Due to a certain situation I’m living at work (for about two months now) I’ve basically given up tending to all the other stuff in my life and it’s really starting to impact my relationships, my mental health and my job itself.
I feel so overwhelmed about all the stuff I still need to do I’m starting to have meltdowns everytime something new pops up (even something as small as a friend’s birthday).
Just yesterday I managed to tackle one of the things I’ve been procrastinating and felt no satisfaction whatsoever due to the huge amount of things that still need to be done and situations that need to be addressed.
I feel I’m only able to handle one “crisis” at a time, and the moment there are two going on, everything else becomes one.
I also can’t stop thinking about this whole situation, it’s like my brain is constantly active but in the end I can’t manage to get me to do anything. It’s exhausting.
Does it happen to you too? How do you deal with that?
Edit: thanks to everyone who took time to reply and give honest advice. I’ll read all the messages at the end of my shift
You need to watch a movie.
The Martian. (Yes its fiction but still)
The man is injured and stranded on Mars, at every step of the way he identifies the biggest barrier to his survival and works the problem then moves onto the next one and works the problem. You dont have a giant insurmountable mountain of problems. They just look that way. Watch the movie, look at how hopeless it was when taken as a whole and then watch him knock his issues on the arse one at a time.
Then sit down and make a list, then pick one and work the problem.
I can totally relate. Been there many times. Kind of there now to a lesser degree (i.e. not having meltdowns but still so overwhelmed I am battling depression for the umpteenth billionth time and am really discouraged).
Things that help me:
Regular exercise even if light exercise, like walking around the block for 10-30 min. The more I do this per week the better off I am.
Regular sleep; I’m way more mentally tough when rested. I’m a fragile mess if I am too tired plus stressed.
Writing a list. The pile usually looks and feels infinite in my head but finite and thus smaller on paper.
Still, list can be overwhelming. When things are really bad, make three lists:
- “OMG MUST DO NOW OR I AM SO FUCKED”
- “Need to get this done soon but not fucked yet”
- “In the big scheme of things, not that urgent, not that necessary”
And prune any unnecessary items.
E.g. “I really want to finish that one project… But you know what? If I throw in the towel, officially quit, toss it in the bin and never think about it again it is a burden lifted so… fuck it, bye project!”
I tend to overcommit, too, so sometimes it is better to call the friend and just be honest and say it probably won’t get done ever. I get really stressed and guilty when I have favors hanging over my head that I know I won’t have time for.
I’ve got two of those hanging over my head now.
If can help to have a friend help prioritize your list. They can help you be brutal in pruning, and objectively determine what is most urgent.
Then… focus on one super urgent thing at a time.
Helps me to think through the first most basic steps to get started on a scary thing that I want to put off. Instead of trying to climb a mountain, it helps to think of the first steps on the trail, the first obstacle. I mean basic as in, “ok first I need a pencil, then paper” – that level of basic. Once I get started i can keep rolling. It’s all about getting over the emotional hurdle associated with starting…
Also helps to not expect too much of myself.
One accomplishment is all I can muster, most days.
Other days just doing basic hygiene and some days just getting out of bed is an accomplishment.
Occasionally when stars align or I’m not stressed and overwhelmed I can knock out several things.
Of course right now I feel like giving up… So that’s probably not expecting enough lol.
Maybe it would help to have a mutual accountability buddy, where you encourage each other and report progress. That can be motivating in a good way.
Yeah, been here before. Something that truly does help me is making lists like others said. When you add your tasks though, list out the subtasks required too. It helps you visualize the problem better and sometimes makes you realize that your brain is making a mountain out of tasks that are less involved than you realize.
I’m a programmer and sometimes my ADHD makes me sweat when I see incoming work projects. But as soon as I finish a first pass on a list of what needs to be done and the project is broken out into features and tasks within those features, it’s much more mentally manageable. The reality is that you can’t do all of those things at once anyway, so all you can do is divide and conquer. If anyone has a problem with that, fuck em.
I’ve spent a lot of my life trying to hit an expectation target that is often times manufactured in my own head, or just completely unknown and I’m worrying for nothing. The other times, it was someone asking for something completely unreasonable and I had to come to terms with that. I know how quickly I work and how I work. If people don’t like it, I can’t please them and that’s their problem not mine.
I always try to tell myself that no one is getting anything from me if I’m not healthy and supported myself, so fixing that comes first. Sometimes you have to force yourself to remember that you are your own person that deserves happiness and isn’t a slave to anyone else’s unrealistic demands. You control what you do and you work in your own way. Don’t let yourself manufacture expectations because your own brain will always keep them super high.
