One of the most pervasive symptoms of depression I experience every single day is feeling tired.
No matter how many hours of sleep I get, I always feel tired when I wake up and also throughout the day. I have experienced this since I was in high school.
Clarity vs brain fog
Tiredness affects everything. I never feel at my best so I constantly question the quality of my work. Some days I have more clarity, others I am immersed in brain fog.
Vicious cycle
For the most part I have learnt to push through it, but when it is bad I become irritable, angry and stressed which makes me more tired.
It can also affect memory and concentration. You get frustrated because you cannot remember something or you forgot something simple because you were not concentrating.
You forgot where you put your keys or you question whether you switched off the oven. Then you get stressed, annoyed or worried about what you cannot remember. It can be a self-feeding loop.
Negative thinking
I am not a doctor, but I think my tiredness is related to negative thought patterns and stress.
As depression is a daily experience for me, I spend every day fighting negative thought patterns and analysing everything, trying to figure out how to improve life for myself and others. If something bad happens I need to know why. Maybe this carries over into my sleep, I just do not know it.
I follow the general advice for improving sleep, but I think I need to focus on improving thinking patterns and reactions and reducing stress to improve my energy levels.
General advice
create a healthy sleep environment (darkness, no sound or relaxing sounds and no tech)
get 7-9 hours sleep
eat properly
drink plenty of water
do regular exercise that raises your heartbeat
(A few hours before bedtime:)
do not drink alcohol or coffee
do not use nicotine
do not look at screens
Tools to improve negative thinking
talk based therapy
writing or other creative outlets
meditation
mindfulness
doing something relaxing
Check out my post “Depression: Triggers and tools” for more ideas. Find something that works for you.
Managing depression takes work-one problem at a time
First, recognise the problems you face, then figure out how to address each problem one at a time where possible.
Get help from people who know you or a professional if needed.
Do you experience regular tiredness? What is helping you?
thejourneyx 