An autistic woman experiencing a rare burst of energy has decided to mark the occasion by doing all the things that exhausted her in the first place.
Navya Randhawa, 36, was recently forced to take a week off work following a debilitating episode of burnout that left her drained, anxious and depressed. Now that she has had a chance to recover, she plans to return to her usual lifestyle: indiscriminately saying “yes” to everything, whether she wants to or not, until it eventually robs her of what little joy she has in this world.
Randhawa said: “I’m on top of the world right now. I feel great. Like I could run a marathon, or defeat God in single combat – hang on a minute! I forgot to add those things to my to-do list. I’ll put them both under ‘Priority’.”
“I’ve signed up for improv classes on Wednesday evenings, which fits really well around the cupcake business I’ve just started,” she continued. “I also want to be a chess grandmaster before I turn 40, and I’m about 20 years behind on practice – I’ve calculated that if I wake up at four every morning I’ll be able to catch up.”
“I’ve scheduled in loads of ‘me time’, though, don’t worry,” added Randhawa. “I’ve got 20 minutes on Friday to cry uncontrollably, followed by five minutes of feeling completely numb. Then it’s off to my bar shift, where I can unwind from the everyday stresses of running a law firm.”
