Front time energy

Okay, so I have a couple of question and I am hoping that someone will have experienced this and can give me some ideas on how to handle it....work stress! I have a full-time job because I am a single parent without support. The problem is that there is only one "adult" (me) in the system and I can only manage about 4 hours per day before I run out of mental energy. This means that I am super stressed every day trying to get a full 8 hours of work done in 4 hours. It is (thankfully) a work-from-home situation for now so I can do this without just literally leaving the office half way through the day. Then there's all the "parenting" stuff that has to happen and all the other "adulting tasks" (groceries, etc.). So earlier this week the stress finally got the better of me. I was at my therapists office and really, really dissociating. To the point that I was almost catatonic I was told. I had to have someone drive me home from his office! I am still (two days later) having trouble staying present and focused and have not been able to do any work. So, here's my question....is it possible to increase my mental energy? At the end of 4 hours I just start really dissociating and my brain just shuts down. This is even with a 1 hour break in the middle! I also just don't know how to explain this to my friends/support. They say "just get some rest" or "take a couple days off" because that's what they do when they are stressed or overwhelmed. How do I explain why this doesn't work for me? Yeah, I'm a hot mess! Thanks for reading and I welcome any feedback!

I am the same energy wise in general, not even related to dissociation. All I can suggest is trying to maybe space tasks out and take more frequent breaks. Also, maybe have bloodwork done to rule out any potential issues that could be contributing to it just in case.

Are you making time on the weekends and weekday evenings to take care of the needs of the littles?

If their needs get met, you will probably find that work and other "adulting" tasks become easier to do.

It can be as simple as coloring for 15 minutes, or watching a cartoon, or sleeping with a small stuffed animal.

TheGangsAllHere wrote:Are you making time on the weekends and weekday evenings to take care of the needs of the littles?

If their needs get met, you will probably find that work and other "adulting" tasks become easier to do.

It can be as simple as coloring for 15 minutes, or watching a cartoon, or sleeping with a small stuffed animal.

Thanks for those ideas...I didn't really think about coloring or watching a cartoon but those are both something that my littles enjoy. I think I am going to go back to old school "Saturday morning cartoons and cereal"!