The Exhaustion Epidemic — 10 Small Steps for More Energy
"Why am I so exhausted?"
How many times recently have you woken up with tons of energy, ready to attack the day, with all of the energy to exercise, go to work, make dinner, clean up, and drive all the kids to their activities in a great mood?
None? Me neither.
I got so tired of saying, “I’m tired,” when my husband asked me how I was doing. I’m not sure I would ever have considered myself an energetic person, but it was getting bad and going on for too long.
It was time to take action.
I’ve talked to so many women who feel exhausted regularly.
Exhaustion has become an epidemic, and I’m here to offer some support.
Many of us have a job, kids, family, friends, and lots of responsibilities. With all of the things on our plates, I’m not sure if I know anyone who wouldn’t feel exhausted at the end of the day. When we have so many things to do and are unsure if we have the time or energy to accomplish all of the tasks, life can start to feel overwhelming.
No one wants to live like that. We end up procrastinating, numbing ourselves with wine, binge-watching Netflix or ice cream, and staying up late so we can have some alone time and all of these things don’t solve the problem and make us more tired, cranky, and resentful.
There is no magic pill, but imagine what could happen six months from now if you prioritized your energy management. Imagine what you would have the energy to tackle!
To solve this energy crisis, we need to look at it differently.
Here are some questions to consider:
Why do you want more energy?
Do you just want to feel better?
Do you want enough energy to put the kids to bed and not be grumpy at the end of the day?
Do you want to be able to have time, patience, and energy to chat with your husband or friends?
Do you want to clean up the dinner dishes, prep lunches for the next day, AND work out?
Pick up a new hobby?
Imagine the possibilities!
In order to make significant progress on this, we need to feel confident that we can get results and be capable of following through on our plan, even if other things try to pull us in a different direction. Also, we need to manage our expectations that we will be perfect.
We'll have days that we don’t follow our plan, but each day is a new day.
We can get scientific about the process and see what works, what doesn’t, and what gets in the way.
To feel more confident and capable, here are some thoughts you can embrace:
“I need to take massive action until this problem is solved.”
“My decision-making is the problem. I’m not the problem.”
“I need to delegate/get help because I can’t do this alone.”
“No one but me expects me to do all of this, and I can change my thoughts about that.”
“I can’t change everything today, but I can start to take action.”
Once we get our thoughts in order, we can begin to take simple steps towards creating more energy so we can show up for ourselves and others.
Here are some options for places to start:
Check your health.
Make a doctor’s appointment to rule out any health issues and check blood work for check iron, hormones, and sleep apnea.Track your sleep.
Keep a sleep journal to see if sleep is a problem. Are you getting 8-9 hours? (Women need more sleep than men.) Do you have trouble falling asleep? Are you waking in the middle of the night or early in the morning?Create a nighttime routine. Set a consistent bedtime at 10 pm, for example, and turn off all tech after 8 pm, and wear blue light-blocking glasses, bath, brush/floss, gentle stretching, take melatonin if needed, read a book, and lights out.
Daily movement.
Exercise daily to increase your energy, even though you don’t feel like it in the moment.Discover what excites you.
Make a list of things that give you energy, like going outside, drinking coffee, talking to friends, dancing to fun music, and watching funny videos.Watch your sweets.
Manage your blood sugar to avoid crashes by reducing added sugar, eating whole grains, whole fruits, and veggies, and eating a little protein each meal.Learn to say “no.”
Do things you want to do, not just things you think you “should.”Firm Boundaries.
Manage your mind around guilt and people-pleasing. Having firm boundaries take practice, and it's worth it!Prioritize!
Write a list of all the things you do in a day and arrange it from most to least important. See what actually gets done, and let the rest go. Is the rest important? What can you take off the list?Rest!
When you're tired, rest, meditate, or put your feet up. Napping isn’t just for kids!
If you pick one thing from this list and do it until it feels easy, you'll start to feel better, relaxed, calmer, happier, and more energetic.
If you need more support with chronic stress and exhaustion, get in touch. Therapy can help.
You might also enjoy these articles:
