January 11, 2023 at 8:13 am

If You’re Feeling Exhausted Right Now, You’re Not Alone. Psychologists Think They Know Why.

by Trisha Leigh

No one would argue that the last several years haven’t been a lot to handle, but most of us still believe we should be able to keep trucking and get through it.

Why, then, are so many people feeling exhausted, bleak, and just like the prospect of another day might be enough to send them buried back under the covers.

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Image Credit: iStock

Psychologists like Naomi Holdt think they know exactly what’s taking a collective toll, and in a poignant Facebook post, Holdt put it beautifully into words.

“A gentle reminder about why you are utterly exhausted…

No one I know began this year on a full tank. Given the vicious onslaught of the previous two years (let’s just call it what it was) most of us dragged ourselves across the finish line of 2021…frazzled, spent, running on aged adrenaline fumes…

We crawled into 2022 still carrying shock, trauma, grief, heaviness, disbelief…The memories of a surreal existence…

And then it began…The fastest hurricane year we could ever have imagined. Whether we have consciously processed it or not, this has been a year of more pressure, more stress, and a race to ‘catch up’ in all departments…Every. Single. One. Work, school, sports, relationships, life…

Though not intentionally aware, perhaps hopeful that the busier we are, the more readily we will forget…the more easily we will undo the emotional tangle…the more permanently we will wipe away the scarring wounds…

We can’t.

And attempts to re-create some semblance of ‘normal’ on steroids while disregarding that for almost two years our sympathetic nervous systems were on full alert, has left our collective mental health in tatters. Our children and teens are not exempt. The natural byproduct of fighting a hurricane is complete and utter exhaustion…

So before you begin questioning the absolutely depleted and wrung-dry state you are in – Pause. Breathe. Remind yourself of who you are and what you have endured. And then remind yourself of what you have overcome.

Despite it all, you’re still going. Even on the days you stumble and find yourself face-down in a pile of dirt.

Understanding brings compassion…Most of the world’s citizens are in need of a little extra TLC at the moment. Most are donning invisible ‘Handle with care’ posters around their necks and ‘Fragile’ tattoos on their bodies…

Instead of racing to the finish line of this year, treat gently.

Go slowly. Amidst the chaos, find small pockets of silence. Find compassion. Allow the healing. And most of all…Be kind. There’s no human being on earth who couldn’t use just a little bit more of a healing salve of kindness.”

And I mean, when you think about it that way, it makes total sense that we’re all exhausted, physically and mentally, as we face down another year.

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Image Credit: iStock

It’s going to take time to heal, and even if life is going to pause for any of us, we need to be mindful of the days and weeks when our bodies ask us to slow down and take a break.

Make sure you extend the same grace to others, because if there’s anything that we know for sure is true now, it’s that we’re all in this together.

twistedsifter on facebook If Youre Feeling Exhausted Right Now, Youre Not Alone. Psychologists Think They Know Why.