Severe Exhaustion

Post Reply New Topic

On and off, I have been experiencing symptoms of extreme exhaustion for the past few weeks and am wondering whether any of you have advice as to how to manage this.

I am finding that I can often only do as little as one hour of work before completely burning out. I know when I am burnt out when I absolutely cannot focus on anything, including unfamiliar reading materials, can barely get myself to do anything properly aside from mindless repetitive activity, and my mind just goes blank. I also often experience physical pain and extreme difficulty getting myself out of my home in the morning to go and do some work. I often go into deep introspection and/or periods of intense stimming and lose track of reality. I am also trying to arrange random things like getting a psychoed assessment, trying to find odd jobs, and trying to improve my interview skills/work on getting rid of anxiety (it's not chronic so it's not my main source of exhaustion, I just get random episodes). Some people I contact about these things aren't very good at getting back to me and I have no more energy left to pester them.

I am not even working full-time. I have three volunteer positions, work 6 - 10 hours a week now (excluding transit and making lesson plans), but I don't think it's a full 40 hours every week. I also have house chores to do and am actively looking for a place to live for next month, with my partner's poor credit score and me being unable to work full-time as my schedule is already exhausting me, it's very stressful at times. My chores often go neglected, I haven't been good at maintaining my social ties, and I am behind on my work.

I am afraid I wouldn't be able to hold a full-time job if I don't develop strategies to deal with this exhaustion. I also need to make sure I get good references.

Does anyone have any advice for how to deal with these issues?

I don't have any advice, other than to say I know what you're going through because I'm going through it right now myself. Maybe we both can be helped in this thread!

Do you take regular breaks when you work? That is my only suggestion....if I don't take breaks I get overloaded very quickly and instead of getting a few things done slowly, I get nothing done at all.

Any chance you have adrenal fatigue? There could be a genuine physical cause for it.

I used to work full time and go to school part-time.

I used to relax when I would take public transportation--just put my head down and take a little nap. I used to get stressed whenever I had to do a practicum--but, somehow, I managed.

Of course, you have to get as much sleep as possible during evenings. And eat well. Make sure you don't overindulge, though--that's the worst thing one could when on a rough schedule. Don't under-indulge, either.

I would also concentrate, within my studying, on new material, rather than material you already know. Especially if you've got an "autistic" mind, you could maintain the memory of what you have previously learned. Confidence in this is the key.

Within your lesson plans, I would make sure I'm working from a template previously developed, rather than "starting from scratch." A professor I know, who is actually not into "cutting corners," believes strongly in templates. She even does a template for my letters of recommendation LOL.

Also: maybe listening to some music you like would help as well.

Try to get to bed at night no later than 10pm to allow your body to fall into a circadian rhythm and get proper sleep. Try not to eat two to three hours before bed as well and drink water right before bed and then again first thing when you wake up. Also if you can do some intestinal and heavy metal detoxing that will help a lot as well. Try to eat as healthy as you can afford to. I suggest eating as little wheat and corn as possible. And if you eat meat and dairy try to use products that come from animals who have only been fed grass 100%. I also make sure that the animal products I buy come from ranches and farms where the animals are healthy and happy and well cared for and killed in a very dignified, respectful and humane fashion. I find that trying to eliminate wheat and corn, especially wheat, makes a huge difference on my entire body and how it functions. Also try to limit your consumption of refined sugars and flours and overly processed foods and drinks. Instead of wheat products I try to eat spelt or millet or quinoa. Many people will tell you spelt and wheat are the same but they are not. They are very different. They are related to each other but not the same. Spelt products will say wheat on them because the FDA insists that is on the package. But read the ingredients instead. If it's just spelt and wheat is not an ingredient than it's not wheat.

Make sure you are staying hydrated throughout the day. Check the color of your urine. You want it to be clear or as close to clear as possible. Also you want to make sure you are pooping every day. The ideal is three times a day about an hour or so after you eat and you can get to that point but even if it's just once a day it's better than not once a day. Poop backed up in your intestines can wreak real havoc on yous system and cause all kinds of issues including fatigue.

Also monitor your sensory input. I am wearing my ear defenders a lot more now. I have even gotten to where I am wearing them out in public sometimes. Sensory overload affects us much more strongly and deeply than we ever realize.

Best wishes to you. I hope you will feel much better soon. Keep us posted.

Feel better soon, MathGirl. And you are right to recognise and acknowledge your condition now to avert possible complications. I know, because I've done it.

In private to you all (some on the Wrong Planet already know though), I physically collapsed from exhaustion a few years ago. For background, I've never needed much sleep. I never really took naps as a child and pretty easily could make-up lost sleep time. My exhaustion collapse began innocuously enough......

At that time, before doing my PhD and near finishing my MS, I was involved in research, finding new ways/methods! A few months before I had recovered from walking pneumonia, but felt fine. Plus extra busy with other duties. Waking up excited at 3-4am, staying up late after dinner - because I could. I began 'greying out', ignoring that I was sleepy. In fact, a slight lack of sleep still gives me a creative edge! Then I collapsed......I physically could not get up and struggled for a few days to regain my strength with nearly flu-like symptoms. In fact, my recovery took weeks, maybe even months. (Please know that lack of sleep equates to psychotic symptoms for anybody - while I did not experience psychosis (!), I was on the edge).

Since then I am far more cognisant of keeping a sleep schedule. Be aware that Aspies are prone to ignoring normal sleep cues and can get hurt as a result. I now use an alarm clock to make sure I get enough sleep, so I do not inadvertently wake too early. While my sleep proclivity might give me a creative edge, I learned the hard way that the Lab Pet is indeed human......

Anyhow, take care of yourself first, MathGirl. For whatever reason(s), your schedule is off balance. P.S. For me, sleep is always harder during summer. Your brain needs dark to sleep, so close the curtains.

You should firstly get tested for physiological conditions that could cause excessive tiredness.