Ask HN: How do you recharge your batteries?

I had a mental breakdown last fall and with that everything in my life spiraled out of control. Now I have to spend another semester to finish my master's, possibly 2.

I may fail my master's because I can't replace a course and I don't believe that I will be able to pass it. It seems that there is a mental barrier preventing things from "clicking".

I am tired. I can't seem to be able to catch a break or rest. Besides my master's I have a job that's 30 hours per week because I don't have any other form of economic support.

I can't seem to be able to recharge my batteries. Nothing seems to work.

I wake up tired. I have trouble with executive dysfunction. My brain feels saturated, as if there is no more space to store new information.

I have reached a point of total burnout. My gears are grinding instead of spinning and I have no strength to keep going.

Ugh, sorry to hear about it, that totally sucks. :-(

IMO/IME...this is a good one to put to your master's degree department. Circumstances material to your achieving the degree as it existed before your health downturn last fall have changed. So this is partly something they should help you navigate.

Mental health issues like those you are experiencing are notorious for casting our problems, over and over, as issues only we can solve, alone.

Typically though, not only do others want to help, but departments and administrations usually have a great deal of experience in sculpting new solutions out of what appears to be thin air. For this exact type of situation. Which is to say--they have probably been down this road before and have tools which could immediately make your life better.

It may take some searching and probing to find out the best people to work with on this (sometimes it's a department secretary who pushes things into motion, you never know). But this activity will be, by definition, returning executive control to your side (same with posting here btw, nicely done).

So, I would ride them, as if they are party to your resolving the current health situation, to the degree you can. Don't take such risks with your own psychology alone. Take the risks with the school, and use the waiting time to construct boundaries around your personal recovery.

Just some thoughts though, I'm sure there are lots of ways to attack the problem & you got this. Good on you for reaching out.

If your situation is as dire as your post makes it sound, I wouldn't personally wait until July.

Given that we've finally advanced into the era of more accessible tele-health thanks to COVID, you may not necessarily be restricted by geographic limitations in finding a psychopharmacologist to work with. Try searching for psychopharmacologists who offer "virtual" appointments or tele-health/tele-medicine services.

Get an appointment ASAP, like next week at the latest. Why wait?

Many medications require titrating up to a clinically effective dosage over the course of weeks, before you even get to find out if it'll have a positive therapeutic effect, then you may need to titrate down over weeks before you can start the next drug.

While psychopharmacology is a "science," because of our widely differing biologies, it's a science of trial-and-error.

Also, I know it's probably not something you want to hear, but it's not the end of the world if you have to spend another semester, or even another two or three semesters, to complete your degree.

Life is long, and this is just a transient speed bump. It may seem like a big deal RIGHT NOW, but 10 years from now, it'll just be another one of those things you had to overcome in life.

Try to relax. Focus on the things you can control, and try to not dwell on the things you can't. It too, shall pass.

I am in Denmark, getting an appointment with a professional of this kind usually involves a scheduling an appointment 10 months ahead. Instead I have an appointment with a psychiatrist in the country that my mother lives.

The problem is that my funding is drying hence why I had to take a job that has me working 30 hours per week.

I tried finding a FT job but it seems that smaller shops do not like me. A medium sized company told me that "they are afraid I will get bored and want to move on to something else". I have an interview with a FAANG company next week but I feel woefully underprepared for that.

It is very likely that I have that. I don't think I have the money to purchase a machine for that.