How to realize you are psychologically exhausted. 3 clear signs

During periods when nothing is happy, it is important to listen to your body. Maybe it’s not autumn moping, but real exhaustion? How to recognize it and begin to act, tells the psychologist.

psychologist, lecturer at the Psychology Department of Synergy University, Gestalt therapist.

Psychological exhaustion develops in a spiral. There are three stages. At the first two stages there is a possibility to cope with it on one’s own.

In the first stage, you can independently identify three clear signs of psychological exhaustion in the initial stage.

• Forgetfulness. Entire situations, circumstances can disappear from the memory.
• Scatteredness. You can not concentrate your attention on any activity. The effect of “hanging out” or “wasting time” appears: playing games on the phone or laptop, watching social networks or short videos that do not require intellectual inclusion.
• Constant feeling of fatigue, heaviness. It seems to have slept well, but all the time you want to sleep.

Next – the main signs in the second stage.

• Frequent and mild somatic diseases: acute respiratory viral infections, headaches, pressure swings, problems with the gastrointestinal tract (GI).
• Overeating, alcohol abuse, promiscuous sexual relations.

If we talk about the third stage, it is worth being more attentive to the symptoms – it is already close to the diagnosis, do not put it to yourself, it is important to consult a specialist. The main sign is constant irritability. For any reason. If at first we try to hold back, then easily find a reason to express their discontent, often in a rude form.

In the future, the elements of behavior described above can become habits that can grow into serious disorders. To avoid this, pay attention to these signals of the body.

What are the causes of psychological exhaustion

Psychological exhaustion is the loss of a sense of joy, pleasure in life. As a result, there is a lack of vitality and energy. But this state never arises by itself, there are necessarily reasons:

1. Routine and monotonous activities, when life is like “Groundhog Day”;
2. Lack of physical exertion for the body due to high workload at work or study;
3. Lack of understanding of one’s prospects and vectors of development;
4. Lack of positive feedback from others: support, praise, attention;
5. Holding strong emotions about a life event: failure, illness or loss;
6. Worrying about unfinished tasks and situations;
7. Being in a situation of uncertainty for a long time;
8. Exploitation by others of a feeling, such as guilt, shame, or fear.

Pay attention to these signals: if they are ignored, burnout or exhaustion can occur.

What to do if psychological exhaustion has already occurred?

Try to regain joy and pleasure in life. To begin with, honestly answer the questions: “What do I like? What gives me joy?”. Three conditions must be met in the answer.

Obtaining pleasure or joy:

1. Must not involve the use of food, alcohol, or psychotropic substances;
2. Must not be related to other people so as not to be dependent on their time and facilities;
3. Should not require a significant financial outlay.

That is, it should be an affordable and budget-friendly option. It is important that the activities be regular. Here are some examples: cycling, skating, gym classes, reading books, visiting museums, theaters, concerts, walking around the city, visiting the bathhouse, hiking, trips to nature.

I recommend setting aside time and space when you do things you enjoy. This is time for yourself. When you can turn off your phone and not read chats, minimize the possibility of negative external intrusion.

Read more about how to start taking care of yourself at the link below.