What is a mental fatigue?
Mental fatigue is a symptom of tardiness and heaviness. It shows in the actions of not doing, not taking an initiative, not seeking for a solution and not even bothering to figure it out.
This is common many people have it. There are many reasons that cause it like overload of information, many problems happen at the same time, or sometimes maybe your mind’s interpretation of the problem is so traumatizing in such away that you don’t dare to think for a solution and you just settle for what is happening.
This is really typical when you see a person doing the same thing forever. But what can you do if you realize you have got mental fatigue? Well as I said in my previous posts many times, it is not a quick fix thing. It takes time and patience.
If you see yourself having this mental fatigue and you are not in a good position to think properly, you need to pay attention to your environment. What kind of environment you live in now? Are you facing interruptions all the time? Are people around you 24/7 and the noise just don’t stop? If that is your case, you would probably need to block a slot of time specifically for yourself. It is tricky to think clearly when people are with you all the time. Although you can brainstorm with others and come up with solutions, but other times it is noise and can distract you from finding the solution that suits your situation best.
Another thing to look for is the care you give for yourself. Are you paying attention to your needs? Are you busy most of the times caring for others and you barely get any time left for yourself? How do you take care of yourself? Are you tuned to your emotional needs, physical needs, spiritual needs, leisure needs and growth needs? Do your self-needs have any priority or it is just other people needs?
The third thing to consider also is be aware from the peer pressure you face whether at work, colleges, schools or even at home. Peer pressure is the feeling to compete with others when all in the group believe in something valuable and all seek to go after it. I can’t say peer pressure is good or bad. It depends on how you perceive it. But I suggest to be aware of it because sometimes it can drag you to places you don’t even know yourself anymore because you are competing to be like the professionals in your world and you don’t even know if that is what you really want.
It can be tempting because you want to belong in your group. You want to be accepted and liked. You want to conform and follow because that is what everyone is doing. That is how the peer pressure can affect and lead to mental fatigue if you reach a point you are confused or you don’t know what you want.
One of the tips that personally helps me to process mental fatigue is decluttering your mind. You may think of many ways of how to do it but my favourite is writing down my thoughts and cleaning and arranging my home. During that process you understand the blocked areas in your mind and where you need to focus your precious energy and efforts.
One last tip before you go, remember not to beat yourself up or blame yourself. It is normal to have such mental symptoms especially with the set-up and arrangements of our current world. Just take it as one step at a time. Be easy and simple with yourself. Don’t complicate things. You are not alone. Many others have got this and managed to process it and move on. So why won’t you?