Inside the Little Plastic Castle

At Ask Metafilter, creatrixtiara asked (in part)

What actions can I do to give myself enough of a reserve in energy or resilience such that when I hit the last straw on a pile of problems, I am not immediately catastrophizing and end up in burnout? [Modifier: am autistic/ADHD]

Many fascinating replies on resetting one’s expectations and doing a good-enough job. In particular, Jane the Brown responded (at epic, entirely-worthwhile length)

I find deep pessimism works for me. We know that it's all going to end in tears. It always does. If the project you are trying to manage for your job actually does get completed this go-round, it is still just a matter of time before that client drops your company. There is small chance they will be with you in five years and far less that they will be with you in ten. Your current job position is not going to be around in fifty years, guaranteed. No one you work with will even be alive still in seventy years. The culture you grew up in is going to change in that amount of time so that everything that now feels comfortable and decent and familiar will be regarded as grossly unethical, as stupid looking as Marie Antoinette's hair, and quite obviously as foolish as the tulip bulb crazy. If you were even still around, nobody would understand or value the things that are important to you now. The cup is already broken. And beyond that, the heat death of the universe will ensure that no precious archaeological remnants, and no DNA will survive in any form. It ALWAYS ends in tears. That's the definition of life - everything is going to die.

[… massive snip …]

You don't have to be in control and save the day to be worthy of respect. All you have to do is not be a saboteur. Someone may tell you that you are a saboteur if you don't stick your hands into the machinery to try to pull out the sabots that other people have thrown in there; if anyone tells you something of that nature you have just got the data you need to identify THEM as a saboteur. Being willing and kind, and trying to learn and being useful and helpful is more than enough. Immolating yourself is too much.