How to stop multitasking at work

I've been so busy lately at work that I've been multitasking a lot. In the past, I realized this wasn't healthy for me. But lately so much needs to be done, and there's no one to help, that the multitasking is back.

The results of multitasking for me are extreme anxiety, frequent mistakes., periods of hyped up productivity followed by a day of lethargy. It's very tiring.

I'd like to talk to my manager about this. But what manager wants to hear that multitasking is difficult for an employee? These days there's so much to do, I think it's expected of you.

Plus, I don't want to go to her without a solution.

How have you handled multitasking and the emotional and physical consequences?

I used to think I could multitask well, but in the end, I had the same difficulties that you are describing. Actually, it got so bad for me that I literally blew up. Eventually, it was quite well-known that I had a mental illness. I didn't willingly disclose it. It showed itself against my will. That fact did allow me to receive some accommodations. However, I understand people not wanting to have mental illness known.

My old job did allow me to pick and choose what I worked on, to some degree. Some of the time, I was expecting myself to do more than others were expecting. You might ask if that might apply to you. If not, another idea might be to run with a portion of your job in a way that shows extra creativity and initiative. Having such an plan that would significantly benefit your employer can sometimes make them quite willing to let you hyperfocus on one or two things. Present the plan, with advantages list, and see what they say.

Of course, I don't know what you do, so am unsure if my advice is applicable/helpful. I will say that one need not fully disclose their mental illness to ask for some time to focus in one (or at least a couple) directions, rather than several. Most all people need some period of a "break". Any kind and reasonable employer knows that its best to keep employees healthy enough not to totally breakdown. To reiterate, sometimes it is the employee themselves that brings on the crash.

As a pretty terrible multitasker, I don't have your solution, myself. That said, I would echo BirdDancer's wisdom about the potential risks of revealing any diagnosis. Discrimination is the rule, in my experience, anyway. Is it possible you might encounter a person of real empathy in doing so? Sure, it is possible. But not very likely, in my view.

I would never reveal my diagnosis at work. There's still too much stigma about mental illness.