I feel so tired after half a day of work, never mind working a full day. After a couple of weeks of this, when i get home, i have no energy left for anything. Even things I usually enjoy.
Everything feels like a drag at that point and I can’t seem to do anything to improve this.
Doing this for a few more months usually ends up with me having to quit my job or i will get so tired and sick I can’t do anything anymore.
How to deal with this?
Welcome to being an adult!
Most people either figure it out or look for an easier job.
I don’t feel like my job was particularly difficult though. Usually the tasks are quite simple. But organization, prioritizing and meetings with others can strain my energy fast.
I’m not sure I could play videogames for 8 hours per day if I only could get a single break at noon.
I would be tired and unhappy all the same (even though it would be a bit better, since I can actually choose what games to play. At work I don’t really have any choice in my tasks)
Have you checked with a doctor? There might be a medical cause.
I mean, work sucks, but unless you’re swinging a sledgehammer all day, it shouldn’t drain you completely the way you describe.
I did. And usually they say I’m perfectly healthy and recommend me to see a psychiater.
For some reason I feel like there is still something else underlying this though. Usually when I’m feeling depressed or anxious it’s because I’m also feeling uncomfortable or painful in some way. And it passes after the pain is gone.
But I have no idea how to describe this to the doctor and all their basic tests just show nothing.
I also don’t feel particularly unhealthy, i eat quite well and do exercise (although not super intensive)
I’m really jealous when I see these older colleagues who smoke multiple times per day and are visibly overweight. And somehow they have 10x the energy of me.
Sometimes I wonder if people around me are all on performance enhancing drugs or something. That’s what it feels like. I tried drinking coffee in the past, but I can’t really deal with the taste, and it seems to make me drowsy for some reason.
Do you trust the doctors with your life?
Remember what they call the person who graduated in last place from medical school: Doctor.
They aren’t all bad, but many are overworked, too busy to focus, and perhaps burnt out. They also might need a full history over time to make a diagnosis. By way of example, during an annual physical, my doctor noticed my weight gain, and said there was no way I could gain that much weight in a year without something wrong. He ordered blood work and found a thyroid disorder. That also explained why I had no energy to do anything more than the bare minimum to survive.
Looking just at thyroid disorders, a doctor might just check TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone). The “normal range” is 0.5 - 5.0. So your TSH could be 4.9, and your doctor would say it’s normal. However, I know a bunch of people with thyroid issues, and everyone I know feels “normal” when their TSH is close to 1.0.
If your doctor orders a thyroid antibodies test, they could discover Hashimotos Thyroiditis (which happens to be my diagnosis, as well as my wife’s and my three children). Basically that means your immune system is attacking and destroying your thyroid gland. When she was first diagnosed, my daughter’s TSH was normal, but the antibodies test was positive, so they knew it was just a matter of time.
How do you make sure every possibility is covered though?
I don’t really go to a doctor regularly.
Do you think I should? And try to find a doctor which seems competent? But how do you evaluate this? And how regularly should you visit a doctor?
Usually when I finally get to a doctor, most of my symptoms are already over. When feeling bad, I typically won’t make an appointment because I feel mentally incapable. Unable to make an appointment, get there, and then manage to explain what is wrong.
That sounds almost impossible to me.
Visit weedtime
I’d recommend reading this article about authenticity: https://www.meticulon.com/neurodiversity-celebration-week-2024/ It explains a lot about how little things that NTs take for granted can be exhausting for ND people, particularly at work.
Reduce your workload, if possible.
Instead of 38.5 hours/week, try to get down to 20-24 hrs/week, if possible.
I actually experimented with this in the past.
It does help quite a bit. ( but for some projects i would spend too much time catching up what i missed the other days)
The trouble is mostly finding part time work. When I tried it in the past, it was because I was already working full time and asked to have it reduced.
But now i don’t have a job, and finding pastime options from the start seems to be more difficult than finding a full time job.
I suppose I could start something full time and ask for a reduction later. But I’m a bit worried on how long I’ll be able to handle working full time.
Not in one field specifically. But I have the most experience in software engineering, functional analysis, and tutoring (university-level)
