I Feel Exhausted

Understanding Exhaustion

We all feel tired from time to time; life can be busy and that can sometimes leave us feeling a bit worn out. That’s perfectly natural and after a few good nights’ sleep, you should be feeling back to normal.

Sometimes, you might know why you’re feeling that extra bit tired at the end of every day. Maybe you’ve been working longer hours to meet a deadline, caring for a family member who needs a little more support or you’re dealing with a long term condition. However, if you’re feeling tired all the time, even after getting enough rest, your tiredness may have an impact on your daily life, preventing you from working, socialising or doing things you enjoy. This is when you might begin to ask yourself, “why am I always tired?” and it could impact your mental health.

Getting support may seem daunting, and taking the first step can be difficult, but at NHS Kent and Medway Talking Therapies, we are here for you. Working with one of our qualified therapists can help you understand why you might be feeling tired all the time and, with their support, you can build coping mechanisms to prevent constant tiredness from impacting your daily life.

What Causes Exhaustion and Why Am I Always Tired?

Everyone can feel tired at times; it’s normal and is to be expected if you are busy for a few days more than usual. Tiredness, or fatigue, can affect us all in very different ways.

Fatigue feels like a deep, persistent exhaustion that doesn’t go away, even after sleep or rest. Unlike normal tiredness from a busy day at work, constant tiredness affects your entire body and mind.

There are multiple reasons why you may be feeling tired all the time. Your exhaustion could be caused by your lifestyle, medical issues like a long term condition or a mental health condition that leaves you feeling low or anxious.

Feeling tired all the time can be caused by:

Stress

Heart Break

Financial Concerns

Bereavement

Depression

Overwhelmed

If you’re wondering “why am I always tired?”, it could be due to a combination of these factors. You might also feel exhausted because these factors are working in combination with each other.

Exhaustion can be caused by lifestyle issues, medical conditions or side effects to medications.

Lifestyle issues which impact exhaustion include:

• Poor sleep
• Unbalanced diet and lack of exercise
• Low mood and stress
• Using excessive alcohol or certain drugs

Exhaustion can be caused by living with a long term condition, such as:

• Anaemia
• Thyroid issues
• Diabetes
• Sleep disorders
• Deficiencies
• Chronic illnesses

Side effects to certain prescription drugs, like beta-blockers, antidepressants or chemotherapy treatments, can also leave you feeling tired all the time.

There are several health conditions that can make you feel exhausted. If you have been asking yourself “why am I always tired?” for longer than four weeks, it’s important to consult your GP as they will be able to confirm or rule out any potential medical conditions.

If you are not diagnosed with a certain medical condition and decide that talking therapies might be beneficial to help with feeling tired all the time, you can ask your doctor to complete a GP/professional referral to our service.

At NHS Kent and Medway Talking Therapies, we understand that constantly worrying about why you are feeling tired all the time can be difficult. That’s why we are here for you to help you deal with your thoughts and feelings as you build coping strategies to help you deal with everyday life.

What are the Symptoms of Exhaustion?

When someone is feeling exhausted, they may lack the energy they need to complete their daily activities or socialise. As a result, they may stop doing the activities they enjoy and distance themselves from loved ones.

The physical signs of exhaustion can include:

• Heavy limbs, with your arms feeling weighted down, as if you are moving through water
• Total depletion, where simple daily tasks like showering or cooking feel as exhausting as running a marathon
• Unrefreshing sleep, which leaves you waking up feeling just as tired as you did when you went to bed
• Aching body, where your muscles feel weak, sore, heavy or tender

The mental symptoms of exhaustion include:

• Brain fog, leaving you struggling to concentrate, focus or find the right words
• Memory issues, where remembering simple tasks or recent information becomes difficult
• Slowed responses, meaning your reflexes and decision-making feel dull or delayed

Some people may also show emotional signs of exhaustion, but many people often find that feeling tired all the time impacts them physically and mentally, too.

This means that exhaustion symptoms can be different for everyone. However, some of the common ways they are displayed include:

Exhaustion symptoms can be different for everyone, but some common ways they are displayed include:

Irritable

Distracted

Anti-social

Appetite Changes

Without the correct treatment, constant tiredness can have a negative impact on your relationships, work, finances and overall health, so it is important to seek help if feeling tired all the time is getting in the way of things that are important to you.

How Feeling Tired all the Time can Impact Your Mental Health

Feeling tired all the time can impact your mental health by increasing feelings of anxiety and low mood, and making it hard for you to manage your emotions. This can leave you feeling overwhelmed and as a result, you may find it difficult to manage your emotions.

Whilst constant tiredness can affect your mental health, it can also be a sign of an undiagnosed mental health condition. Mental health conditions can cause fatigue by keeping the body in a prolonged state of stress response, extend emotional processing and many mental health problems also alter sleep quality, even after a full night of sleep.

Common mental health conditions linking to constant tiredness can include anxiety disorders, low mood and depression and burnout.

People of all ages can find themselves wondering “why am I always tired?”, since exhaustion affects everyone at different stages of their life. At NHS Kent and Medway Talking Therapies, we provide support for everyone. From dealing with men’s mental health conditions and handling women’s mental health issues, and providing mental health support for older adults in partnership with Age UK, working with a qualified therapist can help change your outlook on life.

What Support is Available for Exhaustion?

Luckily, your feelings of constant tiredness and exhaustion don’t have to continue and there are ways to overcome feeling tired all the time. It’s important to consider getting support for exhaustion if you have been asking yourself “why am I always tired?” for a long period of time. Reaching out can also provide help with loneliness if your exhaustion is causing you to withdraw from the things you enjoy.

At NHS Kent and Medway Talking Therapies, we offer a range of talking therapies to help fight exhaustion or tiredness caused by stress, anxiety or low mood. We know that feeling tired all the time can be difficult, so we are here to help you get through it.

Getting support is simple. You can complete a self-referral or call us on 0333 091 0414 to speak to a member of our friendly patient support team. We also accept GP/professional referrals. To use our services, you must be aged 17 and a half or over and be registered with a local GP in the Kent and Medway area.

Contact one of our local service providers, who will work with you to find the right support service for you. Find out more about each of the talking therapy services we currently provide across Kent and Medway.