Key Takeaways
- A two-option check-in can turn a heavy, mixed feeling into a clear picture.
- The tiredness described here lasts longer than a week and feels mostly physical.
- Sleep feels mostly normal, yet rest still does not feel fully restoring.
- The stress points to work or study, split between overload and loss of meaning.
- The pressure feels both time-limited and also part of a constant background.
Story & Details
A clear subject, a simple method
This piece is about the Two-Option Check-In, a small method that uses only A-or-B choices to map tiredness and stress. On December 20, 2025, in the Netherlands (Europe), the check-in captured one cluster of feelings in plain words: feeling bad, tired, “mokestp,” fed up, and worried.
The body in front, the mind close behind
The first shape was time. This was not a short dip. It had lasted more than seven days. The next shape was weight. The tiredness felt more physical than mental. Sleep did not sound fully broken, yet it did not feel fully good either. Most of the time it felt normal, but part of the time it felt affected.
Work as the main stage
The stress did not float without a cause. It pointed to one main place: work or study. Inside that place, the strain split in two. One half was overload: too much to do, too much pressure, not enough room to breathe. The other half was meaning: a sense that the work did not feel worth it, or did not feel like the right path.
A mixed timeline, a narrow hinge
Time did not give a clean answer either. Part of the pressure felt like a peak with an end point, like deadlines or exam weeks. Another part felt like a steady layer that stayed even when the peak passed. That mix matters, because it suggests two needs at once: short relief for the peak, and a deeper change for the steady layer.
Small moves that fit the picture
Early steps stayed simple and real. Less screen time before rest. A short pause that is truly a pause. Food and water that are not skipped. Gentle movement and daylight early in the day. A short list of worries to get them out of the head and onto the page. When tiredness lasts for weeks, or daily life shrinks, health checks can be a practical next step, because long tiredness can have many causes.
One safety line
If thoughts of hurting yourself appear, urgent help matters more than any method.
Conclusions
Long tiredness can look like one problem, yet it often carries more than one layer. Here, the body felt heavy, sleep felt only partly restoring, and work carried both pressure and loss of meaning. The most hopeful part is that the picture is clear enough to act on: protect recovery, reduce overload where possible, and rebuild a sense of direction so effort can feel worth it again.
Selected References
[1] https://www.who.int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases
[2] https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/tiredness-and-fatigue/
[3] https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html
[4] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/burnout/art-20046642
[5] https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/sleep-hygiene-simple-practices-for-better-rest
[6] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imwnk-6seIc
Appendix
Burnout. A work-linked state marked by deep exhaustion, distance from the job, and a drop in feeling effective.
Fatigue. Strong tiredness that does not lift with normal rest and makes daily tasks feel harder.
Meaning. The sense that work matters, fits values, and points to a goal that feels real.
Mokestp. A word used as written; it signals an unclear feeling that sits near irritation or inner unrest.
Overload. Too much demand for the time, energy, or control available.
Recovery. The body’s return to energy through rest, sleep, food, movement, and calm time.
Screen-free rest. Rest time without a phone or other bright, demanding screens.
Sleep quality. How restoring sleep feels, not only how many hours it lasts.
Two-Option Check-In. A guided self-check that uses only two choices at each step to find patterns fast.
Worry. Repeating fear-based thoughts that keep the mind tense and drain energy.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 