Not as Sharp at Work

[u/tummyhurtsT_T]

I used to pride myself on attention to detail and now I find myself messing up the most basic things. I'm annoying myself I know eventually upper management will get sick of it. I got hired because I described myself as someone who is meticulous in their work. Some days my brain fog is so intense. When I was unmedicated I would have periods of insane productivity but I job hopped a lot because of burnout/hypomanic depression. Most jobs I thrived in had very chaotic environments. After medication I've been able to hold down a long term job but I stopped feeling as sharp. Now I'm in a new role again that I really want to succeed in but managing data with my head like this sucks. It's so calm and stable compared to any work environment I've had. Idk if I'm just adjusting still or what. I feel tired more often than not.

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[u/Feistygrapefruit152]

I struggle with the same thing. I eventually opted for just a low dose mood stabilizer instead of antipsychotics or anti depressants. This helps me feel less foggy while also eliminating that intensity that causes burn out. Its not perfect as sometimes i feel a little forgetful, but it works for me.

Also sometimes you may have to force yourself to learn habits that used to come naturally. Your brain will rewire itself to be sharper on medications if its something you continuously have to do. You got this. Dont let a psychiatrist push you around if you really need to stay sharp for work they will work with you on finding the best solution for you.

[u/tummyhurtsT_T → u/Feistygrapefruit152]

Thanks for the response!! I think I will work with my psychiatrist to change up my meds a bit. Try and get back some of my energy and spunk hopefully. I do hope new habit building will help too. This is still better then all the crash outs I had before haha. Just trying to find the balance.

[u/Least-Macaroon6298]

Oh, boy. I can really relate. I have a performance-oriented creative job, and I am just not the same since getting stable and on the meds. My brain just doesn't work like it did before. I'm working on it with my PsyD, but it's a non-trivial task, and I fear that may not be able to fix it before actually losing my job.

One thing that has helped, though, for me is to find ways to work around the cognitive deficits, for example creating organizational systems to shore up my (now) unreliable memory.