Published on 12, July, 2020
frequently triggered shutdowns means that they can be unpredictable- it is leading to me having to unexpectedly have days off, cancel a lot of things that i am half way through completing, hindering my progress, and it seems like being stuck in a loop. it causes great distress. how do you handle this?
Not sure how much help this will be, but is there anything you're stuck in the middle of which can be delegated? If not, all I can do in this sort of situation is to prioritise my list and try to concentrate on only one or two of the most urgent things at a time. Try to get plenty of sleep and eat well. I sometimes agree to do things which I would have been OK to do at the time, but then have a bad day (or a bad week) and can't cope with it because my resources are now more limited. I then realise I should have left myself some time out. Sometimes you have to just say no to people, although that's not something I'm personally very good at. If you're really at your limit, shutdowns are probably your body's way of dealing with the stress, try to go easy on yourself. Best wishes.
Hi there,
Sorry to hear about what you're going through. I think the best thing to do is simply include a shutdown contingency plan whenever you do something, so that you're prepared for when it hits. Also, you sound like you have a list of unfinished projects now, so you can jump back in and complete any of them!x
Much love <3
I wish I knew.
It sounds a bit like the problem I've been having and complaining about here, which I describe as executive function problem rather than shutdown. I commit to things knowing that it's within my capacity assuming I'm OK, as I want to do because I want to assume I'm a competent adult. Then something happens and I can't do anything much at all, like at the moment.
I'm not sure I'm in one state or the other, though, shut down or not. It's more like there are times when I feel on top of things and more-or-less able to do something, and then various levels of functioning below that depending partly on mood or sleep or self-concept.
So you don't get any advance warning of the shutdown, right? What are the triggers? How long does it take to 'come on', and how long does it last?
Someone kindly pointed me to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertia_(anxiety)
Also I suppose adult demand-avoidance. As a first stab at it (conceptual rather than practical for me at the moment), if the inertia analogy is correct, then one needs to build up momentum slowly from stationary, and guide what kind of things you might be doing - start with one simple bit of paperwork if what you're needing to do is something administrative. I heard one useful psychological maxim 'challenging but not impossible'.
It's difficult to face giving reasons for failure to other people when you don't know yourself, so I think a reasonable approximation to the truth is to mention tiredness or fatigue - if it's a medical problem, it's not one that's fully described, other than as a type of catatonia. It distresses me because I feel like I'm fighting myself sometimes to get something done. I can accept it to avoid the distress, but that doesn't help with the immediate tasks of course, at least in the short term.
I hope that vague ramble was in some way faintly connected with what you were asking about.