MYTH BUSTED: “It’s Normal to Feel Tired”
Blog Written by Kailynn Janaski
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Used to Being Tired
In today’s society, feeling fatigued may seem like the “new normal”. With busy lives full of stress, plus living in a pandemic, you may ask yourself, “who isn’t tired?” While being tired could simply be the result of a lack of sleep or poor diet, this isn’t always the case. Feeling overworked and constantly fatigued shouldn’t be considered “normal” and most definitely shouldn’t be a way of living that we, as a society, should get used to. This article on monster.com discusses how “hustle culture” (known for causing burnout and suggesting that working every day of our lives is necessary to achieve our goals), technology, and balancing life are just a few of the things that can affect our daily mood and energy.
And… BUSTED.
It’s human nature to want to succeed, but to what extent can success be measured before you’re “burnt out”? From a young age, we are taught to strive for success in everything we do, and that somehow success measures our quality of life. From living through an ongoing pandemic to trying to juggle drastic life changes in work, home, and personal growth, it can seem downright exhausting to think that this is all that life is cracked up to be. Feeling fatigued may feel like the “new normal”, with trying to work through all of these challenges, but guess what? It isn’t. MYTH BUSTED.
Relaxing Can Be Exhausting
If you’ve been asking yourself, “why am I so tired all of the time?,” there could be many contributing factors. Balancing work and life can make it feel tiring to even try to plan a moment of relaxation. While finding a moment to relax feels like a task in and of itself, finally having that time can feel daunting – as if you should be doing something more productive. So if you’ve ever felt guilty for relaxing and taking a moment for yourself, you’re not alone. An article by Healthline (an organization dedicated to making health and wellness information accessible) says many people experience “hustle culture,” while trying to juggle a full-time career or going to school, attempting to maintain a social life, and continuing to develop as an individual. All of these factors combined can be quite exhausting.
Humanity is Completely Drained
After living through an ongoing pandemic for over two years now, it’s common to feel a sense of exhaustion. What happens in the world around you affects your mind and body. According to this article by PNAS (The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s most-cited peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journals), the impact COVID-19 has had on both physical and mental health has left most of humanity utterly exhausted.
Transitioning from “normal life” to a life filled with lockdowns and quarantines for over two years has caused a drastic change. Across the globe, mental and physical health has declined for many people as well as causing extreme lifestyle changes. Not only did everyday routines change during this pandemic, but new limitations caused increases in technology usage as well. With technology’s presence increasing, plus the inability to continue with typical daily routines, it’s not surprising how draining the world around us has become.
What’s Common & What’s Not
Taking breaks from technology and allowing time to decompress can help prevent symptoms of fatigue and exhaustion. In a busy and bustling world, experiencing fatigue every once in a while is common. However, having fatigue issues every day that affect daily function is not common. Experiencing tiredness after a night of bad sleep or after a grueling workout is normal; your body is responding to changes in its internal and external environments. But it’s not normal to experience constant fatigue in your day-to-day life.
Though the root causes of fatigue vary from person to person, that constantly-tired feeling you have should not be your body’s new standard. NHS.UK, an organization that aims to help people gain access and information to health and care services, has an article that says pushing yourself past the limits of exhaustion can cause health issues and pose risks to not only yourself, but others around you too.
Hitting Reset
Noticing a change in your energy levels and wanting to figure out what is causing that change is important. After that, the best step would be to determine what factors in your life could be draining your energy (and how you can alter that). Simple steps can help reset: such as carving out time to do a favorite hobby (like reading or taking a walk) can help, as well as spending time with friends and family, or even finding a moment to be alone.
Setting aside time to allow your mind and body to reset is crucial when experiencing fatigue. Make an effort to try that hobby you have been putting off or maybe check some things off of your forever waiting “to-do” list. With so many aspects in our world that are out of our control, finding those stressors that we can take into our own hands and alter for our own personal benefit can be most helpful.
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