#The game isn't dead you're just burntout

[feykrorovaan]

Burnt out players that just need to take a break from a game:"This year, I lost my dear favorite game!"

Game that is alive and well, and so is the fandom:"STOP TELLING EVERYBODY I'M DEAD!"

Burnt out players:"Sometimes I CAN STILL HEAR IT'S VOICE!"

[weary-minds]

As someone who's autistic and has ADHD, I feel really slow (not in the derogatory way, but rather very literally). With everything. My ability to learn and improve upon any skill or understanding is just so slow, while all of my old friends and practically anyone else I'd meet are able to learn and improve so quickly. Which, while I understand that life isn't a 'race', it doesn't mean that I don't still get 'left behind'. Because I do. Everyone passes me up and leaves me in the dust. For a while I'm going at the same pace as others and I can relate enough to be respected as a friend, then suddenly I'm alone again while they all continue sprinting exponentially. Further and further away.

Running is really the perfect analogy for this. Because everyone else I know can run so quickly and for indiscriminate periods of time as well. But me? I can barely keep up a steady jog. And whether I push myself to run faster or not, I still get so exhausted (burntout/depressively unmotivated/mentally unable to engage with anything skill-based) that I have no choice but to stop dead in my tracks and take a breather; or if I'm lucky, slow down to a limping walk. And this can last for literal months, where I'm metaphorically dragging my feet just to keep moving forward. With anything. I guess that's why I often feel like I'm never 'enough' in a lot of regards. Because by the time I've made any big breakthroughs, no one is around to care anymore. They're too far away to see, and have forgotten about me; too caught up in their stride.

I'm happy for them, I just wish I was still worth being a friend and my art/writing/thoughts didn't get laughed at or not taken seriously just because it isn't up to par with what all they can create. All I can do now is just keep moving forward, at my own pace. That's really important to remember. True friends don't judge your value as a person based on your ability to learn and master skills quickly. It will be ok, just gotta keep moving forward for yourself and you'll find your way. This goes for anything ranging from personally-chosen skills like art, music, writing, (even video games, let's be honest), to other life skills like math, cooking, socializing, ect. as well. You deserve to be respected regardless of where you're at with these things.