Hi FrenchHorn
I've found overwhelming stress and anxiety to be incredibly exhausting for a number of different reasons. I think the more reasons we find, the more we're able to be kind to our self and say 'No wonder I'm feeling the way I am, it makes complete sense'. You could even confidently say 'This is how I naturally work'.
- If stress or anxiety happens to be an ongoing factor in our life you could ask 'Am I naturally experiencing the 3rd stage of General Adaptation Syndrome (Gas), which comes with a whole stack of side effects, including depression
- If we're a 'sensitive' (being able to sense easily and deeply), this can naturally become exhausting. The ability to switch off or emotionally detach becomes not just a skill but a blessing on certain occasions. Yes, easier said than done
- If inner dialogue's part of the struggle, dealing with the inner critic or some dark inner dialogue can become incredibly depressing at times. This is inner dialogue along the lines of 'What's wrong with you? Why can everyone else around you manage life but you can't? It's because you're weak and you're hopeless. You're pathetic'. It can get incredibly dark. Managing inner dialogue becomes an absolute must. It's challenging but definitely well worth rising to such a challenge
- If high energy and excitement is the feeling of life running through us, the complete opposite can feel depressing. To be able to feel very little life energy running through us or to feel no obvious energy at all can call for some serious energy management
Whether it involves managing physical energy, mental energy or even a soulful sense of energy, research can involve a deep dive into a fascinating rabbit hole of greater self understanding. Physical energy produced through resting energy (sleep/relaxation), hydro energy (water/hydration), kinetic energy (exercise), nuclear energy (food grown in the earth), solar energy (which helps with vitamin D production) and so on is about energy input. Sometimes it can be about chemical energy condensed into a med that works for us. Mental energy can involve certain energy that comes from inner dialogue, belief systems, a sense of identity, the imagination and all that kind of stuff. Soulful energy or natural energy can involve putting talk of chemistry and biology aside and simply saying 'Can I feel enough inspiration to charge me or put me in (a state of) charge? Can I feel, intuitively, which way I'm heading? Can I feel who or what drains me or who or what raises me? Can I feel other people's emotions stressing me, draining me or depressing me (on top of my own emotions)?'. From a natural perspective, you could say we're born to feel. Learning how to feel or sense can be a part of the challenge.
My gosh, we're incredibly complex creatures, that's for sure. No wonder we can struggle so much at times. I've found research as being one of the major keys to unlocking different ways forward. 'How do I work, under the circumstances?' is an empowering key question. I've found it to be a far less depressing question than 'What's wrong with me?'. Channeling/developing/exercising our inner researcher or inner wonderer (which can lead to an energising sense of wonder, curiosity and some desperately needed revelations) can feel so much better than channeling our inner critic. 🙂❤️
