I Survived Depression - so can YOU!

Exhaustion, pain, tiredness, do you feel like you can relate to any of those aforementioned words? If you do, you may be suffering from fatigue. Which carries with it a wide range of various pains, ills and afflictions. From lethargy to muscle pain caused by work, mental or physical. Physical fatigue does, of course, prevent you form doing day-to-day chores. Mental fatigue leads to solemnness and depression.

Fatigue is caused by working out, mental issues, depression, jet lag, boredom, disease and a lack of sleep. Waking up without having your proper amount of sleep can make you feel even more tired. Mineral and vitamin deficiencies can also cause fatigue.

And, if you have any signs of fatigue you need to ask yourself another question - along with feeling tired all the time do I have any of the following?

* trouble remembering
* un-refreshing sleep
* joint pain
* muscle pain
* headaches
* sore throats

If you answered yes, you may have a more serious issue know as chronic fatigue. The actual causes of chronic fatigue are not readily known but are assumed to originate from the RAS portion of the brain (reticular activating system).

Normal fatigue can be caused by simple illnesses like the common cold. Chronic fatigue, however is very different. Although we are not entirely sure what causes chronic fatigue. The following is a list direct form the CDC (Centers for Disease Control):

* Auto immune diseases
* Anemia
* Anorexia Nervosa
* Arthritis
* Cancer
* Chemical dependency
* Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
* Clinical depression
* Diabetes
* Fibromyalgia
* Heart disease
* Infectious diseases
* Lead poisoning
* Leukemia or Lymphoma
* Lyme disease
* Muscular Dystrophy
* Parkinson’s disease
* Post-Concussion Syndrome
* Pregnancy
* Sleep deprivation or sleep disorders
* Spondyloarthropathy

That is quite a substantial list. If you think you are on an uphill battle to fight chronic fatigue and do not know how to go about conquering it then read on.

Stress – reduce it! Teach yourself the art of saying no. You cannot be in all places at once. It is impossible. Prioritize your life and try not to sweat the small things. Always do something that you enjoy at least once per day. If you are rushed in the morning, get up a little earlier to allow more time to avoid rushing, thereby avoiding that particular stress.

Being stressed out at work is common place. Conflicts arise between co-workers on a regular basis. Sit down with them and calmly talk out your issues. Put yourself in their shoes to better understand their point of view.

Get up and move! Being active creates endorphins which activate pleasure centers in the brain. Try to fit in at least 30 minutes of activity every day. You can walk around the office during your lunch break, do seated exercises or whatever you can think of.

Good living by healthy eating. Low-fat and low sugar are important to any diet. Healthy means healthy out. You would be surprised at how much better you feel when you consume less junk. Also, avoid alcohol.

Counseling and behavior therapy also can be helpful.

Many people feel that fatigue is all in your head. However, if you have ever suffered from fatigue, especially chronic fatigue you know that it is all to real. And, to make matters worse, health care professionals are not completely certain what causes it or the cure. The only thing that we know is if you suffer from chronic fatigue remember to reduce stress and make sure that you eat a balanced diet.

Tags: chronic+fatigue+syndrome, chronic+fatigue, fatigue+chronic

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 4:10 am and is filed under Chronic fatigue | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.