Overcoming Fatigue and Depression
The temptation to take it easy costs moments in life.
I underwent weeks of recurring fatigue combined with depression. I realized this was because I was unsatisfied, my health was declining because of excessive anxiety, and my productivity was greatly reduced. I couldn’t focus, and I couldn’t complete everything I wanted to do.
When we are unsatisfied or unhappy with how we are living, it’s easy for our bodies to shut down and become depressed. I took several steps to reduce my discomfort and improve my situation. I understood why the things that were upsetting me were happening if it had anything to do with who I am or what I am doing, and if I could do anything to make the effects easier on me.
Sometimes the events in our lives that recur are not under our control. We have the option of distancing ourselves from the situation or changing our attitude towards it and reducing our anxiety. Much of this work requires cognitive effort and intellectual reorganization of thoughts. It takes time, effort, insight, and intuition. Dreams do help if we actively engage with them and remember the lessons they offer us.
Fatigue can be both a mental problem or a physical problem of habit. Perhaps our body is used to resting for an amount of time. We can counter this by doing short bursts of exercise to raise our heart rate, and that additional adrenaline can encourage us to get more done both for work and enjoyment.
We must remember that living is for having fun at least part of the time and enjoying ourselves both alone and with others. When depressed, there doesn’t seem to be much to look forward to, but just as our joy is diminished, so are most of our intense emotional reactions, so when depressed, we are protected from ourselves and need time to recover.
This week, I am feeling more and more energetic every day. I changed my routine, focused on comforts and self-care, and considered my opinions, needs, and desires as ideas that matter. This way, I’ve been able to be more enthusiastic with friends, interested in my reading material, and curious about my hobbies and goals. I changed from wanting to stop to wanting to keep on going.
Aimee Sparrow is an author, applied philosopher, and mathematician who has been living with a mood disorder for more than a decade and advocates for happiness and inner peace. She is the author of Lunacy. Follow her website for more details.
