Any way to Overcome Fatigue of Anxiety?

[shfer]

Hello all,

I have been dealing with anxiety since I was 23 , I am now 34 so 11 years but due to medication have been fine for most of these years until recently had another breakdown and had to change medication etc and now trying to recover.

Over the years I have learned how to tackle the anxiety symptoms of panic and fear , just by myself and trying to learn coping skills and ways to know that these are only anxiety symptoms and nothing to do with something serious and I can say that I have quite managed to keep those in check for the most part, Also the symptoms of breathlessness and pins and needles and what not, but the one symptom I have never been able to tackle all of these years is the EXTREME TIREDNESS AND FATIGUE . I have been off medication for about 4 months prior to starting back on them again now and all other symptoms I have somehow managed to control apart from that of extreme tiredness that usually was showing up every 2-3 days or every 3-4 days , and when that happened I head to take medication to be able to get out of it, and within an hour this extreme tiredness would settle and i would keep going for another few days. So even when I was off antidepressants for about 4 months this symptom would never go away no matter how hard I tried. I did not even have depression or negative thoughts apart from this but could not cope anymore than 4 months as some other symptoms then started to appear and i ended up back to the dr to seek for help once more.

If anyone has any idea what shall one do or if there is anything that can be done to ease this horrible feeling? I would appreciate it.

Thank you all.

[44Max44]

Hi Shfer,

I sometimes get a feeling of fatigue or tiredness while I'm feeling anxious. It's almost as if my body is ready to go, but my mind just doesn't want to do anything. It's like 100% of my energy is being used up by my brain and my thoughts, so I just feel tired all of the time.

It's a really horrible feeling and whenever I feel that way it sucks. Me feeling weak and fatigued just makes me question my health, which gets me more anxious, which gets me more tired and fatigued, and the cycle continues...

One thing I've found that helped me at least is eating healthy and exercising. If my mind thinks I'm unhealthy, I'm going to prove it wrong by being as healthy as I can be, and a good diet and exercise also helps a lot with anxiety in general.


Good luck

[shfer]

Thank you for your kind words, but how can one exercise when you are in the state that your body and brain have been drained of energy and all you can manage to do is lay down and even laying down feels difficult as you feel tired even then? This is the one symptom of anxiety I have never been able to overcome, only with medication. If medication works then I am fine. Otherwise I just cant walk or do anything at all!

Please if anyone have any idea or if something worked for you I would really appreciate to hear.

Thanks

[blondguy]

Hello Shfer

Great to have you on the forums and welcome too!

I understand what you are going through as my anxiety started at 23 as well and yes....it is a bad place to be in. You have done well by learning all the various coping skills not to mention making the effort to do so!

Extreme tiredness and fatigue are very common, unfortunately. Just from my own experience anxiety of any level or intensity is exhausting. (with or without meds). I am in my late 50's now and occasionally have the same set of symptoms. You have been back on the meds for a few months and as you know they do help us build a solid foundation on which we can heal more effectively, especially with frequent counseling....(a proactive GP can be a huge help here too as counseling can be expensive for many people)

Anxiety can be a huge drain on our energy levels. (Thus the feelings of exhaustion etc)

Can I ask if you have the support of your doc during this time?

Just to share with you Shfer.....I still take a low dosage of an SSRI every day and still see my doctor every 4 weeks for a 'fine tune' (she has a strong mental health focus)

Your privacy is paramount here....The forums are a very safe and non judgemental place for you to post

my kind thoughts

Paul

[JimmyRecard347]

Hi shfer

I used to get quite bad adrenal fatigue, though it doesn't sound quite as bad as your fatigue, but I can totally understand what you mean. I would be too weak and tired to even help bring the shopping in, if I pushed myself through it, I would then have a blood sugar crash and get even more fatigued.

2 great things that have helped me have been Turmeric, and regular protein. I felt great from day one having turmeric, I have it in a latte style drink. Protein for breakfast, such as a couple eggs, really keeps me balance, and keeps me going all day.

Hope you conquer it and get your energy back

[Betternow]

There is no doubt that chronic anxiety with or without panic disorder leads to physical fatigue. Exhibit A is myself. You write that you are too tired to exercise and that even lying down is exhausting. Yep, been there too. I am in my mid 60s and have suffered anxiety (off and on) since my twenties. When I was in my 50s and going through a particularly rough patch, I was advised to exercise regularly (assuming there is nothing physically wrong with heart etc). I can't, I protested, I'm too tired. The response was Good, I want you to be tired, I want you to go past tired and take it the point of exhaustion. Okay, I thought, I'll walk until I can't even crawl and then some passerby will call an ambulance and you'll see how wrong your advice is.

I dragged myself out of the house, hating every step. As the weeks rolled by, my condition improved, I slept better and most importantly, I developed a sense of achievement. Now I can't say that you can expect similar results but think about it more before you dismiss it.

[44Max44]

I know that exercising to get over fatigue sounds like an oxymoron and the exact opposite of what you'd need, but it works, at least in my experience. You wouldn't think a good diet and exercise would matter so much for your mental health because they seem like two completely different things, but they are both important.
Also, I've found that oversleeping does nothing but make me feel more tired, which doesn't make a whole lot of sense. You'd think more sleep would make you feel more rested, but I guess not.

[44Max44]

A prime example of exercising helping with fatigue was today for me.
I woke up, and for a good 2 hours after waking up I felt super fatigued and tired, I felt like just walking somewhere would make me faint. But I got on my bike, rode to my friend's house, and then rode to the beach. Over a 10km ride overall, and right now I feel completely fine other than a sore throat (I am sick, so riding probably wasn't the best idea) and probably even have more energy than before the ride...