Decoding Fatigue

One of the common complaints that we hear when people come to the clinic is that they are feeling tired and they would like to have more energy. Getting adjusted regularly is one of the simplest things that you can do that will help to improve your movement, oxygen levels and how your nervous system sees the map of your body. The better you feel, the more energy you will have.

Of course, there may be some chemical changes in your body that may need checking or other factors that contribute to feeling fatigue but the better your nervous system is functioning and the better you are feeling in your body the easier it will be to tackle these.

There are usually a few factors that add up to the feeling of our energy levels depleting and there are different types of tiredness that will require a different approach to resolve it.

Mental tiredness can manifest itself in a form of difficulty to find words, brain fog, a sense that your mind is overstimulated and unable to settle. This type of tiredness can be caused by anxiety, stress and too much mental effort. The thing that can help with it is to identify what has stimulated the fatigue and then reduce that stimulation. This will be different for every person. But you might try just to allow your mind to settle by doing stuff that requires less mental effort such as listening to an audiobook or podcast purely for leisure, doing activities that will help you bring more awareness to your body- such as walk, gardening, or simply sit down in quiet place with lights dimmed and listening to music.

Being emotionally tired is also a thing. You may find yourself overreacting to small things or lacking the resourcefulness that you would normally have. You might feel like you don’t have the emotional capacity to take on anything else. This sort of fatigue patter is often a result of helper patter running to excess. But the thing to remember is that you can’t pour from an empty bucket for long. Therefore it is important to take a break from the source of your emotional overwhelm to get a new perspective and restore your energy. This can involve setting firmer boundaries with other people, taking uninterrupted time alone and allowing yourself to connect to yourself emotionally. Avoiding emotions is rarely a good strategy. Getting regular chiropractic adjustments is a great way to help the prefrontal, the rational part of your brain to function at optimal levels. Working with a therapist or getting a reiki session can also help.

Then we have the physical tiredness, the aching muscles and feeling weak type of tiredness. Physical tiredness, which is not linked to any ongoing condition, normally can be read as a sign that you are doing too much ignoring the signals your body gives you when needs rest. This is often observed in people with achievers personalities. There is a lot of pressure on achieving more and doing more and many people feel actually guilty if they have time down. However, ignoring our body’s need for rest and pushing ourselves to do more without taking the right care of our physical body is short-lived and can easily lead to an illness that will require long periods of deep rest. Therefore it is crucial to give our body enough sleep, rest, and care and listen to when it gives us signs that we must take a break or slow down. Eating nutritious food, getting regularly adjusted, getting massages and engaging in breathing exercises or mediation that brings awareness to our body can be all great ways of tackling physical tiredness.

Another form of tiredness that may not be obvious to many people is environmental tiredness. This is when you become tired and drained by a lack of variety in your physical environment. Monotony and repetitiveness can become draining. With the pandemic, many of us have experienced that form of tiredness. But it also applies to people, for whom the actual environment where they work or live is tiring. It may not always be possible to move to a different place altogether but if you cannot change your location, changing things around the house or garden can help. Moving furniture, changing decor or simply buying a bunch of flowers to display in your bedroom can help. If you cannot go on holiday, going for a walk to a new place or somewhere where you have not been for a while, can also help.

Decoding fatigue can be sometimes challenging. Taking care of your body and nervous system is always a very good start. If you want to know more how chiropractic and manual therapies can help you to feel more energized, why not to give it a go and book for initial consultation.