I can't keep up with my work

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I haven't felt motivated enough to work lately. I've missed a whole bunch of assignments in the past few weeks. I need to write two essays on a book (one for each half) by Tuesday, and just when my mood was starting to improve, suddenly I can't put together any words for the first essay and I feel terrible about myself, because everyone's basically been through this before, but for some reason I can't pull through. I'm a high honors student and I can't do my work anymore. I just want to give up.

what you need to do is prioritize, then compartmentalize. Concentrate on the most important first. Don't think about the others, until you have a handle on the first. If you run into a snag on the first, pick up the second and work on it. Come back to the first.

When you get out in the working world, this sort of thing happens a lot. You can do it.

I can't start on the second because the teacher told us to write the first before finishing the second half of the book. I've been stuck on my first essay for about eight hours - I haven't even got a start for it. And I'm too distracted to think clearly about it. Right now I'd rather do anything than school. My brain is melting.

I get something very similar. I'm hoping that not being the only one will be some small consolation, because I'm not sure what to do about it either.

Sometimes I can make myself work while watching trashy television - I mute the ads and get a couple of minutes worth done, then turn the sound back up and watch something mindless for 5 mins, and so on. It's much slower than when I'm motivated, and it eventually drives me crazy, but it's the only way I know how to even start. If I get rid of all distractions and just sit down at my desk and try to work, nothing happens - I just end up stimming til I meltdown.

I was recently in the same boat...
My method of buckling down and doing an essay like that consists of:
1. eating, i absolutely can't work if i'm hungry, usually a fruit or something gives me a bit of energy
2. finding a work area and clearing off anything and everything not related to what i'm working on
3. just sitting there staring at the book or browsing it until my mind drifts to a place where it's actually thinking about it
4. having just the word processor on my computer open
5. typing out thoughts/ concepts for paper (while not looking at book)
6. organizing said thoughts/concepts into a vague outline
7. opening up the book and finding ways to strengthen or elaborate on thoughts (filling out the outline with these)
8. rewording outline into essay

admittedly it's a somewhat long drawn-out process, and if i'm feeling really overwhelmed sometimes coffee or aspirin make me feel like i can get back on task, and a couple tv breaks here and there are a good idea too. but the internet just distracts the heck out of me...

my biggest enemies during these things are the internet, sleeping (usually my chosen method of handling stress), and hunger or whatever else makes me irritable...

these things suck (especially at this time of the year), but you obviously care about your grades, so even if you don't feel like you're doing your best work (or even good work) it's important to just write something, and you can always edit it later. I hope this helps...

I just go workout for a bit to regain focus and helps out a lot.

The thing that I have found most helpful when I'm completely paralyzed is to go to my more sympathic teachers and ask for an extention for some of my assignments. Sometimes I just get so work worrying about being able to get all my assignments done on time that I can't do any of them.
If you're on good terms with your councellor, you could ask them to do the asking for you. If you have documentation of your disability, then deadline extentions are a perfectly valid accomadation.
Being able to at least take some of the pressure off helps me a lot. If you are ready to give up, then you are pretty close to crisis. Ask for help now, before you crash and burn.

The best way to get ideas for the essay is to just stop caring about it. Don't care if you can't do it, or if you fail. It won't kill you; not doing it once isnot that bad; you have to relax sometimes and not push yourself. Then you might relax from thinking that, and it will come to you.