My job takes all my energy
I'm not the kind of person with adhd that needs a lot of stimulation. I am actually really overwhelmed by lots of stimulation, especially noise, and it takes a lot of energy to maintain my focus and even just be present without shutting down in stimulating environments.
Unfortunately my job is very loud. I work in a kitchen because I genuinely love cooking. But kitchens can be very loud. I can handle ambient noise very well. But what really drains me is noise from my coworkers. There is a lot of talking, joking around, laughing, and loud music at my job, and in most kitchens, but my current place of work is worse than anywhere I have ever worked before in regards to this. I wear noise canceling earplugs, but they really arent very helpful. Because I am constantly overstimulated at work, I have no energy to do anything outside of work, and I barely have energy to keep working. There are a lot of days that I just drag myself out of bed to go to work because I have to pay my bills.
I know that I have to find somewhere else to work. But I have no work experience outside of restaurants, or education, and I cant even think of another type of job I would want to do. I do want to keep doing similar work. But in addition to the job market being pretty bad right now, it takes me a little longer to find a job because I like to do a very specific type of work in kitchens, and I'm not willing to compromise on that because it wouldnt align with my career goals.
So basically, since its most likely going to take me a while to find a new job. Is there anything that might help me not be so tired and miserable in the meantime? I just want to find enough energy to enjoy my life a little bit outside of work. At the moment I kinda just lay on the couch or in bed. I might watch some tv but most of the time I'm either on my phone or just laying down. There is stuff I want to do but I cant make myself do it because I'm exhausted. I do take medication.
Posted Sep 29, 2025, 11:21 PM UTC