3 Things To Do When Your Mental Illness Fatigues You
Because of my Bipolar disorder, I’ve become somewhat of an expert on fatigue.
No, I don’t know the exact mechanisms or why I’m so damn tired all the time, but when it comes to managing and coping with symptoms, I’ve got it down.
To me, coping with the fatigue and the constant exhaustion of my disorder has been the hardest part. I want to do the normal things people do in their 20s. But my brain does not cooperate, and it makes me frustrated.
Though I am still constantly learning to cope with the exhaustion of Bipolar disorder, I’ve learned some tips and tricks to help.
And though I’m not a scientist or psychologist or any brain expert, I hope that my tips can help at least a few people who are in the same boat as I am.
#1 -Talk to your doctor
I sometimes think I have more of a relationship with my doctor than my boyfriend.
All jokes aside, there are some weeks that I message my psychiatrist almost every single day trying to figure out the side effects of my medicine.
Unfortunately, with a lot of psychiatric medicine, fatigue and exhaustion are side-effects. Many of them have made me so tired that I was falling asleep at my desk.
Fortunately, there are options for medication out there and they react differently to each person’s body chemistry differently.
If you’re feeling fatigued or exhausted, talk to your psychiatrist or doctor. They may be able to help you.
Not only can psychiatric medicine make you tired, things like vitamin deficiencies, food allergies, and poor sleep hygiene can make you feel fatigued. These are all commonly linked with mental illness (and sometimes even misdiagnosis of mental illness).
But if you’re not open and honest with your doctor, they can’t start to help you with your fatigue or get to the root cause of it, so it’s important to do so.
#2 -Follow The Cliches
I know as a person with a serious mental illness; I hate when people give me cliche advice. These pieces of advice include:
- Stick to a bedtime routine
- Exercise
- Eat healthy
- Keep a positive attitude
- Meditate
I understand that these pieces of advice can get worn out and exhausting, but just maybe people are onto something.
Once I learned to be less stubborn, I learned that this advice helps and it can help a lot with managing my fatigue and my mental illness in general.
Eating healthy also helps me keep my vitamin levels in check; something that helps my energy.
Exercising helps regulate my system and helps ensure that I stick to my sleep schedule. It also relieves my stress.
And meditating and keeping a positive mental attitude helps me make sure that I can get through the day.
My advice is to consider taking this well-intentioned advice. It can help, especially for fatigue.
#3 -Just Deal With It
I know well that this probably not the advice that you want to hear, but it’s sometimes what you need to hear.
More than anyone, I know that it is a tough pill to swallow, but you’re mentally ill and your brain does not function like an average person’s. It’s freaking exhausting having a mental illness and trying to be “on” all the time.
But sometimes, you just have to live with that fact. You need to understand that you will be more tired than the average person. You’re not going to be able to do all the same things.
Your brain is sick — and unfortunately chronically sick. And to cope with that, you might just need to sit back and relax.
Therapies like DBT and CBT can help you learn to better deal with the fatigue.
I promise you though, you will be fine. You will be able to cope. And as always, you’ve survived even your toughest days.
