Long-lasting emotional fatigue can shorten your attention span and concentration. And you may feel sad, hopeless, anxious or irritable. You may have trouble sleeping. Over time, emotional exhaustion can lead to psychiatric problems such as depression or anxiety.
Mental exhaustion is a feeling of extreme tiredness, characterized by other feelings including apathy, cynicism, and irritability. You may be mentally exhausted if you've recently undergone long-term stress, find it hard to focus on tasks, or lack interest in activities you usually enjoy.
Mental exhaustion can affect physical well-being, causing a person to feel physically exhausted. Similarly, physical fatigue or chronic stress can also result in mental exhaustion. Some tips to relieve mental exhaustion include practicing mindfulness and making certain environmental changes, either at work or at home.
Scientists measuring sleepiness have found that sleep deprivation leads to lower levels of alertness and concentration. It's more difficult to focus and pay attention, so you're more easily confused. This hampers your ability to perform tasks that require logical reasoning or complex thought.
Emotional exhaustion affects a person's mood and mental health. People may initially notice that they are feeling more cynical or pessimistic than usual. They may lose their motivation to work, socialize, or perform simple tasks.
Take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health by making healthy lifestyle choices, such as: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day.
People experiencing emotional exhaustion often feel like they have no power or control over what happens in life. They may feel “stuck” or “trapped” in a situation. Lack of energy, poor sleep, and decreased motivation can make it difficult to overcome emotional exhaustion.
Some research suggests that it can take one to three years APA PsycNet “A study of coping: Successful recovery from severe burnout and other reactions to severe work-related stress.” View Source .
One major sign of mental exhaustion? You feel far less alert than usual and find it challenging to focus, even when it comes to everyday or routine tasks. Other common signs include: feelings of depression, including a persistent sad, low, or hopeless mood.
You Cry for No Reason
Two of these reasons are most relevant to mental exhaustion: stress and emotions. It is harder to check your emotions when you are beyond stressed out. Therefore, the easiest response to being overwhelmed with emotions and stress, is to cry.
Take time for walking breaks, snack breaks, and brain rest. This can help you recharge and avoid cognitive overload. Make study periods longer and more focused. The longer you study, the more likely you'll end up struggling to maintain your concentration.
It will take you longer than usual to complete tasks. You may not be as interested in your work and your performance may suffer. Over time, mental exhaustion can lead to trouble sleeping, stress-related headaches, digestive system problems and ulcers.
In fact, most research concludes that physical activity has either a positive effect or more often, little or no impact on mental performance. However, when a person's mentally exhausted due to sleep deprivation, their alertness will suffer while most aspects critical for physical performance will be preserved.
The main difference between someone mentally exhausted and someone lazy is that someone who is mentally exhausted feels numb and won't care about the consequences anymore (IDSMED, 2019). If this sounds like you, then it's very important that you acknowledge the fact that you're not just being lazy.
Younger men, and women aged between 20-35 and 55 years and over are particularly susceptible and should be targeted for programmes to reduce risk of burnout.
Despite the grip that burnout has over so many of us, recovery is possible. While there's no quick fix to burnout, there are many ways to alleviate stress levels and return to a healthier state of being.
Brain fog occurs when the brain is overworked or under strain. The most common symptoms are feeling dazed and confused, headaches, thinking more slowly than usual, an inability to remember things or even tasks just completed, mental fatigue, and mood swings.
This can be caused by overworking, lack of sleep, stress, and spending too much time on the computer. On a cellular level, brain fog is believed to be caused by high levels inflammation and changes to hormones that determine your mood, energy and focus.
What leads to a broken brain? You might not know that too much sugar and refined carbs, not enough good fats, inadequate intake of the right nutrients, and exposure to toxins can create a brain disorder. So can inadequate sleep, stress, lack of exercise, and overuse of drugs and alcohol.
It is possible to recover from mental health problems, and many people do – especially after accessing support. Your symptoms may return from time to time, but when you've discovered which self-care techniques and treatments work best for you, you're more likely to feel confident in managing them.