‘Go within every day and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out’

~ Katherine Dunham

Exhaustion can occur both mentally and physically. It can result from anxiety, difficult relationships, overwork, lack of sleep and an unhealthy diet amongst other things. It can leave you feeling totally drained with low tolerance levels for stressful situations that you come across and snapping at any little thing. It can mean that you start to see the negative in everything and struggle to find any answers or solutions. You might experience the following:

• Lack of motivation for everything
• Low emotional strength
• Feeling anxious and tense
• Lack of good quality sleep
• Lack of focus and concentration
• Feeling tired and lacking in energy
• Feeling like nothing is possible
• Feeling defeated
• Feeling teary and sad
• Run out of capacity to handle emotional stress

In order to replenish your energy reserves you can try the following:

1) Focus on your health

If you are in peak physical health, it will give you more energy to deal with everything on your plate. Getting enough high quality sleep is of key importance to your health, as well as eating a healthy diet and taking exercise. If you are feeling emotionally drained, it can be wise to avoid drinking a lot of alcohol, as although this can make you feel temporarily more relaxed, it can often make you feel more vulnerable in the long run. The healthier you are and the more you look after yourself, the stronger you will feel emotionally.

2) Fresh air 

If you are feeling run down a great way to help renew your energy levels is by getting outside, getting active and getting fresh air in your lungs. Find a beautiful spot in nature, go for a hike, take in the views, admire the beauty around you. This can do wonders for your mental wellbeing.

3) Mindfulness

When your energy levels are low and you are feeling drained, the practice of mindfulness meditation can help you to calm the chaos going on in your mind and bring you clarity and focus. By concentrating on your breathing you can begin to feel calmer and more grounded. It can help you let go of all the cluttered thoughts flying through your mind and result in a clearer outlook.

4) Removal of ‘dementors‘

When you feel emotionally exhausted, it won’t be helpful to have others negativity bringing you further down. Surround yourself with people who can bring out the best in you, who have a lust for life, who see the positive in every situation and who can help you find your own positive energy. Try to minimize the amount of time you spend with energy ‘dementors‘, those people who suck the energy from you.

5) Distract yourself

If you are feeling drained about a particular situation, maybe a failed relationship or a stressful work situation, rather than focusing on that, try getting busy on something you love and are passionate about. Rather than dwelling on the areas in your life that are causing you stress, focus your energy on the positives. Spend your time doing what you love. If you concentrate on this, it will help shift your energy away from the negative situations that are draining you.

6) Make a change

Lastly, if you are suffering from emotional exhaustion caused by something specific, try to identify what exactly it is that is making you feel this way and identify how you can change it. You are not in control of every situation, but you are in 100% in control of how you react to every situation. Maybe you can manage things differently or if you can’t maybe you have to remove yourself from the situation altogether.

If you try following the steps above, it should help you to make you stronger in yourself and tackle all challenges sent your way, with a renewed energy. Let me know how you get on in the comments below.