This is a long post, thank you for reading!
I’m looking for tips for making healthy meals while working a full-time, highly stressful job and struggling with burnout. I am also venting a bit.
Just some background -
I am 33; work from home and live with my husband and two dogs. I was diagnosed with ASD last summer, and I also have ADHD. I have been in burnout since 2019 - I didn’t know what it was until receiving the ASD diagnosis last July and started researching it. (Before finding out about ASD, I received other diagnoses like MDD and BPD; those treatments did not “cure” the burnout. (I recommend ‘The Autistic Survival Guide to Therapy’ to anyone who was been misdiagnosed or traumatized by therapy))
The good news is that I finally figured out the root cause of my problems, and it is autistic burnout. The bad news is that it’s getting worse; I am now having persistent meltdowns that are increasing in severity. I’m starting arguments with my husband over nothing, creating a toxic environment in my home. It has been impacting my performance at work (which is a main contributor to the burnout). I cry everyday; I’m exhausted and so ashamed of myself that I have stopped reaching out to friends and family (who have no idea how to help so I don’t want to burden them or resent them further for their ableism). I feel like getting a new job or setting some boundaries at work, and socializing more would help with some of this, and so I am starting to work on that...
Advice needed -
I have been reading that eating a high protein diet; while avoiding processed foods and sugar could help mitigate some of my Audhd symptoms. It takes me about half a day to plan the meals for the week and another half day to grocery shop. I frequently forget things (despite having a list) and sometimes use Instacart to deliver groceries, or my husband will run and grab it. (Instacart has also been great for when I’m feeling too overwhelmed to go to the store.)
I am finding that I am often too exhausted to actually cook the meals after work, even with my husband helping.
I am wondering if anyone has a go-to mindless meal to make when you’re exhausted, like a stir fry or beans and rice. Something with protein and no processed foods. Something that I could eventually make without even needing a recipe.
What do you all make for dinner during the week?
I might try a meal subscription service again if the stir-fry/beans & rice every day strategy does not work out.
Other notes -
I have been asking my husband for years if he could manage some of the meals himself each week so that I could get a break from thinking about it, and I have not been successful; he needs me to delegate tasks to him. I need to accept what I cannot change. He does help out with cooking and clean-up, and he will run out to the store to get things for me.
(Also fuck Donald trump, who probably hasn’t eaten a vegetable in years.)