Exhaustion and Fatigue

There might hardly be anyone in this world who wouldn't have experienced exhaustion and fatigue. You have a tiring day, or you have a stressful test or you were running around a lot - whatever the reason be, fatigue and exhaustion do set in, which is normal. But one should be worried when one experiences these conditions in extremes, for many days at end. Even if you don't do anything really stressful and you're still overcome by the same, that is when you should look into it, cause something could be really wrong. Why are we prone to these conditions? What are the symptoms of the same and why does it come about? Let us try to learn something more in the sections that are to follow.

Symptoms

Look for these to see if you're suffering from extreme forms of fatigue and exhaustion.

• Feeling tired and drained out for no apparent reason.
• Getting the feeling that you are stressed out and run down all the time.
• Unable to carry out your daily activities with the same zeal, energy or enthusiasm as always.
• Experiencing trouble waking up in the morning.
• Feeling addicted to stimulants like tea, coffee or others to keep one going through the day.
• Having to drag themselves through each day.
• Not being able to meet demands in work and other activities.
• Not finding any activity worth taking up. And not deriving any fun from it.
• Not being able to bounce back from illness and stress.
• Experiencing a dip in their sex lives.
• In case of experiencing chronic fatigue syndrome, the person, along with experiencing these symptoms will also feel irritable most of the time.
• There will be a general feeling of demoralization.
• There will be extreme lack of energy and tiredness all the time.

Causes

Physical Factors
Fatigue could be caused due to certain physical factors like:

• Obesity
• Having an unhealthy diet.
• Over consumption of coffee or tea.
• Lack of exercise.
• Taking certain medication forms.
• Increased levels of pollution in the environment.
• Excessive smoking.
• Physical exertion.
• Having fast foods.
• Substance abuse.

Mental Factors
There are certain mental factors - factors within us that can lead to exhaustion and fatigue:

• Stress
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Hormonal changes
• Financial worries
• Boredom
• Anemia
• Low levels of potassium or sodium in the body.
• Catching certain infections.
• There are certain other diseases that can cause fatigue and exhaustion as well - like cancer, thyroid problems etc.

'Changes in Life' Factors
Sometimes there are things that take place in our lives, over which we have no control. These are some of the factors that can cause extreme fatigue and exhaustion:

• Divorce
• Relocation
• Separation
• Death of a loved one.
• Jet lag
• The arrival of a new baby.
• Seasonal changes.
• Small children and their demands.
• This condition is very common during the entire gestation period of pregnancy and several months after.

Remedies

There are ways in which one can deal with exhaustion and constant fatigue:

• Taking care of one's diet is of extreme importance.
• Have a diet that comprises balanced meals.
• Make sure that you maintain regular timings for consuming these meals.
• Make sure you get at least 8 hours of undisturbed, good quality sleep every night.
• Do not give in to smoking or substance abuse.
• Have plenty of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
• Assess your life to understand what is causing the same in your life. This makes it easier to correct the situation.
• Make sure that you do some form of exercises, for 20 minutes at least.
• Try to be happy and contented by aiming to maintain a balance in both, your personal and professional life.
• Sometimes if one is suffering from mental conditions like depression and anxiety (which are then leading to fatigue and exhaustion), medication can be taken for the same.

These are the ways in which severe fatigue can be tackled. Do this and you will have eliminated most of the factors that lead to exhaustion and fatigue.