Ep. 76: Mental Health Awareness Month - Tip#4 - FATIGUE

Finding Proof with Dr Tess Crawley

“Why am I so tired all the time?” This is a question I hear all the time at the moment … and one I often ask myself! You might have seen media articles talking about ‘fatigue’ and ‘languishing’, but what’s it all about? And why can’t we just “pick ourselves up by the bootstraps” and soldier on like we used to?

Well, let’s stop for a minute and think about all the things we’ve been dealing with for the past couple of years … and don’t forget to include the 2019 bushfires. We’ve not had a break since.

* Bushfires

* National lockdown

* Work from home

* Remote Learning

* Closed borders

* Lack of proper holidays

* Rolling lockdowns

* Vaccine rollout

* Delta

* Inability to plan

* Protests

* Interrupted education

* Earthquake

* Interrupted goals

* Uncertainty about the future

Think of your coping resources as being like water in a bucket … the impact of even one of the things we’ve had to deal with over the past two years will poke a hole in the bottom of that bucket. Now imagine that before you have the ability to repair that hole and refill your coping bucket, each of the other stressors from the past two years starts poking holes in your bucket. What happens to your coping resources?

They run out of course!

And this is the key with the fatigue we’re all feeling. We’ve not had the opportunity to stop the holes being poked in our coping bucket, let alone repair the damage and fill that bucket back up! We’re at risk of burnout on a grand scale.

What do we do about that?

* Take mini-breaks each day

* Get fresh air when you can

* Focus on the things within your control and let go of the things you have no influence over

* SELF-COMPASSION big time - you’re doing your best

* Pick your battles

* Get professional help if you need it AND don’t forget a medical check up (I know from personal experience that this fatigue is NOT helped by low iron levels!)

Be kind to yourself and remember … Rest IS doing something.

Best wishes,

Tess x

p.s. If you need help with your mental health, my team at The Crawley Clinic (Melbourne and Launceston) can help - www.thecrawleyclinic.com.au - as can our colleagues at Crawley House - www.crawleyhouse.com.au