I have a kind of "information war injury", which seems a bit pathetic, but affects me a lot. When I sit down to do any kind of focus task, like reading a long article, or sorting out photos, or reviewing a paper, I might get a few seconds or paragraphs in, then I just freeze up. There's no more focus to give, and my mind doesn't want to take more in. There isn't reconciliation of all the stuff already inside, and more just provokes anxiety and rejection. Even conversations with people leave me exhausted, so I mostly avoid them. Then I get anxious about not really doing much "real" work, and being endlessly in a precarious place, which makes it worse. But I am genuinely finding it hard to work. Burnout from overdoing it for so many years has just left me empty. I might manage an hour or two, then need to lie down for a nap. You can only do 12-14 hours a day at screens for so long, until it does you actual damage. But it's all invisible and psychological, so doesn't seem so real.
I’ve been having the same experience lately. Utter fatigue and a desire for midday naps…none of which is normal. I’ve been wondering about “long COVID” or whatever you want to call it.
I am rarely ill and left my corporate job in Jan 2022 due to their ESG/DEI agenda as well as pushing the jab under the guise of “doing your part”. So I don’t have corporate pressure but I do have the “I need to be making money” thing going on.
Somehow this condition seems very different than what I can attribute to the obvious things. I dream every night-always have-and am noticing the experience of waking life and dream life is becoming more and more similar.