I, probably like many others, am struggling with exhaustion that seem hard to shake. It kills my hobbies and interests one by one, it makes doom scrolling and watching stupid shows seem like the only valid activities I can handle.
I have tried the “touch grass”, I regularly switch off my phone to take breaks from social media, but it is hard to find motivation to anything but sleep and watch TV on the weekends.
Are there methods to deal with this sort of exhaustion from… gestures broadly at everything ?
Edit: after the initial replies I realized I probably should mention that I already do regular therapy and take prescription drugs for depression.
Edit 2: Thanks everyone for replying and handing out advice. My plan moving forward is to get some labs done to make sure I don’t have any deficiencies and have my meds adjusted if they need to be. I will try eating better, be more conscious about sleep and regular exercise.
Check for Iron and B vitamin deficiency if doc didn’t already suggest it.
Have you tried therapy?
Not a diagnosis, but sounds like depression.
Perhaps counter intuitively, exercise (get that heart rate up and sweat exercise) has always been the most effective for me. Managed my depression for ~25 years that way, such that I only have occasional (temporary) bouts of ennui.
I’d keep up with the touching grass too.
I’d recommend cycling or hiking. Great ways to combine touching grass with exercise. And both great for working through things you have in your mind.
I’m sure many have seen it, but Kersgezat recently put out video that opened my eyes to the less-obvious benefits of exercise.
This was great, thanks!
Working out was great for me too, I found the most exhausting thing I could do. Did a 1h class 3 x Week, no need to plan or prep anything, just show up and get absolutely exhausted.
I know how it sou da but you get SO much energy back.
As a depressive myself, I concur. Sounds like OP is one of us.
The key is finding coping strategies. I exercise every day and lift weights five days a week. That helps me tremendously. As far as exercise goes, you basically try everything until you figure out what you like and a routine that works for you. If your energy peaks at a particular time of day, that’s when you should plan to exercise. (For me it’s in the morning.)
I also read a lot of books.
Thing is, I don’t engage with people much, and that actually helps a lot with my mental health. I have one in-office day a week and that’s enough to fill up my social gauge.
If your energy peaks at a particular time of day, that’s when you should plan to exercise.
This is very sound advice and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.
I hope you find a routine that helps you deal with this. It’s tough stuff, but once you figure out what works for you, coping’s way easier.
It probably seems impossible but exercise is amazing to boost energy. I started going to the gym and I have more energy than ever. It’s intimidating to start but after you break through the first barrier of getting there it’s easy. There’s tons of work out regiments online but if you want more info on how I got started and what I did I’m more than happy to share. Also, eat healthy and drink water. (I can’t believe I’ve become one of these “exercise and eat your greens” people)
Not necessarily the case, but if it’s affecting your life so strongly, you might want to get checked by a medical professional.
Long COVID can destroy your life. Depression can destroy your life. Iron deficiency can ruin your life. A lot of things you might just think is just being tired may actually have a cause. Especially if simple fixes like “touch grass” style clichés do nothing for you.
It’s not always the answer, but it’s good to rule out in that case.
Work less.
Make sure you’re well hydrated (with water), eating healthy and regularly, getting regular exercise and have a good sleep schedule. If those are all solid, talk to your dentist about sleep apnea and if a sleep appliance might be right for you, as you may not be breathing well in your sleep.
Additionally stop looking at screens some time before bed, this influences your sleep negatively. Also avoid alcohol.
Most smart watches track your sleeping quality and some allow you to (manually) log such external interferences for you to reflect what might cause the most distress for your sleep.
For example I had the Amazfit GTS 2 mini, which is quite cheap and the app has this feature.
TIL this is something you’d bring up with your dentist.
It won’t solve everything but exercise and eating right can go a long way to ensure you’re not antagonizing what I am assuming is your clinical depression that I suspect is what you are in treatment for.
The dealing with “everything” -you could try to find what specific issues are most important to you. Find out what you can do about them locally and participate in doing that perhaps through volunteering or otherwise. -That’s what I try to do. Volunteering keeps my mind occupied and engaged in a healthier manner than doom-scrolling. It also makes me feel like I’m contributing to a solution (limited though it may be.) It’s also good to figure out and try to accept that which may be beyond your control, but I don’t want to overstep.
a good dropperful of liquid vitamin D is good for me once a week. make sure it’s enough – the typical recommended daily values (at least in the US) are pretty low.
Classic burn out.
I can relate, I suffer from anhedonia which sounds like what your describing, I wish there was a quick fix for it because and life can be a chore…very hard to overcome but I believe one day it will happen for us!
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have you tried more sex
he said exhaustion, likely he needs less
You’ve received a lot of great advice that I’ve seen. Definitely getting labs would be a good first step. I’d suggest working with your therapist on this, honestly. Supposing that you’re not dealing with a deficiency or medication issue, it might be important to figure out how long you’ve been feeling this way, what way it is exactly that you’re feeling, and figuring out what to do about it.
Hard to give much advice without knowing much about your lifestyle, but I try to prioritise sleep above all else. If I need to be up at 6am, I’ll make my herbal tea at 8pm and start winding down, be in bed by 9.30 so I can read a bit and be sure I’m asleep by 10. If I’m having trouble sleeping I’ll look at cutting caffeine completely, and/or no screens before bed. The other part (for me) is physical activity/ exercise. It’s hard to get started when you’re exhausted, but once it’s a habit, it gives you more reserves. And improves your sleep.
I’m going to piggy back on this, because sleep is incredibly important for me.
But more than that — routine is more important, and you mentioning habits is the way to get there. Want to help yourself sleep better before bed? Maybe walking every day between dinner and rest is what’ll help. I can’t say what works for others, but that’s what works for me, with anxiety/depression. The consistency is key.
Another option for OP is to set goals. They don’t have to be major; maybe it’s signing up for an event (I’ll use a 5k as an example) that’s months away and then training for it. Have reasons to look forward, and not dwell on the present/past.
