Did anyone else need a life 'time out' to completely 'reset'?
Hi
I'm a recently (officially) diagnosed mid 30s lady who has struggled with the demands of life as long as I remember although I was high masking until I became physically ill & disabled.
I believe burnout is a contributing factor to why my physical ability has continued to deteriorate for the last 5 years and why I've exprienced severe skill regression.
I have been saying for the last 5 years 'if I can just get through this week, I can start fresh next week' but because of my inability to cope (amplified by physical limitations) I have never achieved it and I always start the next week backlogged with things I didn't manage from the week before.
As this has now been going on for 5 years, all areas of my life have been severely affected; my home is a mess, my finances are a shambles, my relationships (the few I've been able to maintain) are fractious and my nervous system is absolutely wrecked.
I don't feel like I'm ever going to get the mental space I need to 'reset' to give myself any chance to make it out of complete burnout and recover to any degree possible - no matter how much I learn about my many illnesses and strategies - because daily life and it's demands are so stressful and compound my physical disabilities too.
Did anyone else need a specific period of down time to finally come to terms with & start making it to the other side after diagnosis? And how did you navigate asking people & services for this, if so?