We Are #MightyTogether

For a long time, I never understood why I’d feel so completely drained after a small task. I’d observe others working away, barely breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, I’m over here running a mental marathon just trying to keep up.

Maybe it’s because I’m constantly overthinking, or maybe it’s genuine exhaustion. Either way, it affects me more than I ever realized.

It’s always been difficult to navigate my energy. Sometimes I feel ready and raring to go. Other times, I feel like a zombie, frozen in place. I always push through my day regardless of how I’m feeling, but there are certain things that drain me beyond belief.

These probably don’t seem like big things. But for me, they’re often the reason I end the day completely exhausted.

For me, that looks like this.

Making Phone Calls

I can rehearse, memorize, and plan out what I’m going to say ten different ways and still feel my body tense the moment it comes down to crunch time—when the call starts.

There’s so much uncertainty when it comes to going into a conversation. Not knowing what the other person is going to say next. The pressure to respond in real time without the buffer of processing.

I’ve always struggled with making and receiving phone calls because it takes me a while to process information. Whenever I hear my own voice, I tend to focus on that instead of what I’m actually saying because it becomes such a distraction. I’m thinking too much about how I’m coming across while I’m in the middle of the conversation.

It’s not just draining. It’s nerve-wracking. Sometimes it even makes me physically ill. Sweats, headaches, tension, nausea—it all builds up from one small phone call.

Switching Tasks Too Quickly

Generally, it’s not the work that’s exhausting. It’s the sudden switch.

My brain doesn’t move like a clean slide between tasks. It feels more like shutting one room down while another is still full of noise.

Even small changes, like answering someone’s question while I’m already in the middle of doing something else, can make me feel like I’ve lost my place.

There are moments when I’m lost in writing a blog post or cooking a meal, and an outside distraction completely breaks my focus.

The thing is, I get so hyperfocused on what I’m doing that if I’m pulled away for any reason, it doesn’t just interrupt my task—it changes my entire mood. I become frustrated because I’m in the middle of doing something I love, and then I have to stop abruptly because I need to switch my attention elsewhere.

My caregiving duties require a lot of my attention, and I’m more than happy to help whenever I’m needed. But even when I finally have a break, I’m usually writing. One interruption is sometimes all it takes to lose my train of thought, and then it’s hard to begin again.

Hearing Multiple Sounds at Once

The hum of fluorescent lights. A high-pitched squeaky voice. Phone notifications. Car horns. People talking nearby.

None of it is too “loud,” but all of it is happening at me at the same time.

It’s like my brain tries to tune into everything equally, and instead of choosing one stream, it just… short-circuits.

I stop being able to think clearly. I just survive it.

There was a time when I went to a movie theatre and people weren’t following the rules. They were having side conversations during the film. Movies next door were vibrating through the walls. Phones kept going off because they weren’t silenced. People reacted loudly throughout the movie.

My brain couldn’t focus on what I was watching.

It drove me up a wall. I actually had to leave the theatre because there was too much going on all at once.

One, it always annoys me when people don’t consider other people’s experiences.

Two, my brain simply can’t handle that much happening at once.

When I’m trying to focus, I need quiet. Outside noise has always been one of my biggest distractions.

Unclear Instructions

“I’ll need this soon.”

“Just fix it a bit.”

“Can you make it better?”

These kinds of directions don’t give me something to do—they give me something to decode.

And decoding takes more energy than doing.

I don’t struggle with effort. I struggle with ambiguity.

I’ve never been good at following verbal instructions. I’ve always preferred visuals because that’s how my brain understands things best.

When someone gives me instructions just by talking, I’m too busy thinking about something else—the sound of their voice, what I’m going to say in response, or trying to remember the beginning of what they said while they’re already explaining something else. I just can’t focus on every word being told.

And if someone doesn’t specify exactly what I need to do, I’ll sit there for what feels like forever, completely stuck because I don’t know where to start.

I had a job where there were constant interruptions during my work. My boss would yell questions from her desk while I was in the middle of another task. It was like she expected all of us to stop what we were doing immediately, make whatever she wanted the priority, and then wonder why our original work wasn’t finished minutes later.

She mostly gave verbal instructions because she didn’t know how to visually show us what she wanted. Between the constant conversations, stacks of paperwork, her talking to herself, and her dog barking in the office, it became incredibly overwhelming.

It was work I genuinely loved, but all of the interruptions and verbal instructions left me mentally exhausted.

I hated having to ask someone to repeat themselves after they’d already explained something, so I’d sit there trying to remember key words and piece everything together on my own.

Decision Making

I only recently learned about decision fatigue, and it makes so much sense.

Even the smallest decisions drain me.

Whether it’s deciding what to order for dinner or figuring out my next step in life, I feel overwhelmed.

It’s not that I don’t know how to decide. It’s that every decision costs energy.

Any time someone asks me, “What do you want to do?” “What do you want to eat?” or “Where do you want to go?” my immediate answer is almost always, “I don’t know.”

The thing is, my brain starts running through every possible option. What sounds good? What if I change my mind? What if I regret my choice?

Sometimes I’ll stand in front of the refrigerator knowing I’m hungry and still not know what to make because making the decision feels harder than making the meal.

It’s Never Just One Thing

None of these moments would matter on their own.

But they stack.

By the end of the day, I’m not exhausted because of one big event. I’m exhausted because of a hundred tiny things that most people would never think to count.

I used to think I was just stupid, lazy, and weak. But I’m finally learning to accept that this is just how my brain works. It doesn’t mean I’m incapable. It just means I use my energy differently than other people do.

And that’s okay.

What are some of the “tiny things” that quietly drain your energy each day?

“I am tired in the way only a soul can be tired.” — unknown

#MentalHealth #Neurodiversity #ADHD #Autism #Anxiety #MightyTogether