Fatigue – a plague of the 21st century …

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In 2023, everybody knows somebody who’s exhausted!

Not the “good” kind of fatigue that marks the end of a hard day’s work, but an unrelenting tiredness you can’t seem to shake.

Like so many things in our lives in this modern age, instead of resolving the problem of fatigue we try to push through it with the aid of an assortment of stimulants that offer only minor and temporary surges of adrenalin before leading us to a “crash” that amplifies the fatigue we were wanting to flee.

Aren’t you tired of being tired?!

Chances are, you can reduce or eliminate persistent fatigue in your life by accurately identifying the root cause(s) of the fatigue and then treating it properly. So let’s take a moment to explore some of the primary causes of fatigue, which usually can be discovered in one or more of four categories:

LIFESTYLE ISSUES
Sometimes the cause of our fatigue is as simple as routinely experiencing too much physical exertion. But more common lifestyle issues fueling fatigue include a lack of physical activity, poor sleep patterns resulting in a lack of sleep, and being overweight or obese.

PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES
A variety of physical health issues can result in a deep, persistent fatigue. These issues may include eating a poor diet, not getting adequate exercise, side effects from prescription medication, regular consumption of alcohol, or ingesting too much caffeine. Medical conditions, from mild to serious, can also be a root cause of fatigue. Such medical conditions range from anemia, infections, hypothyroidism, and experiencing food allergies, to diabetes and other diseases.

MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
Our thinking and emotions can exhaust us!

Mental health issues that can cause fatigue include boredom, grief, stress, anxiety, and depression.

SPIRITUAL HEALTH
Sometimes, the source of our fatigue is rooted in our spiritual health — or lack thereof. Sin can have a powerful physical, mental, and emotional impact on our being, including causing a gripping fatigue that drains us of any energy or motivation. Such a fatigue is described by King David as a result of his sin:

“When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat,” Psalm 32:3-4.

So let me ask you again, aren’t you tired of being tired?!

Why not identify the root cause(s) of your fatigue, and then treat the source so that you can eliminate fatigue from being a plague in your life? If needed, you can enlist the services of a physician, minister, or skilled, competent Christian clinical counselor to assess what the root cause(s) of your fatigue is, and then prescribe for you a treatment plan to treat root issues.

BUT, you’ll have to want to change and be willing to do the work of changing, not just settle for guzzling an energy drink and making fatigue a routine part of life.

Recommendations that might be part of a prescribed treatment plan may include:

    • Exercising regularly.
    • Replacing a poor diet with the habit of healthy nutrition.
    • Drinking more water to stay adequately hydrated.
    • Developing and maintaining a healthy sleep pattern.
    • Dehabituating your mind from cognitive distortions.
    • Reducing and managing stress.
    • “Owning your schedule” by avoiding work and social schedules that are overly demanding.
    • Abstaining from alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs.
    • Obeying God and pursuing a holy life in Christ.

So we’ve briefly surveyed some of the things which might be part of treating the reason why you experience persistent fatigue. Let’s be honest, many people see such things as “too much work” and opt instead for stimulants and a life of exhaustion.

That’s a miserable way to live.

Aren’t you tired of being tired?!

Then what are you going to do about it?

Scotty