It’s not even your lunch break and you’re already reaching for your third cup of coffee. Fatigue wears on you every day as you count down the hours until sleep. But when the time arrives you find yourself delaying sleep: scrolling social media, watching the same tv show you’ve seen three times already, or doing mindless tasks. Finally, exhausted, you collapse into bed to get what hours of sleep you can before doing it all again the next day.
On the other hand, maybe you get 9 or 10 hours of sleep a night but still can’t seem to focus on your work, find yourself falling asleep at the wheel, or feel like you’re dragging yourself through every hour.
Fatigue has become such a widespread problem, experts estimate that about $136 billion a year is lost due to fatigue, sleep problems, and burnout.1 In fact, 3 out of 5 Americans say they feel more tired now than ever.2
This problem obviously runs deeper than the individual, but there are still steps you can take to truly wake up and experience life without the shroud of fatigue around you. First, it’s good to pinpoint why exactly you might be exhausted. It is more than likely to be a result of more than one factor, and not all can be easily removed from your life.
Top Reasons for Burnout, Fatigue, and Exhaustion:
Work burnout
Burnout in the workplace has skyrocketed since the pandemic began, resulting in the massive “resignation wave” in 2020 and continued high rates of resignation, unemployment, and low productivity. Scientifically, burnout is a real thing and a massive mental health issue. In 2021, 79% of employees had experienced work-related stress.3
The reasons for this vary from person to person. One common theme, however, is individuals who report feeling that their purpose and values don’t line up with the work they’re doing. Because of the increasingly competitive nature of the job landscape today, more than half of college graduates reported working in jobs that they did not go to school for.4
Facing high costs of living throughout the country, many people enter the job force with “dead end jobs” that they have no real interest in and that leave very little opportunities for growth. And gaining the requirements to change careers often means going back to school, which can be costly. The result is that many people are in jobs that leave them feeling unfulfilled, or even jobs that go against their values, simply because they struggle to find anything else. When you enter a job already discontent, burnout happens naturally. Low pay rates can also lead to feeling underappreciated, which further leads to burnout.
You might be struggling with workplace burnout if you are experiencing:5
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- Increased mental distance from one’s job
- Feelings of negativity or cynicism related to one’s job
- Reduced professional efficacy
Financial Stressors
Financial stress often ties in with work burnout. Despite the national minimum wage remaining the same for the past 15 years, the cost of living has skyrocketed in that time. The idea of “middle class,” living comfortably in a home that you own with 1-2 vehicles, is a distant possibility for most people who live paycheck to paycheck.
The fear of not having enough to pay your rent, car insurance, or medical bills can be a heavy stressor that lasts all month or for months or years on end. When you exist under this stress chronically, burnout is inevitable.
Pandemic fatigue and COVID burnout
We are years into the pandemic, and it might seem like we should all be over it by now. Research shows that’s not true. While overall COVID-19 anxiety may have gone down, the collective trauma, exhaustion, and economic depression we experienced still exist and are still affecting our mental health. For many people, the terror of the first year of Covid has dulled into persistent fatigue and burnout.
Why are our minds still struggling to cope with the fact of the pandemic, years after its initial onslaught?
- Prolonged stress leads to continued fatigue. The reality is many of us aren’t dealing with the stress of living in a pandemic but have simply gotten used to it.
- We are unable to point to one specific cause. If you had a major car accident and are dealing with the medical bills, it can be easy to point to that one event and say “Yes, this is the source of my stress.” Now, however, many people are coping with phantom stress that seems to come out of nowhere and leave them exhausted. We are plagued with feeling like we “should” be better. We ‘should’ be over it by now. We ‘should’ have energy because, really, things aren’t that bad for us. These are lies- you can’t force healing.
- We haven’t had a chance to process what has happened yet and honestly, we still don’t know how to plan for the future. Everything is still up in the air, leaving us with a sense of fight or flight three years later.
Familial or Social Pressures
We love our family and friends, but the pressures we have due to familial or social obligations can also be a cause of burnout. For instance, parenting young children is a full-time job — and many parents have other full-time jobs on top of that. If you are a primary caregiver for a family member, this can also take up considerable time and energy in your life.
Your social life can also drain some of your energy. A toxic or abusive relationship, for instance, will often leave you feeling as though you’re running on empty. But even healthy friendships may take energy when combined with all of the other things you have to balance in your life. When a friend is going through a hard time and needs advice or support, you of course want to provide that for them, but it may leave you feeling exhausted.
Even if you’re a more extroverted person, everyone needs time to themselves to refill their personal well. But for some, this may be more difficult than others.
Chronic mental health issues
For people who struggle with chronic ADHD, anxiety, depression, OCD, or any other mental health disorder, the risk for fatigue is much higher. Especially when these disorders are less severe and therefore may go undiagnosed for years, fatigue can grow stronger with every passing week.
Other, more nuanced reasons for fatigue and burnout are:
- Low-income living
- Parenting
- Dealing with constant, toxic relationships
- Feeling isolated
The Path Back to Your Vibrant Self | Help is Just a Phone Call Away
The truth is, we can all suffer from burnout from time to time. But there’s good news—there are ways to tackle burnout directly that can help you feel better sooner. One of the best approaches is to seek help. Remember, the providers at Rivia Mind are here to lend a compassionate ear and offer suggestions, tips, or a complete action plan to address the factors in your life contributing to burnout. What’s more, getting help is quick and won’t add to your to-do list. Simply book a FREE 15-minute phone consultation now, and we’ll handle the rest. Appointments are often available within just one hour. Click here to get started and let us help you get back on the path to your vibrant self today.
Resources:
- Cost of Fatigue in the Workplace – National Safety Council
- Exhausted Nation: Americans more tired than ever, survey finds – Safety + Health
- Burnout an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases – World Health Organization
- More than half of college graduates are working in jobs that don’t require degrees – CBS News
- Burnout and Stress are Everywhere – American Psychological Association
