Yesterday and today, I have woken up feeling really really down. Yesterday, I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed. I had things to do, plans for the day, reasons for getting up. My alarm (or should I say alarms) were set for 7.30 onwards in 10 minute intervals, my intention for setting it at this time being to get up, have a cold shower, eat some breakfast, go for a jog and crack on with the tasks I had for the day. "I'll feel tired when the evening comes around". It was now 8.45 so I had snoozed 6+ alarms so far (only actually sleeping through maybe 3 of them before being fully awake for the remainder but not able to get myself together). I couldn't get out of bed. I had all these things in my head about why I should get up now. I told myself "OK technically you should have got up an hour ago instead of wasting an hour, but the longer you stay in bed, the less tired you'll be in the evening and longer you'll take to go to sleep tonight, so go and get into that cold shower and start your day right! Stop wasting the day!” But no matter how persuasive and motivational beef was being, I kept reacting like I was a teenager, replying "I don't care! I can't be bothered. I don't want to get out of bed". Why?
If you deal with high levels of stress for a continual period, the level of cortisol you are producing in your brain will continue to be high. This can have a huge impact on your bodily functions: your immune system, your digestion and, funnily enough, your sleep. As you know I've suffered with anxiety and depression for several years and I'm fully aware that depression and stress is one of the biggest causes in constant tiredness and fatigue. But I have been in self isolation for 2 weeks at my in laws house in the countryside (since coming back from Amsterdam for my sister in laws wedding). I've been exercising. I've been meditating. I've been doing yoga. I've been writing a little. I've been routinely having a cold shower every day and increased them from 1 minute at 8/10 cold to 1 minute 45 seconds 10/10 cold (coldest setting on the shower). I've been building, weeding, fixing, painting, cutting grass and doing lots of odd jobs around the house. I've been busy and have enjoyed not really being bored for the last 2 weeks. (and yes I've had a beer and a whisky (or 2) on most of the nights I've been back - I'm on holiday!)
So why have I awoken feeling depressed, demotivated, lazy, anxious, and tired (despite a decent 8+ hours sleep)? I don’t feel like tiredness and fatigue is caused by 1 singular thing. There are umpteen different combinations of reasons why tiredness and fatigue can kick in at any time of the day. Worrying about lots of different uncertainties (in relationships, in career, in life); not staying hydrated enough during the day; not exercising enough; consuming too much sugar or alcohol; looking at your phone before bed; feeling under pressure (be that in work or home life)…OK there are lots of reasons. One way in particular that I feel justifies why I have been feeling more depressed and anxious despite working on my mental health – I have reduced my dosage of medication. I have been on paroxetine for a couple of years and a few months ago I felt it was time to reduce my dosage and potentially come off medication all together as I’ve been feeling like I’m in control of my mental health instead of my mental health controlling me (like it used to). 60mg per day around May of this year. I’m now on 10mg a day. I expected some rise in anxiety from slowly reducing, and I did feel my anxiety surfacing when I reduced the dosage for a week or 2 but I had it under control. Today and yesterday I have felt this rise the most since reducing my dosage. I have the tools to cope with this though so I will not give in and just up my medication again – side note: if you have come off or reduced your medication and feel like you’re really struggling, there is absolutely zero shame in going back on or increasing your medication again. I will talk about this in another blog post so stay updated for that one, but for now, I am trying to power through the tough times and not rely on my medication.
It's my sister in laws wedding tomorrow, a happy time. My job is great and my family and friends are healthy. I shouldn’t feel down, or anxious…But I do, because sometimes we get sad, sometimes we get worried, not for any specific reason, but also maybe for lots of reasons. Tiredness can really knock people back and can make matters worse so here are some things that help me feel less tired and might work for you too: Less social media and less news, especially in the evening. Don't let checking your insta be the last thing you do before you go to sleep, and don't wake up and reach for your phone to check Facebook. If you do those things on a regular basis , you have an addiction. I spoke about millennials in the last post and how we are becoming addicted to our phones and to social media. You might think "yeah I check my social media and scroll for a bit just before I go to sleep and first thing when I wake up, but that's not an addiction, and even if it is an addiction, at least it's only social media and not drugs. You can be addicted to worse things". Aye, says the person who smokes 20 cigs a day, can't cope through a day without 4 cups of coffee, checks how many likes their Instagram photos get, takes half a dozen paracetamol a day in case they get a sore head, and has a pint of vodka every single weekend because "it's the weekend, I'm not addicted". News flash for you: THESE ARE ALL DRUGS! caffeine: drug. Tabaco: drug. Painkillers: (obviously) drug. Alcohol: drug. Social media: acts like a drug. Bit of a tangent there... Anyway limit social media in the evenings. I spoke last time about how much we rely on our phones and suggest reducing the amount of time we spend on our little screens. Since writing that, I have realised just how much time I actually spend on my phone. Even as I write this, I'm doing so on my phone and will put this up later on my laptop. My sleep is taking a hit at the minute so I'm going to really try and limit screen time not just in the evening but throughout the day as well. In the last 2 weeks I have had 1 coffee (at lunch time while I was busy in the garden). Caffeine makes me feel anxious so I tend to stay away from it. I’ve said before (Tim JP Collins has said before), it’s important to take you MEDS (meditation, exercise, diet, sleep) and avoid CATS (caffeine, alcohol, Tabaco, sugar). I have definitely been taking my MEDS, however I have had some sugar over the weeks and enjoyed one coffee last week…and OK yes, some alcohol too. All contributions to tiredness levels. Take your MEDS, avoid/reduce consumption of CATS.
I’ve seen research that suggests if you suffer from fatigue and tiredness to try slowly reducing your caffeine intake over about 3 weeks until you have next to zero caffeine. I know people who can’t function unless they’ve had their coffee but if your constantly tired, you should really give it a shot. Go caffeine free for one month and see if it has any effect. Apparently if you get headaches from not having caffeine, you need to reduce your amount more slowly. Caffeine is a drug! Withdrawal symptoms will be evident if you go cold turkey.
Exercise is a big one. It’s recommended that everyone should have 15 minutes of moderate exercise per day as part of a balanced healthy lifestyle. Sure going for a walk can get your breath going and your heart pumping a little more vigorously, but if you’re feeling tired all the time, feeling demotivated and have no energy, weirdly enough doing some strenuous exercise, even if just for 15 minutes can give you more energy. We spend so much of our day sitting down, not really doing much, maybe we use a lot of energy for our brain if our job involves a lot of thinking and not much movement, so combating this lack of energy by doing something energetic, kind of fighting fire with fire approach, might just help you with getting to sleep at night and waking up feeling more well rested.
Nutrition: make sure you have a balanced diet. Start your day right with a decent breakfast. Lay off the sugar (I know how class Nutella pancakes are). The sugar keeps you energised for all of a few hours before you can crash and need more sugar to help get you through the day. A nice balanced, breakfast with carbohydrates, proteins – yoghurt, oats, eggs, cereals, fruits and grains. Continue with the good nutrition throughout the day that contain plenty of carbohydrates – starchy veg, brown rice, oats, potatoes, carrots etc, enough unsaturated fats – avocados, olive oil, nuts etc, and plenty of protein – dairy, seafood, eggs (beans, pulses and soya for the vegetarians and vegans). Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and avoid energy drinks (especially later in the day).
Unsurprisingly, high levels of stress will add to your tiredness levels. Reducing your stress levels is one of those limitless possibilities to ensue: try more yoga, listen to music, spend time with friends, exercise, read more, have a long bath, meditate… Likewise, there are a number of things that you shouldn’t do to help with your stress levels: don’t use alcohol, tobacco or gambling to counter the stress; don’t focus on things you can’t change; don’t try to impress people or keep up with appearances when it’s putting you out….
Get into a routine. Set yourself half an hour before your bedtime to unwind, go for a bath, read a book, set an alarm and put your phone away for the night, listen to a guided meditation, make sure your room is nice and dark and has no distractions, write down things you need to do the following day and take the time to unwind and relax before you go to sleep. Try going to bed and getting up at the same time for a week and hopefully having that routine will help.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) is another one I would look into if your tired all the time. I will 100% cover this in another blog post as it deserves its own attention so look out for that in the future, but for now I would suggest looking into it if your having sleeping problems and/or struggling with fatigue.
Lastly, if you notice how stressed you are in work or how stressed you’re getting in certain relationships, you need to make a change. Not necessarily change your job or cut out certain relationships with people, just improve how you work or the quality of your relationships. It’s monumentally important, if not for your levels of tiredness, for your own sanity and mental health.
FYI I went for that cold shower, had a decent breakfast, went and did some weeding in the garden and had a bath at night and I slept like a baby. Still was a bit down this morning, but I’m OK with that. This isn’t a sprint, but a marathon.
For anyone that’s struggling, it can help to open up and if you don’t have a good support network around you, please feel free to get in touch with me if you want to chat. Can be about your fatigue, depression, anxiety, stress at work, the new James Bond film, or your opinion of the new rules set out by Jimmy Krankie. Anythin’, give me a shout 😊
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