Hi Katkin
...."Anyone else know what I mean?".....
Sure....
..."I realise that I worry about 'direction' a lot. I know it sounds weird"...
Not at all....not unusual for this junk....most tend to think of what they have as an "inner ear"(vestibular) prob...while it may be that...it impacts on much, much more then just the ears(balance)....because.....
All of the sensory input concerning balance, from the eyes, from the muscles and joints, and from the two sides of the vestibular system, is sent to a central area in the brain, called the brain stem, where it will be sorted out and integrated.
The brain stem also receives input from two other areas of the brain -- the cerebellum, which is your coordination center, and the cerebral cortex, which functions in thinking and memory. As the brain stem is integrating all the input it receives concerning balance, the cerebellum may contribute information about automatic movements that have been learned through constant practice, e.g. adjustments in balance needed to serve a tennis ball.
The cerebral cortex contributes previously learned information. For example, you have learned that icy sidewalks are slippery and that you have to step on them in a different way in order to keep your balance.
Sometimes the integrating activities that take place in the brain stem are more complicated than at other times. For instance, there are times that the sensory input that we receive from one of the sources conflicts with the input from the other sources. This may occur when you are standing next to a bus that is pulling away from the curb. Your visual input from the bus may be indicating to your brain that you are moving. You may find yourself leaning forward a little to compensate for that sensation. You may even feel dizzy. But your muscles and joints send input that you are not moving, and other visual input finally indicates that other objects are stationary, and a correction is made.
As integration of all the sensory input takes place, the brain stem sends out impulses along motor-nerve fibers that begin in the brain stem and end in the muscles. These muscles make your head and neck, your eyes, your legs, and the rest of your body move and allow you to maintain your balance and have clear vision while you are moving.......so
When you have a vestibular(inner ear) problem....many processes are affected....and....what was done subconsisusly...no longer takes place..in that fashion..because of the tremendous amount of processing power...being used by the brain...to sort out what is going on....where in the past...you kept your spatial and Geo orientation up-to-date with out conscious thought...adjusting as you went about.....now it is all up front...and its seemingly all new.....and you wonder why....
Each person is different and each problem impacts different "nerve cells"...but what you talking about....is not all that unusual....for a vestibular problem...
Unfortunately
Re: Does anyone else here worry about direction? 
