Moral exhaustion: signs, treatment options, medications, advice from psychologists

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The modern rhythm of life is so intense that a person often feels exhausted and tired from it. It is impossible to control everything that happens. Unpredictability leads to stress, which affects both the physical and mental state.

Impact of the problem on human life

Many people suffer from moral exhaustion. It manifests itself through various symptoms that disrupt a person’s life, reduce the productivity of his work. Often, emptiness destroys important relationships as well.

Moral exhaustion in psychology is called nervous. But the terminology has little effect on the essence of the processes that occur in the body during prolonged stress. It doesn't matter how many problems still have to be solved. Despite the mountains of work, it is necessary to give the body and mind timely rest. Otherwise, productivity and problem solving will continue to decline until it all turns into chronic fatigue syndrome or psychosomatic illness.

Why is nervous exhaustion dangerous for the body?

In a stressful situation, the internal regulatory systems obey the orders of the nervous system. For example, if a person lives in a tense family environment, during each conflict, the adrenal glands are ordered to produce hormones - adrenaline and cortisol. Moreover, their release occurs in increased quantities. It affects the body as follows:

• Immunity is suppressed. A person becomes more prone to flu, colds.
• It affects his blood pressure. It rises or, on the contrary, falls.
• Adrenaline and cortisol in high amounts affect the activity of neurons, which causes sleep disturbances. Memory and attention are also deteriorating.
• Decreased testosterone production, resulting in decreased sex drive.
• Cortisol in large quantities adversely affects muscle cells, decomposing them into simpler components. Therefore, a person loses muscle mass and gains fat.

Cortisol and adrenaline affect the body in this way only if they are produced too much. These hormones in normal amounts are involved in the regulation of many metabolic processes within the body. They mainly affect carbohydrate metabolism. But their increase, like a decrease, is detrimental to he alth.

Signs of exhaustion: insomnia

One of the first signs of mental exhaustion is sleep disturbances. Due to stress, a person in this state cannot fall asleep even withsevere fatigue. But proper sleep is vital. Therefore, for those who are faced with this problem, it is at least useful to properly prepare for rest every day. To do this, you can meditate, remember something pleasant.

Asthenic manifestations

Feeling tired, dizzy, weak - all this indicates the need for physical rest. The body can't handle this amount of stress. If these signs are present, self-healing should be considered.

Sometimes there is a pain syndrome, the origin of which is unknown. A person conducts specialized examinations, but doctors do not reveal anything. Pain can be localized in the head, muscles, abdomen. Chronic diseases may also worsen.

Desire to quit

One of the clear signs of moral exhaustion is that the person no longer wants to take responsibility. He feels like he has a huge weight on his shoulders that he doesn't have the strength to carry.

Such a desire can periodically occur in a he althy person. But on the other hand, if apathy does not go away for a long time, it can lead to negative consequences. Therefore, it is necessary to take a break as soon as possible, to get in shape.

Feeling detached

A person in a state of moral exhaustion does not feel involved in external events. Nothing of what is happening is of no interest to him anymore. His state hedescribes something like this: “I don’t care what happens around me. I'm neither good nor bad. The physical body exists as if without emotion.

Anxiety, depression

A common symptom of mental exhaustion is constant anxiety. The most common things cause anxiety. A casual discussion of your job with your supervisor can raise anxiety about possible dismissal. This condition in itself provokes stress.

A person suffering from moral and emotional exhaustion often experiences tearfulness and depression. His self-esteem is going down. He loses faith in himself, considers himself a failure. Anxiety about imaginary or real failures leads to high fatigue, sleep disturbances.

Irritability

A person suffering from moral exhaustion begins to notice increased aggressiveness behind him. The slightest reason can hurt him, unbalance him. Often there is also impatience. If you have to wait a while, this also leads to irritation.

Treatment options

There are several methods of therapy after nervous exhaustion:

• Drug treatment.
• Psychotherapy.
• Independent measures: regulation of sleep patterns, proper nutrition, mental relief exercises.
• Spa treatment.

Medicines

To prevent possible complications, it is important to identify the symptoms of a nervousexhaustion. Treatment with drugs if a disorder is suspected is prescribed only by a doctor. Usually these are the following medicines:

• Drugs that help dilate blood vessels, relieve migraines, increase cerebral circulation. Usually these are analogues of "Mexidol" or "Tanakan".
• Drugs that speed up the metabolism in brain tissues - Nootropil, Piracetam, Ceraxon.
• Sedatives - tincture of valerian, Fitosedan.
• If there are symptoms of depressive conditions, antidepressants or mild tranquilizers are prescribed - Valium, Diazepam, Amitriptyline.
• Homeopathic remedies are also used - Anakarium, Magnesia, Kali Phos.

Treatment with nervous exhaustion drugs is possible only at the direction of a specialist. The listed medicines have contraindications. Before using them, you should consult with your doctor.

Recommendations from psychologists: the need to give yourself the opportunity to rest

To cope with the symptoms of mental exhaustion, it is important to remember to take timely rest. Often, workaholics suffering from this disorder justify themselves with the help of folk wisdom - "It's time for business, but it's an hour for fun." Psychologists advise not to forget that if there is no fun, then the job will not work out. Either the forces will completely end, or the body will be depleted so that the person becomes ill or “pays off” with an anxious and depressive state. Therefore, recreation and entertainment should not be perceived as something that interferes with work -rather, this pastime is the key to the successful performance of their duties.

It's perfectly normal to be tired in the evening and on weekends. Fatigue is an indicator of the need to rest. If signs of moral and physical exhaustion are found, the best way to restore strength is a vacation. After major stresses (e.g. threat of being fired from work, serious family conflicts), it is recommended to rest for at least 10 days.

The importance of good sleep

Often, in addition to the depletion of the internal reserves of the nervous system, one also has to deal with insomnia. To overcome these disorders, you must follow the following rules for he althy sleep:

• A few hours before a night's rest, it is not recommended to eat heavy food, alcoholic beverages.
• The room should be dark. All light sources are eliminated: gadgets must be turned off, lamps must be turned off. Wear a sleep mask if possible.
• It's good to have your own special bedtime ritual. For example, brushing teeth - yoga - dressing - sleeping.
• If possible, it is good to take a little walk in the air in the evening.

Food

Vitamins and trace elements are needed not only to maintain the body in optimal condition. They are extremely important for the efficient operation of neurons - brain cells. Therefore, during periods of exhaustion, it is important to consume a large amount of fruits, vegetables.

During prolonged nervous tension, nutrition must certainly include morethe amount of proteins and fats of vegetable origin. It is useful to obtain proteins from dairy products containing bifidobacteria. Also good sources of protein include fish, meat, seafood.

Awareness

"What to do with moral exhaustion?" - ask themselves those who no longer have the strength to perform everyday work and household duties. Often this question is asked already at the moment when a person has no strength for anything. The best way to avoid this condition is to prevent it from occurring. It is necessary not only to make plans for tomorrow, but also to feel whether there is enough strength to implement them.

Massage

Any kind of massaging has a positive effect on the state of the body, helping to relax. Relaxation is the second most important in the recovery process. In particular, attention should be paid to the muscles located in the collar zone.