Dear No Idea, who has presented some very good ideas! I'm going to write my reponses in bold, underlined in your message. I know exactly what you mean! Two people have helped me with this - the first was my husband, Thank you to all Good Men and Fine Husbands, wherever they may be! when I was having a meltdown Yes, meltdown! I'm having them a lot these days, during the period of med changes. early on in our marriage after our first child was born, and I was stressed about feeling like I could never get 'done' with the laundry. He looked at me, a little bewildered by my statement, and said of course I (we) could never be done with it...it was just something that always was there. We kept wearing clothes, so there would ALWAYS be laundry. The same goes for all other household chores. If you're living in your home, you will virtually always be in the midst of most chores. My apartment is very small. One bedroom, one living room, kitchenette, bath, short hallway, no deck. It feels like a mess all the time. My desk is the worst. I get bamboozled trying to sort through it all. My house cleaner stacks desk stuff neatly, and by the end of that day, it's a mess all over again. I can't find stuff. I can't even locate stuff I need in my backpack. I have a set of headphones that enable me to hear my cell phone\ when I am outdoors. I had them yesterday. They've now been gone for 24 hours. This is not unusual. I know they are are in here somewhere, but where? I don't know. This frosts my b*tt and upsets me a lot.

That was really hard for me, because I typically seek to feel like I've completed something. With the household chores, you're just rarely ever DONE with something. They're ongoing.

The other person who helped was my therapist. I'm going to see my therp day after tomorrow. He said on the phone he thinks he's got some good ways to help me through this She really helped me to look at my permanent list of things I felt like were never done or never done well enough. For me, at that time, it was food. Getting just the right combinations of foods in each meal for myself, my husband and my family was a big deal - especially for my kids. I would literally spend time stressing out about the number of servings of vegetables my kids had in a day and in a week. When we had vegetables at every dinner and fruit at every breakfast anyway. This far away from that scenario, I can't quite remember why I was so stressed about that particular issue. But she really helped me to relax about the things I felt like I always had to be on top of at all times and allow myself the space to breath when I couldn't realistically get everything on 'my list' done while remaining sane. She helped me to feel OK with leaving some things left undone and prioritizing my emotional health every bit as much as I prioritize my laundry and my kids' vegetable servings.

Finally, my husband has a saying that really helps me when I feel overwhelmed by the volume of things that need to get done (it works in practically EVERY scenario I try it in): The problem is I can't get started because I'm so overwhelmed. Pick a corner. I can't concentrate enough to pick ANYTHING. When I'm cleaning the house and can't figure out where to start, pick a corner. When I'm working on a project for work and I can't figure out which of the 7 or so tasks to do first...pick a corner. It even works for my kids when cleaning their rooms, or something similar, feels like an overwhelming task. Yesterday, my son got stressed thinking about clearing off the top of his dresser. I told him he didn't have to do it all at once; I asked him to pick up 7 things and put them away, then check in with me. 7 was manageable. 7 wasn't overwhelming. 7 was picking a corner.

I also feel better, sometimes, when I make a list that helps me keep track of everything that needs to get done, then prioritizing the things that must get done vs. those that should get done in an ideal world vs. those that would be nice, but are completely non-essential. Then, checking off the list makes me feel great, like progress is being made. I also can use the list to let my husband or kids know the things I would like them to do to get our house in order.

I'm not sure if any of these tactics would work for you in your life. They are very good tactics. I've used them successfully in the past. I think right now it's my whole mental state that's working against doing anything, AND suddenly - yes, suddenly -- getting old. I was doing well, t hen I fell on my back on the sidewalk. I was a slow mover before, now I'm slower then ever. Plus, my hands tremble slightly. All this upsets me hugely and makes getting things done around the house infinitely too slow. I have to go really slow or I knock stuff over or drop stuff. That's why I seriously need personal assistance now. Not just now, either -- I had this type of assistance paid for by Medicaid years ago. The need has never gone away. Oh, and by the way, when I was younger, in fact from the time I was a baby though the time I worked, I was so fast and coordinated that people were amazed. I won a sprinting race with the fastest football player in 6th grade. Nobody else was there, so of course he didn't tell anyone. There were no girls' track teams in the 1950s. I was noted by pretty much every boss or supervisor I had as being the fastest, most efficient, and accurate worker they'd ever had. It's really hard for me to accept my loss of speed, efficiency, accuracy, and concentration.They work for me from time to time, but usually when I'm already in a place that is open to progress. It's by and large ineffective if I'm in a low depression; it's better for when I'm baseline or hypomanic and have the energy to approach any of it. When I'm depressed, both my T and my husband have worked hard to help me figure out that doing nothing that's non-essential is my best bet for taking care of myself.

Hope you can get ahead of the stress that all the little bits cause when taken together/constantly.