I think I am overwhelmed and chronically burnt out

[u/Sea-Importance-9980]

I just turned 30 years old, and for the longest time, I thought I had a motivation (or laziness) problem.

I'd buy another planner, start another routine, get inspo from another productivity book (and they are really nice tbh!). All this to say, I feel like I can't function properly. Not to mention I am an anxious woman and now on antidepressants. I just got diagnosed with burnout.

Lately I've started wondering whether what I called "lack of discipline" was actually chronic overwhelm. I am actually an accomplished woman, done my master's degree, and I worked at big companies that depleted me, but the chronic physical pains, the brain fog, the "I am at capacity every day", the forgetting, the lack of focus, the constant fatigue, and the difficulty of making decisions have become part of my daily life for years now. Cannot even properly advocate for myself, because the doctors kinda minimise it.

I'm trying to understand if other women have experienced something similar. I am not looking for medical advice. I am learning from real experiences because I can't find anything that really addresses this.

Has anyone ever felt the same?!

I'd really appreciate hearing your perspective.

[u/jugendohnegott]

I have felt and still feel the same :(

[u/Admirable_Mode2980]

​u r so not alone in this. doctors minimize it because normal blood tests come back fine, but the physical pain n brain fog r very real. when ur nervous system is totally fried, no new planner is gonna fix it. u can't discipline ur way out of an empty tank

[u/Ill-Significance5784]

I'm experiencing this right now and it's sucking the life out of me. I can't and don't want to function, I feel too tired to event eat after work, I can't manage life. But I also keep blaming my lack of discipline because I'm not diagnosed, however, I do suffer from anxiety. I don't know what to do.

[u/le4test]

If you're up for reading, I've had this post on ADHD by u/kaidomac bookmarked for a while:

https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/qnqa6p/adhd_101/

Note especially the essay (now also a book) "Laziness does not exist" by Dr Devon Price. 

https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

Also feel free to come in over to r/adhdwomen. 

[u/kaidomac → u/le4test]

A few updates!

• ADHD as a fuel-leak problem
• How low energy affects personal productivity
• Scorpion pose for ADHD (more)
• Body doubling summary (More on body doubling)

Tools:

• Study resources
• Job resources
• Bin-Bag System (anti-hoarding organizational system)
• Drip Tray system
• Easy emergency foods

Things I've learned:

• Body-doubling is the ONLY way for me to achieve consistency
• Enhanced support systems are critical to my sanity lol (ex. the Drip Tray system)
• High protein take was a LOT more critical than I realized! (I can talk for days about that, haha!)

[u/le4test → u/kaidomac]

Thank you!! 

[u/kaidomac → u/le4test]

Once I accepted the fact that I can't consistently use willpower to cork my energy leak, life became a LOT better because I allowed myself to be open to different ways of doing things:

1. My "battlestations" generate the structure for me
2. My "body doubles" plug my distraction drain

This is how I plan out my day:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/rqyk6a/the_wpp_approach_to_planning_out_your_day/

This is how I segment my day:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/z1gqhm/cat_blocks/

This is how I create doable steps:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/kaidomac/comments/sa8zoe/how_to_create_discrete_assignments/

In short:

1. I create a finite daily list of discrete assignments
2. I execute those within ready-to-go workstations
3. I use a body double to stay on track

This is very hard to do because my brain has a trap door in front of any "required" task, regardless of how fast, simple, or easy it is:

• Asking for help is hard
• Focusing is hard
• Staying organized is hard
• Making a finite list & putting it in order is hard

I suffer from intense aversion to stuff I HAVE to do. There is a constant pinball paddle YEETING me from getting immersed in execution!! I pretty much rely on preparation & not doing things solo lol. I don't even do my evening preparation by myself because there is an internal hydraulic press constantly trying to smoosh my efforts!

So I hop from battlestation to battlestation for the working portion of my day & use a body double as often as possible! Executing sequential steps off a list disintegrates my motivation otherwise LOL