Is anxiety and fatigue in cahoots?

[SleepyTiger]

I find that often when I do something that is important to me that isn't a physical task I get really tired and if I don't stop and do something mindless I will fall asleep at my desk and have done so before. When I'm doing the task I don't feel that anxious. Sometimes I get moments where I do if I ruminate on a negative thought but I usually just let it go. For example I have been following some video tutorials for what I want to be a career change but as good as they are I just can't concentrate for long and I'll start yawning. I should mention that I have trouble sleeping and rarely get a restorative nights sleep however I wonder if I need to fix the anxiety to fix the sleep issue?

I don't even know how bad anxiety is for me. How do I work out how anxious I am? Could it be that I'm so used to it that I'm not even really aware of it anymore?

[azarrah]

Hi SleepyTiger, and welcome to the forums!

If you're having trouble sleeping it makes sense that you're feeling tired during the day. Quality sleep can also be inhibited by anxiety. Do you use any strategies to help with anxiety, or are you receiving any treatment? If not, take a look through the Beyond Blue webpages to see if any of it could be useful. This might be a good place to start: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/staying-well/recovering-from-a-mental-health-condition. It's always recommended to have a chat to your GP about treatment options. If you want to check in on your mental health, this checklist is a decent indicator: https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety-and-depression-checklist-k10.

You can absolutely be so used to anxiety that you don't notice it. It's also normal (at least, it happens to me too) that you don't feel anxious whilst doing a task, but it comes afterwards. In truth, anxiety is exhausting. Your muscles are tense, your heart is racing, adrenaline is pumping, and sometimes you don't even realise those things are happening... it's like you're running a race, except the race is in your head. The annoying thing is that it can hinder restorative sleep, too. Working to reduce anxiety levels should help you out with fatigue, and good sleep can also reduce anxiety, so it's totally worth checking out treatment options to be happier and healthier 🙂

Best of luck and do let us know how you get on!

[blondguy]

Hello SleepyTiger

Azarrah (above) is spot on with her post as even mild anxiety can be super exhausting..I understand what you are going through. Azarrah also provided the copy & paste link to the checklist for anxiety/depression

www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/anxiety-and-depression-checklist-k10

you are not alone

Paul

[Grant10]

Hi Sleepy,

I, like you, find the fatigue a huge problem. I will wake up after a long sleep, but within minutes I'm like one of those screaming computers powering up, with thoughts often decades old invading my brain. The same ones every day. I can have a cup of coffee and then within an hour after waking, I'm ready for my first nap of the day. And so it goes on throughout the day, thinking of all those things I haven't done, all those failures, all those times I was an idiot, a clown, unthinking, uncaring, letting people down,bad worker, housekeeper, disorganised, food not good enough, books I like are stupid, music I like is stupid. It is so tiring. I feel always like my HSC results are coming tomorrow. I'm breathless after lying down. My feet itch, I seem to have permanent gastric symptoms. I'm sorry I don't have solutions, I guess I'm just saying I'm in a similar boat.