Emotional exhaustion is very common today as we are more involved in our daily chores and tasks than giving time to sort out our emotions that are buried deep for a long period. This, eventually, leads to stress. If someone’s workplace requires them to function under high pressure or a disturbing environment, they are left with little or no time to relax and refresh themselves. People dealing with emotional exhaustion are most likely to be diagnosed with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, blood pressure, and heart ailment.
Dr Ruhi Satija, a Consultant Psychiatrist & Psychotherapist, said, “Emotional exhaustion is a state of mind where you constantly feel burned out by the accumulated stress and negative or unacceptable circumstances from your personal as well as work lives or a combination of both of them. It is a major sign of burnout. It is comprised of emotional exhaustion and detachment from the self. As emotions are the by-product of our state of mind, emotional exhaustion creates a mental disturbance that results in hopelessness, irritability, lack of motivation, lack of concentration, cynicism, disturbed sleep cycle, and physical tiredness which creates mental exhaustion as well. Emotional exhaustion, the core of burnout, itself reflects a combination of a depressed mindset, a lack of energy in doing daily tasks, and surviving in a survival mode of life which correlates highly with other depressive symptoms”.
According to Dr Satija emotional exhaustion is commonly due to:
Lack of motivation: if you lose interest in doing what you love, you should ease off and find ways to regenerate your interest in what you are doing.
Triggered easily: Do you find yourself overreacting to the smallest inconvenience? It can happen when you are emotionally exhausted and are finding it difficult to function under pressure.
Irregular circadian rhythm: Whenever you find difficulty in falling asleep and not being able to wake up on time, you should take out time for self-care and for yourself to get back on track.
Nervousness: This often happens when you are invested in yourself emotionally.
Being absent-minded: When you tend to forget things easily or can’t focus on your tasks indicates you are mentally exhausted and require rest.
Other signs to know you are emotionally exhausted are headaches, depression, anger issues, lack of sleep and having a pessimistic nature.
“Emotional exhaustion can occur by consistent multiple stressors in one’s life and the triggers can completely differ from one person to another”, Dr Ruhi says.
She listed some common triggers of mental and emotional exhaustion are:
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Death of a friend or family member.
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Disturbing family members.
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High-pressure jobs
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Having a baby
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Responsibility of raising children
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Unemployment
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Chronic illness or injury
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Unsolved traumas
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Doing things, you dislike
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Long hours at work
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Intense atmosphere
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Triggered situations
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Work environment
How to avoid emotional exhaustion
To help prevent emotional exhaustion, one must indulge in staying active, eating well and making healthy choices. It is very useful to draft and follow a healthy routine for oneself.
One should take a break whenever required and avoid working for hours in a single stretch.
It is important to be able to balance work life and personal life and cultivate an interest in developing other skills as well.
Both mental and physical health are equally important and it is essential to find the time to do what they love.
It is important to ask for help whenever needed to get rid of triggers of stress to avoid mental health problems.
