what we do or pay attention to how we do it. To think clearly we need to take our time, and rushing is the opposite..

Ironically, the obsession with making the most of time causes the perception of time to be accelerated. As we have the feeling that time slips through our fingers, it eventually happens. In other words, the more we obsess about making the most of time, the more we feel that we are wasting it, that it is passing faster than it should and that the days are getting shorter. We get the feeling that we are not getting enough of it.

The preoccupation with being productive can reach such a level that we become disconnected from our own emotions, something that can be considered one of the main pathological aspects of chronopathy, even though, as we mentioned earlier, it is not a mental disorder. Chronopathy distances us from our own emotions, and makes us pay more attention to how to make the most of time instead of paying attention to what is happening to our psyche and body.

We do not have the time or the necessary pause to listen to what our body is telling us, to our own emotions and to identify relevant emotional events. However, sooner or later we will notice them, not because we have stopped but because these emotional states will have become so intense that we can hardly ignore them anymore. we will hardly be able to ignore them any longer.. Excess tension, anxiety and stress are common emotions in people trapped in chronopathy and, even if they go unnoticed consciously, our body and mental health will end up suffering from them.

How to free yourself from chronopathy?

Although we insist again that chronopathy is not a mental disorder, certainly its affectation is psychological and must be overcome to enjoy a full life and emotional well-being. In case of suffering from a great obsession to take advantage of time and suffer for it, it is necessary to to see a psychologist to see what can be done about it. Psychotherapy can help people with chronopathy to stop and enjoy the moment, get out of the scheduled agenda and understand that not making the most of the day is not synonymous with incompetence.

To combat the obsession with productivity and making the most of time, here are a few tips.

1. Do not saturate the agenda

It is essential that, in order not to fall into the obsession to make the most of the time, the agenda should not be saturated.. As far as possible, tasks should be removed from the schedule so that those that remain can be completed calmly. In this way, you will become more aware of what you are doing and you will not feel so saturated by the feeling of lack of time.

2. Search for enjoyable obligations

It is essential to look for an obligation that we enjoy, a task from which we cannot free ourselves but that has something that can be enjoyed, as if it were a hobby..

This can be complicated at times, but if we achieve it, the level of enjoyment of life and the sensation of taking advantage of the time will grow notoriously.

3. Leaving spaces unplanned

It may seem counterintuitive, but the truth is that leaving unplanned gaps will help to combat that feeling of wasting time.

It is highly recommended to leave a blank space in our schedule or agenda, a portion of unplanned time dedicated exclusively to our rest, an anarchic, casual rest in which the best thing we can do is to rest.An anarchic, casual rest in which the best thing we can do is absolutely nothing. By stopping for an hour, we will find a way to take advantage of the rest of the day in a healthy and productive way.

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4. Enjoy the process

Trying to enjoy the process more than the result is a good way to turn that desire to make the most of the time into the subjective feeling that we have already achieved that desire. If we think about how much we want to finish what we are doing in order to start immediately with the next task, when we finish it will give us the sensation that we have done it in a hurry and in a bad way and, therefore, we have not known how to make good use of the time..

It is better to do one thing well than two things badly and that is the feeling it gives us. Enjoy the process, be aware of it and learn from any mistakes that may occur during the course of it. It is through this learning that will give us the feeling that we are making the most of our time, and on top of that we will enjoy it.