Emotional exhaustion is a chronic state of depletion that results from excessive demands and continuous stress. It describes a feeling of being emotionally overextended and exhausted.
Annoyance
Have you been reacting with more irritability than usual and more frequently as well? While it’s normal to have bouts of frustrations on a day-to-day basis, an increased level of irritable behaviour might suggest underlying emotional stress.
According to experimental therapists, we have core emotions such as anger, joy, and sadness. When we suppress these core emotions and are left confused about how we truly feel, we’ll often act out in irritable ways to express our internal conflict.
Just remember that the next time you find yourself reacting in an irritated way. It may be a sign that you need to check on your emotional needs.
Decreased Productivity Levels
Stress of any sort can put a damper on anyone’s productivity levels. Still, emotional stress can distract you even further by lowering your energy and creativity levels due to the insistent amount of worrying happening in your mind.
The quality of your work may suffer. Then, you might find yourself dreading your list of tasks. When this happens, try incorporating productivity intervals into your routine.
Work diligently for 30 minutes, then take a three to five-minute breathing break before jumping into another 30 minutes of productivity. Work smarter, not harder.
Emotional Detachment
Have you been ignoring your friends and family lately? If you find yourself too emotionally distracted within. It makes sense that you’d feel less desire to emotionally connect with others.
Emotional detachment may manifest differently for everyone. But in every case, there’s a general lack of emotional openness and willingness for emotional intimacy when compared to one’s natural behaviour.
While getting some time alone to allow your underlying feelings to surface and be processed can be constructive. Remember to keep your close friends and family updated on your intentions, so they don’t have to worry.
Difficulty Falling Asleep
Have you been having a hard time falling asleep? Whether you’re binging your favourite show to distract yourself from sleeping, waking later than usual, or feeling tired even after sleeping for nine hours or more. These changes in sleep patterns could be a big sign that you’re currently under emotional distress.
International researchers found that new students to universities are susceptible to sleep disturbances due to the drastic changes in lifestyle and routine. It’s implied here that shifts in one’s emotional landscapes from meeting new people to handling bigger workloads can cause a schism in one’s sleep behaviour.
So the next time you feel tempted to stray from your sleep schedule when you know you’re under emotional stress. Do your best to stick closely to your regular sleep hours to avoid triggering further challenges to your mental health.
Emotional Eating
Do you love to have ice cream and chocolate on a bad day? When you feel negative emotions and emotionally exhausted, your mind will naturally seek ways to inject itself with more good feeling chemicals like Dopamine.
One way it does this is through rewards like crave-worthy foods. But, unfortunately, the side effects of this are that most people find themselves actually feeling worse than better afterwards. Especially if they feel they ate past their satiety levels.
It’s okay to reach for a serving of chocolate. As long as you’re staying conscious of your hunger cues whilst doing so. Being aware of them when you’re actually hungry versus when you’re craving a boost in joy might help you brainstorm a list of options you can choose from to feel better, like playing with your pets or calling a friend.
Are you emotionally exhausted? Let us know in the comments below.
