this post was submitted on 23 Jul 2023
65 points (98.5% liked)

Asklemmy

43806 readers
1148 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_[email protected]~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
65
How do you deal with bad cyclic burnout? (kbin.social)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
32 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

For some odd reason I burnout very frequently, or more like I get so brain dead that I literally cannot even come up with an Idea of what to do, let alone act on it. It feels like when I even try to start I get so exhausted that I have to lay down.

It always happens after I'm the most productive, but my down time feels so much longer than the time I get to create. I'd say I have at least 4 days to a week of productivity, and about 2 - 3 weeks of burnout. It's nuts.

The cycle repeats, though it can vary wildly in how long each part is.

I'm starting to get hella annoyed since I haven't drawn a thing in over a year and I was finally getting back into the groove at least doodling daily, just to be derailed hard.

I was thinking that I just lack creativity, but it became this catch-22 of "I have to actually draw with purpose and make things that I enjoy" and "I am so fucking tired that even opening a sketchbook or cleaning makes me want to take a nap / drop into a dead sleep".

What are your thoughts?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] GRENADE_MAGNET 14 points 1 year ago

It kind of sounds like you’re describing bipolar disorder. These cycles of up and down.

You said this low period always happens right after your most creative periods. Depressive cycles typically last longer than the manic phase which is what you described.

Not a doctor obviously but I lived with it undiagnosed for a very long time. Maybe read up on it and see if it fits your experience.

Whatever it is I hope you find some relief.