Fatigue
What is fatigue? If you’re tired and even lethargic a lot of the time, you may be feeling it. Everyone gets tired from time to time. Maybe you’re under stress or have had a bad night of sleep. But when is fatigue normal and when does it become a medical problem?
Fatigue is your body’s natural way of slowing you down so that you can get the rest you need. When you’ve been mentally, emotionally, or physically stressed your body needs time to recover and it does that by making you feel like stopping in your tracks.
Fatigue means having very little energy for mental and/or physical tasks. When you feel fatigue you’re not motivated to get things done. You may actually feel irritable and even apathetic about doing anything.
If you feel that way for a day or two after a major event in your life, there’s not much to worry about. This is usually taken care of with a day or two of rest. For example, if you go through a major life change such as marriage, divorce, death in the family, or a big move you need to rest. Continue reading
What is the difference between feeling tired and experiencing symptoms of fatigue? That’s a very good question and it’s important to understand the difference. If you’re just a little tired, you can recover quickly but long bouts with fatigue could signal a problem.
Everyone gets fatigue from time to time. In and of itself, fatigue isn’t a bad thing. It’s the body’s natural way of slowing you down so you can get some rest and feel restored. Everyone experiences this and it can be very healthy.
For example, if you have a really busy week at work and put in overtime, by the time Friday rolls around you feel beat. You get home and just want to rest in front of the TV, sleep late on Saturday, and stay in your pajamas all weekend.
But when Monday rolls around you feel refreshed and you’re able to go back to working hard. Your body needed some time to recharge, but once you give it that rest you can go back to normal activities. Continue reading
