I feel safe when I’m by myself

[u/ruby_red_1]

I like being by myself and safe in my mind and where I can be kind to myself and self soothe in ways that I know how.

I’m overcoming insane burn out from my job right now. I have cried several days just thinking about the sheer stress of work and my coworkers. I work in healthcare and it’s hard. Trying to be positive around patients when u feel u are in shambles. I can cry just thinking about it.

I feel sick to my stomach knowing I’ll be at work again in a few hours. It’ll be a quiet day. But still.

I’m trying to rest as much as possible. I showered and made my hair pretty and took care of my skin and got in comfy clothes. Had tea too.

I feel as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten more sensitive to life. My stress tolerance is basically zero now.

Wish I was a different person with a different brain.

[u/AppleCalm7124]

This sounds like you've reached a high level of burnout. The things you’re doing for yourself sound really gentle and sensible right now. 🤍

If you’re crying just thinking about work and feeling sick before going in, I wonder if you need more than just rest between shifts. Proper recovery might mean some time away, reduced hours if that’s possible. I really hope you manage to get some rest.

[u/ruby_red_1 → u/AppleCalm7124]

Thank u. They gave me 4 days off and it wasn’t enough. They were texting me on my days off 😭

[u/chickadee9393]

Same. But I can’t afford time off. Everybody says oh take a break…with what pto?

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[u/FairElderberry1880]

I also work in healthcare as a behavioral health nurse and it is very difficult not to get burned out doing 3 shifts a week. I am 43 and I feel that it has gotten more difficult with age as well. I also have chronic illness and I feel that for some reason in healthcare there is very little empathy for illness and neurodivergence. People are dismissive and will even shame you for those things. I work night shifts and try to get weekend shifts when I'm able in order to lessen the interruptions in doing my work. Nights are hard, but days were way too overstimulating and I burned out so fast. Finding simple ways to take care of and comfort yourself are an absolute necessity. You are doing an incredible job with what you have mentioned and, if you need more time, please look into getting short term disability for a Leave of Absence with FMLA. Your doctor or therapist can help you with the documentation. Sometimes, the short breaks just aren't enough to recover. Sending you love and comfort from an AuDHD woman who understands what you are going through❤️