Lethargy and anxiety - planning issues and fear of deadlines

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The last few weeks, I've had serious issues getting my work done.

I had to play catchup already as a late enrollment, which has its own reason. I was feeling fine the first two weeks in but still I didn't meet my targets to catchup with the class. I encountered some problems while trying to figure out things and I just wasn't getting answers quick enough. Studying took much longer than anticipated. A task would take me five to six hours instead of two to three hours. This meant I couldn't plan my time as well as I had hoped and getting other things done which also have priority. I mean, it feels like everything has priority and I didn't know what to do first anymore.

I suffer from obesity and I had already taken up cardiovascular exercises and I had planned to crank up the frequency to going each day except in the weekends. That is also very important to me as it makes me feel much fitter. It was a real struggle to pick which had priority and I usually gave it to my studies. This made me lose the feeling of being fit and I got tired much sooner.

So, what happened in the last three weeks? I've been losing energy and whatever I plan to do that day just won't materialize. I've become lethargic (I really feel so tired that I just have to give in) and I keep thinking of the worst outcome possible: failing to meet the study requirements in time. The pressure is getting to me and my anxiety levels have raised drastically over the last weeks. It's taking energy away from me and it's just spiraling out of control. I feel lethargic, anxious and I try to calm myself by lying down on the couch or just in bed, holding tight to my sheets and pillow and sometimes I just check the news a bit too frequently. I'm just afraid because I know I won't make the deadline anymore. I've read that lethargy could come from lack of stimulation which in turn can be caused by a lack of a daily routine. Anxiety drains a lot of energy, I believe. I suffer from headaches, too.

I've gone through this before and failed two other studies because of this but I don't want to quit studying while I still have a chance. However, this pressure is killing me. Is there anyone who can relate to this feeling, who can say something similar has happened to him or her? I would just like to know if it's something that is known to happen to people with autism or that it may just be something very extreme I'm experiencing.

I am definitely experiencing this right now. I miss one deadline and get so anxious and obsessed and guilty about that fact that I end up missing the next one and it just keeps happening. Eventually I find myself in an almost catatonic state, skipping out on engagements, getting out of bed at 4pm, and forcing myself to take a shower and wash my hair. It's not even that I'm not trying. It's all just too much to handle.

That is the story of my life when it comes to school work. I think it has something to do with being autistic.

One of the psychologists who diagnosed me specifically mentioned my inability to plan and organise my academic work (I am in graduate school) as a problem stemming from autism as opposed to ADD/ADHD. I don't know where to begin or how to manage this huge project with hundreds of sources. I had problems even in undergrad with large essays, but none of them were as vast in scope and crippling as the work I encountered in graduate school. I am inefficient when I study because I want to know everything there is to know before making a statement in my own work, which simply isn't possible. I tried CBT to come to terms with these issues long before I received my AS diagnosis (it failed). Now I recently embarked on a medication regimen with Strattera (a non-stimulant ADHD drug) to see if that will help me. Perhaps you should consider talking to your psychiatrist about these problems and possible drugs that can help. Note that I am not promoting drugs; I am personally struggling with the idea of being on one, but there are fast-acting drugs (central stimulants) that might be able to help you if you are in a crunch and you can always quit the regimen once you complete your work/studies so as to avoid becoming dependent on them for life.

Oh man! This thread speaks to everything I experienced between Thanksgiving and finals. And I do not agree with drugs. I get side effects not listed.

The trick I used for the problem of wanting-to-know-and-share-everything-in-a-five-page-paper was typing the source material in verbatim (in a color) until I covered the material and was at-not-above-length and then replacing (in black), sentence by sentence, with my own information and words. It slowed down everything in my mind so I was able to just finish a paper (three weeks late).

I am considering using the university success services tutors, not for tutoring, but for babysitting me while I work- obliging myself to stay on track. But this could bring on it's own set of problems.