Emotional Exhaustion: How to Overcome and Refuel When You are Emotionally Drained
While stress is a normal part of life and can even be healthy in small doses for short amounts of time, it has the potential to become overwhelming and can often lead to burnout. When we continue to function at full throttle and under excessive stress, we are all at risk of developing emotional exhaustion.
Not only are there many reasons why we may be feeling emotionally exhausted, but there are also plenty of strategies we can use to help take better care of ourselves.
What is Emotional Exhaustion?
According to Healthline, emotional exhaustion is a state of being severely drained or depleted, from the build-up of stress from either your job or personal life, or both.
Feeling emotionally drained is often a sign that there is an imbalance between work and life. As described in this article, this imbalance can lead one to feel anxious, resentful and/or stressed, and can lead to a lack of motivation whilst they try to perform at a basic level.
The causes of emotional exhaustion look different for everyone. In many cases, this type of burnout occurs after a long period of constant stress where there is not enough balance between a fast-paced lifestyle and self-care. While some cases such as an unexpected life event or chronic illness might be out of our control, we can work to prevent burnout by recognizing its symptoms and/or causes.
Signs and Symptoms of Emotional Exhaustion
Experiencing some stress and anxiety is normal. Over time, chronic stress can take a toll on the body. We often think that mental exhaustion is something that creeps up on us without much warning. However, our bodies typically display early warning signs of mental and physical symptoms before emotional burnout occurs. Recognizing symptoms is essential to taking steps toward getting better.
Possible Physical Symptoms
Trouble sleeping
Periods of intense stress often cause sleeping difficulties. Mental exhaustion is also frequently experienced alongside a feeling of “brain fog,” which can make getting out of bed in the morning difficult. This can create irregular sleeping patterns that often leave you feeling unrested.
Trouble eating
Exhaustion can cause digestive issues, as well as big changes in appetite. The two combined and the impact they have on your body can also lead to weight gain or weight loss.
Frequent aches
Frequent aches and pains such as headaches, stomach pains, muscle aches, etc. can be a sign that you are not getting the rest you need.
Possible Mental Symptoms:
Cognitive difficulties
Emotional exhaustion can create changes in thinking and memory, known as “brain fog.” This can cause symptoms such as forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating, memory loss, and lack of imagination.
Mood unpredictability
Mental fatigue can affect your ability to properly regulate your own emotions or self soothe. Therefore, small things which might not normally upset you may now send you over the edge, causing big changes in mood or a sense that you can’t control your feelings.
This can include feelings of hopelessness, irritability, lack of motivation, anxiety and/or depression, fatigue, pessimism, and/or feelings of failure.
Relational problems
Emotional stress can also impact your ability to have patience, to be an active listener, your enthusiasm for your social life and relationships, and your strength in connecting with others. Overall, your social energy is extremely depleted.
What To Do When You’re Emotionally Drained.
Acknowledge and identify your stressors.
The first stage of every recovery is accepting where you stand. Acknowledge that you are emotionally exhausted and that you need to make some changes. Take a much-needed break and examine your feelings and thoughts to identify why you may be experiencing mental exhaustion. Have you been taking care of yourself? What is it that’s getting you exhausted? What’s overwhelming you? When are you noticing these symptoms come up?
While it’s not always possible, once you’ve identified the cause of your mental exhaustion, see if you can reduce or remove it. Can you delegate some of your work tasks or get more help with household tasks?
Establish some possible solutions.
Coming up with solutions can be challenging and intimidating at first as it is normal for it to feel as though the problem is too big to solve. Give yourself time to reflect and seek support from trustworthy people in your personal or professional life, or from a mental health professional. Possible options that may be helpful include doing breathing exercises, learning to say “no,” setting boundaries, and prioritizing practicing self-care.
Take a time-out.
Think of yourself like a phone that needs to be charged. If you don’t charge the phone, the phone will stop working. If the phone is only charged in small increments, it never receives enough juice to last very long. Just like a phone, we need to be fully recharged before we can be our best selves. It’s OK to take a break from work, relationships, social media, etc.
Take better care of yourself.
While taking a break, it is essential that you take the necessary measures to allow yourself to fully recover. Listen to your body and ask what it needs. If you feel tired, get some rest; eat whole foods if you are hungry and engage in activities that elevate your mood. Nourish your body with fruits and vegetables and continue to stay hydrated. Be kind to yourself and take care of your needs at your own pace. The outside world can wait.
Make a game plan.
In most cases, burnout can be avoided if you continuously take measures to care for yourself.
After you start to feel like yourself again, come up with a game plan that implements 1-2 self-care habits into your daily routine. Having a game plan can help prevent you from resuming the same habits that once led you to the fatigue symptoms.
Sometimes thinking about all the things that we could or should be doing to be healthier and prevent us from emotional exhaustion can contribute to us feeling overwhelmed. It’s not always easy to put these strategies into practice in our day-to-day life, especially when we’ve been doing things a certain way for a long time. Focus on taking one step at a time by staying aware of the signs and symptoms of emotional exhaustion to warn you to slow down.
Whether you are on the brink of emotional exhaustion, or you have been managing the above-mentioned symptoms for a prolonged period of time, Be You Psychotherapy’s therapists are here for you. Call or schedule a consultation today!
Lexi Haft
