Does This Make Sense?

[digger]

It does make sense. As does using the stress cup example, but I don't see the harm in explaining how it affects you personally as well. This about you after all.

This...

My only effective tactic is to break things into little segments, simplify and do them when I'm alone. So I can rarely cook when the family are around or at the end of the day. Instead I try to plan what will be needed, and get the ingredients out, then take a break and come back to it later to chop them, take another break and an hour or so later to put them in the oven

...is a really good example of how being overwhelmed in this way affects the way you are having to go about things compared to ways someone not so overwhelmed would.

Although the psychiatrist and psychologist both believe I'm not depressed, the social worker who can unlock a support budget always hears my explanation as pointing to depression, and tells me I should ask to try another antidepressant.

If your psychiatrist and psychologist both agree that you are not depressed and are not recommending medication, then perhaps it's them that needs to speak with your social worker? I'm assuming your social worker is not qualified to diagnose you?

 

[shimmerz]

I was an IT specialist as well. I completely lost my ability to analyze, which of course, is one of the key things in excelling at this craft.

What I have realized recently is that I am no longer good at sequencing...... which has me feel like I am ADHD when in fact I am not. Not certain if this is a help to you at all but thought I would mention it.

 

[ghotiff]

Maybe you could tell your social worker that it's not depression but anxiety. I don't know if that's true for you but I'm wondering if they would "hear" that better than trying to explain it.

Extroverts gain energy from being around people, introverts gain energy from being on their own. Many extroverts can't understand how an introvert works. Maybe this is part of what's going on.

Maybe also you could seem to "appreciate" the help by asking for it to be on a calm day to help with freezer meals rather than on stressful days. Or is there another way to get value from the support she is offering. I think it's ridiculous that you would need to do this, but sometimes ridiculous is reality.

Just thoughts.

 

[Friday]

Overwhelmed = Blow-up or Shut-down, yep.... >>> Either of which leads to isolating for me.

 

[Sandstone]

Thanks for the suggestion ghotiff, but I know from experience that any sort of help in that area won't improve things. and it will have to be a scheduled thing so I can't control the day or time. I did have a person coming once a week, and there were some occasions when I couldn't bear to have an extra person in the house.

I think this is mainly a question of bad timing - I need some effective therapy before I can start to deal with the extra stuff. But I'm not allowed to use this budget for anything remotely clinical, like Mindfulness training or support in practising grounding techniques. That is supposed to come from somewhere else, and like the actual therapy isn't happening - therapy ends this week and she has been forbidden to offer another block.

The only way it makes sense for me to be offered this first is if they believe I'm not suffering from anything much and just need to get my act together, which half of me is sure is the explanation anyway. I've spent so many days trying to hammer this out to something that makes some sort of sense.

 

[Sandstone]

I am no longer good at sequencing...... which has me feel like I am ADHD when in fact I am not.

Yes, that's why I no longer work from recipes. I end up with ingredients left over at the end. I looked at an ADHD test when this was mentioned, and scored very low on impulsiveness, but high on inattention. Combining the inability to move through a string of instructions with the distraction of hyper-vigilance and the intrusive images associated with heat sources and knives make the whole thing unbelievably complicated.

Unless I'm making it up. In which case I need to stop being so silly and get on with it

 

[shimmerz]

Unless I'm making it up.

lol. lol. lol. Yep, been through that stage too. :hug:

 

[Sandstone]

I can't manage to trust anything in my mind