Practices That Can Help You Battle Mental Exhaustion
Feeling mentally exhausted is something that can happen to everyone. Regardless of whether you’re a student with exams to prepare for or an adult with a project at work to deal with, feeling stressed and exhausted can become a true peril. After all, mental exhaustion is quite different compared to physical one.
When you’re tired physically, a simple rest may be more than enough to give you an energy boost. But when the fatigue is mental, just sleeping without taking care of yourself won’t do you much good. Not to mention that mental exhaustion can lead to a significant drop in motivation and productivity, which consequently just creates an endless loop of stress and anxiety.
7 ways to recover when you are mentally exhausted
1. Enjoy your hobbies
We all get a little too busy sometimes but that doesn’t mean that you should completely disregard your need to just enjoy your hobbies and interests.
Spending even just a little time doing something you thoroughly enjoy that has absolutely no connection to your work can be extremely beneficial for you mentally. And since you are dealing with mental exhaustion here, it’s important to address seemingly ordinary activities such as your hobbies as well.
2. Get enough sleep
Even though just sleep won’t be enough to help you deal with mental exhaustion completely, the lack of it can only make things worse. In the end, is there any logic to pairing physical with mental exhaustion? Getting enough sleep can lead to better concentration, memory, and a general increase in your cognitive abilities.
When you don’t get enough sleep, it gets harder to make the right decisions but easier to make mistakes, which will undoubtedly increase your stress levels. Make sure you have a regular sleep schedule and sleep the hours your body needs.
3. Have you tried meditation?
Similarly to exercising your muscles in the gym, meditation can help you exercise your brain. Regular meditation activity, even a short one, can effectively reduce stress, stimulate creative thinking, boost concentration, minimize anxiety and generally improve the way you interact with others.
If you feel overwhelmed by the amount of work you have, it would be extremely beneficial to take short breaks in order to meditate and relax.
There are many ways to approach meditation, and it’s important to find a way that works the best for you. Don’t expect to master this activity from day one, as there’s no need to get that serious. As mentioned, benefits of meditation are many, but not when you stress over meditation itself!
4. Learn to say NO
If you are mentally exhausted and need to relax, things can get difficult, especially if you just can’t seem to bring yourself to say no!
It’s time that you finally understand that it’s not possible to please and make everyone happy. Most importantly, that’s not your responsibility at all! Limits are necessary for your own protection.
If you think it’s necessary to get away from your surroundings a bit because you are mentally exhausted, do it. Don’t feel pressured by the tasks you have to complete. They will be waiting for you when you get yourself sorted out.
Practice saying NO when you need to recharge and you will see the benefits in your emotional health soon enough.
5. Disconnect
It’s highly probable that you spend all day answering emails, checking your social media and sending messages to friends, family, and co-workers.
Technology is an excellent tool. It has allowed us to communicate instantaneously with people all over the world and has given us access to all kinds of knowledge. However, it has also pressured us into staying connected 24 hours a day.
When you are emotionally and mentally exhausted this is definitely something that can push you over the edge if not careful. In the end, it’s easy to dismiss the negative effects of constantly being available online when these are not too obvious instantly. However, that can seriously wear you down as you need to give yourself a break and disconnect from time to time.
Turn off all your devices, mention this to your friends and coworkers if you think it’s necessary, and try to do something that does not require you to spend time in front of a screen.
You can also set tech limits, such as no phones at the dinner table, not using the phone for at least an hour before bedtime, and similar.
6. Don’t forget your friends
You’ve probably been so busy that you haven’t had the chance to see your friends. Never ignore your need to be with them as they are an important part of your life. Humans are socially-dependent creatures and we need interaction with others. Interactions that have nothing to do with our work!
Research shows that moments spent relaxing with friends release endorphins into the bloodstream to increase energy and boost the mood. This is essential for a proper recovery from a mental exhaustion.
7. Reflect
Now that you have this information, think about what works and what doesn’t for you. After all, nobody can answer this question better than you. Therefore, don’t hesitate to spend some quality alone time inside your mind. Pushing everything away at the back of it should finally stop if you’re willing to take good care of yourself.
Implementing some of these tips will not only help you recover from a challenging stage in your life, but it will also help you prevent mental exhaustion in the future.
Also, take note of everything you did well, even if was just a 10-minute walk to clear your mind. Small acts like that can do wonders for your emotional health and keep you from feeling mentally drained.
