acute fatigue and exhaustion - rapid onset

incredible fatigue.

as I practice self care I get better at spotting this coming and acting to prevent it. sometimes life is beyond my control and I haven't learned the tricks to have a 100% success rate.

sometimes I just get so drained. it's like I am incapacitated by fatigue. I don't mean depression or malaise. I mean physical exhaustion.

usually I have pushed through and once I wall in the door the only thing I can do is peel off my clothes and crawl in the bed and just take a moment to power down. not sleep. but just. like power down or reboot or somwthing. the battery completely dies.

diaclaimer. kid is always taken care of. dinner, movie, etc. I am not neglecting her but I still feel guilty. I tell her my battery is at zero and I need to power down. tonight I spent an hour in bed, she played with our dogs. then asked me to please get up and play with her. I was so tired all I wanted to do was crash out for a 12 hr catch up sleep. but I drug myself up to play an hour of video games with her. because I don't want --- I CAN'T - I REFUSE to be that absent or neglectful parent.

I have read that absolute exhaustion. can be a symptom of C-PTSD.

do you deal with incapacitating fatigue? how do you cope? what self care helps? what are the signs of it oncoming?

I want to remedy this symptom of my condition. I feel ashamed of it.

I experience this too. It honestly scares me sometimes how dreadfully tired I can get. I have found that being gentle with myself and just letting myself sleep whenever possible helps. It really does no good to beat myself up about it... I learn that the hard way after at least a year of berating my "laziness".

Yeah, honestly... self compassion helped the most. There is a reason you're tired. You need rest, either literally or some other self-care. I like baths, but it could be anything!

BeccaBee,

I get that total exhaustion too, usually when I have been present too long (like working all day and then having stuff that needs "adult attention" ) for several days in a row. I slept almost all day today because I just didn't have the energy to get up. If I don't let one of the others take control of the body on a pretty regular basis I get mentally exhausted, which for me pretty quickly becomes physical. It's definitely that "low battery" feeling!! One thing I do with my son when he needs my attention is have a "movie night". We get a pizza and some popcorn and watch a Disney movie. That way I can lay on the couch and not have to actually do more than just keep my eyes open, but I am still having quality time with my kid.

Hope you feel better....you have to take care of yourself or you won't be able to take care of anyone else!

we asked about extreme exhaustion a while back if you want to look at those suggestions
dissociative-identity/topic179954.html

it still catches us sometimes. it sounds weird but qi-gong and yoga both help a little bit if we notice the problem early.

just wanted to chime in and say i am also dealing with this and it is super frustrating - i can't imagine having a kid to take care of too! BeccaBee, you are doing amazing. keep fighting.

i am still in the beginning of figuring out all this DID stuff and feel like it is sucking all the energy out of me. i work nights and go to school during the day and am barely hanging on. house is a disaster. no matter how much i sleep i wake up exhausted.

definitely interested in hearing others' experiences and what has helped them!

I literally started laughing when I read this topic. I went to the doctors office today to get my "chronic fatigue" checked out. My T wanted me to check for any vitamin/mineral deficiencies or for adrenal stuff. Well she wanted me to do that months ago and I kept forgetting until recently. I didn't even know that was a symptom of C-PTSD until recently. Mine happens almost everyday usually shortly after lunch starting sometime between 12:30 and 2:30 and will last a few hours at least if I don't get a short nap in. But to be honest I don't know what to do to help it yet. I try coffee, and that has mixed results. Sometimes it feels more mental and sometimes more physical. I wish I had my Grandma's knack for 5 minute power naps... Anyway, best of luck everyone!

well. I know general self care. like eat clean, stay hydrated, take your vitamins, don't over extend on committments. all these help.

but sometimes it's just the basics. work - kid- life. if i haven't scheduled in enough rest time. I guess I have figured out how I will realize it hits me all the sudden it's not all the sudden really. I am go, go, going. and then I get home and I am in a safe place and yeah. bloop. power out. battery dead.

I can feel this coming maybe a day or two before. but I would like to recognize it earlier. when I actually have time to plan to change it.

I am exhausted. I packed and moved and kid got the flu and we are skeleton crew at work and man. I could just use a week off really bad right now. to just ######6 REST.

self care. self care. self care. self care. self care. self care.

Yeah, I can't quite figure mine out. I get mine whether I'm active or not. It happened today after only doing 2 1/2 hours of working at home. Well here's hoping those test results are some vitamin deficiency or something out of balance that's easy to fix. Hopefully you get some free time soon!

Hi Team BeccaBee

Besides the practical, Western dietetics advice that I gave in the linked post - http://www.psychforums.com/dissociative-identity/topic179954-10.html - I'd like to give you some esoteric experience that worked for me.

In 2013 I crashed completely. Besides being completely terrified and anxious all the time, I was absolutely physically exhausted. There were a couple of days where I just drove to the office and promptly fell asleep in the car after I'd parked. After a few hours, I was able to show my face in the office for an hour or two and then head home.

For about 6 weeks, I could barely look after my wife and kids. It was a classic case of Adrenal Fatigue Syndrome. I treated the body as described: massive doses of amino acids, etc.

But, more importantly, I treated the mind. I was disappointed. I define myself by my physicality and mental fortitude, and there I was, bereft of both. I was ashamed. But I knew that how I felt physically was just a physical manifestation of how I felt emotionally, which in turn was a manifestation of my intellectual state, which in turn was an expression of my Spirit. Emotions are notoriously difficult to work with, so I worked it from two sides: Spirit and Body. I acknowledged my physical weakness, and started a program of physical rehabilitation. I started very gently: just parking on the other side of the building and walking slowly to the office. I started back in the gym but instead of training hard, I simply spent 45 minutes on the mat, stretching. Loosening the muscles, pulling on the tendons and ligaments and stimulating the lymphatic system really helped me cleanse my body. BUT, it took time. It took 4 weeks from the time I started stretching to the time I was able to complete a 12 minute Taiji routine.

I meditated every night while I was sleeping the baby. Flat on my back, I reached for the Qi, Prana, etc. that permeates the Universe and I spent as much time as possible bathing myself in that energy.

It took 4 months to get back on my feet, fighting fit.

Fast forward to 4 months ago. Again, the situation at home had me completely depleted. I'd lost 22kg's, and I felt completely trapped by my situation. I had no idea what to do: I could leave again with the kids and just disappear into the mountains, or I could just drown where I was. My psychologist indicated that from his observations I was about a month or two away from a complete nervous breakdown. I couldn't do that to the kids, so I went to a psychiatrist, got a full blood workup and went on medication. My adrenals were smashed again. I'd started a new job so I couldn't train like I needed to. I started to stretch at home again, and I started yoga - they offer it twice a week at the office. I was too tired to control my thoughts so I read instead of meditated - all the ancient scriptures and texts.

It worked. Again I surrendered to my situation and accepted where I was. Last week, I was able to summon the mental fortitude and the physical strength to get my wife admitted to hospital for the treatment she needs. It was the most difficult and hardest thing I have ever done. I could have given up many times during the process but I held fast...

Take it slow. Give yourself the time and the space you need. Start small: walking, yoga, Qi Gong, meditation, supplements. Do not be ashamed of where you are, who you are and what you're feeling. It is an opportunity to experience the wondrous, restorative, life-begetting power of the Universe.

Surrender to your higher Self... Brett

Hi Beccabee - your dyamo has run flat. It is no surprise. I think being a single parent without DID you would probably get similar chuck DID in there and you have mega exhaustion - I had 2 girls at home and did not have your insight when they were little, I think they turned out ok but even thought they are now grown up I still worry about them. You work so hard at being a good mum. Saying things like 'I refuse to be that neglectful mother' means that you will not be. Do not forget to tell yourself that you are doing a good job and do not beat yourself up for being exhausted. If you where physically (i.e. had flu or bad stomach) would you feel this bad about it or would you be able to snuggle up on the sofa guilt free? Allowing yourself to be exhausted and rest is also self care. I think you are amazing.
M