There are times in our lives when we will feel burnt out. No matter how prepared we think we are, there’s nothing that can prepare us for the exhaustion and mental fatigue that may overwhelm us in our work. You’re not alone in this struggle as many of us workers in different industries have experienced being overworked before.
Naturally, our tendency would be to look at ways to increase our sleep and increase its quality. However, there are times when even if we get eight, nine, or even more hours of sleep, we still wake up feeling exhausted and tired of everything before we begin our day. When this happens, there’s generally something that we’ve missed along the way. So, what went wrong?
We need to evaluate ourselves first and know what it is that is making us tired. We also need to ask questions relating to what kind of fatigue we are experiencing. Is it physical, mental, spiritual, or a combination of the following? Being burnt out is a universal experience, yet it can still help to pinpoint exactly what it is that is making us feel tired.
We’ve always heard that we should strive for work-life balance, right? However, it isn’t always optimal nor achievable by a lot of people. What you actually want to have is work-life harmony. You don’t have to sacrifice one in order to be successful in the other!
In this article, we’re going to talk about the seven kinds of fatigue you may encounter and the ways you can make yourself feel rested from it.
Physical fatigue #physicalfatigue
Physical fatigue can accumulate as our waking hours go on. Doing physical tasks or exercise can also increase it. It can also cause symptoms such as physical pain and aches. Your body knows when it’s tired, so you should rest it accordingly.
To rest from physical fatigue, you can act on it actively by doing things such as stretching, yoga, and getting a massage. These can work your joints and release piled-up tension from your body.
Alternatively, you can also go the passive way such as by getting enough sleep and by napping whenever you need to.
Mental fatigue #mentalfatigue
Getting tired doesn’t just happen physically. Our minds tend to get tired too before we realize it. It can be hard to recognize its symptoms, but we all know that we’ve all experienced this at one point.
It happens when you seem to have a hard time remembering simple things or have trouble recalling recent information. No, it’s not just being forgetful, especially if you’re still a young person who is just overworked at your job.
Our concentration also takes a hit as we find it increasingly difficult to focus on tasks that normally do not take us too long to do.
To get rest here is similar to the first one above. Decompress and destress yourself every once in a while. After getting plenty of rest, set aside a schedule for you to do things you enjoy. This can be as simple as watching a movie, going out for a walk with your dog, or working on your hobbies.
Spiritual fatigue #spiritualfatigue
Spiritual fatigue is a bit more complex to tackle. It really depends on our belief system. You see, we have an inherent need to feel like we’re part of something greater, something better than us especially as we grow older. We need to feel a sense of belongingness in a community that we can put our efforts into knowing that these people carry the same ideal and beliefs as us.
If we don’t fulfill these inherent desires or needs, then we are faced with an existential crisis not knowing whether our life truly has value or not, or whether what we do can actually make an impact on other people’s lives.
If you ever feel spiritually fatigued then what you must do is find a new meaning in your life. Ask somebody you think you can trust for advice and ask yourself what are the things that truly matter to you and how you can pursue an endeavor related to them.
Emotional fatigue #emotionalfatigue
Just like physical fatigue, emotional fatigue tends to accumulate as we ignore our mind and body’s signs for help. It starts from holding back your thoughts to defend your stand, to holding back your tears, to holding back your anger until it just bubbles up and your emotions burst at the seams.
It’s quite normal for a lot of people to carry emotional baggage deep inside their hearts. We all have some things we would rather not talk about and would not want to share or escalate with others. For example, you might have been disappointed because your partner forgot to buy you an anniversary gift although you remembered to buy theirs, and instead of telling them, you just brush it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.
This is why in order to recover from emotional fatigue, we must let ourselves express our emotions and let it all out whenever we can. Remember that as long as we don’t address it, then our emotional wounds will continue to fester and refuse to heal completely.
Social fatigue #socialfatigue
Have you ever heard someone say that they have, “ran out of social batteries”? Well, that’s generally how social fatigue feels like for a lot of people. Introverts are most familiar with this phenomenon.
In this case, you don’t even necessarily have to be interacting with toxic or negative people. Even normal interactions with our friends such as chatting or hanging out can drain us of our social batteries. Even your spouse or coworkers can drain you of your energy just by interacting with them.
This is why having alone time or “Me time” as others like to call it, is important. Remember to take time for yourself away from other people especially when you are socially tired.
Sensory fatigue #sensoryfatigue
This is more popularly known as sensory overload and it's very much a real experience for some people. As the name implies, it happens when there is too much or an overload of sensory inputs such as background noise, the chatter of your coworkers, phones ringing, your computer flashing, and many other things happening at the same time.
Your brain fails to process this information properly as a lot of them are coming right at you at the same time. This causes a lot of distress on your part and can be quite irritating. This is why it’s important for you to avoid or step out of situations that can cause you to have sensory overload.
Creative fatigue #creativefatigue
Creativity is our ability to create art and express ourselves through various mediums. A lot of people find comfort in making art and showing it off to others. However, one can also fall to creative fatigue especially if we do art for the sake of doing it instead of our own fulfillment.
This causes a lack of motivation for creating art and feeling burnt out from what you once considered to be your hobby or passion. It can lead even the most masterful painters or sculptors to experience an art block or a situation wherein they simply cannot think of anything else to create.
This is why it’s important for you as an artist and as a person to continue exploring your own art or other forms of art. Doing the same things over and over again can be quite tiring no matter how much passion we have. This is why you should try improving your own techniques by practicing for the sake of enjoyment and self-expression.
In conclusion
There are many ways for you to feel tired without you even knowing it. Fatigue doesn’t just come physically or mentally, but in other forms as well. You may be in a difficult and highly stressful job right now wherein you constantly feel that there are a lot of things at stake. This can lead you to feel fatigued in many different ways and levels.
Hence, this is why you need to prioritize learning to take care of yourself too as a person. Learn to identify exactly how you feel tired and follow our tips on getting rest. In this way, you will know exactly what is making you feel fatigued in your lifestyle and how you can take a rest and make yourself feel better.
THERE IS ONE MORE TIP - Assistant may help you to ease fatigue, you can rely on the person in regards to your activities to spend more time in your personal life and feel balanced.
Feeling alive again after being fatigued doesn’t come easy, but by following these tips, you will be able to feel free from fatigue and relaxed once again.
#work #experience #help #quality #sleep #people #help #virtualassistantforhire #virtualassistant #virtualassistantservices #adminsupport #adminassistant #assistant #assistantmanager #partnership #workathome #TypesofFatigue #Fatigue