What to do with chronic fatigue syndrome: doctor's advice

Every day, 5 million Russians are haunted by a constant feeling of tiredness for no reason, lack of sleep, and excessive physical activity.

Everyone becomes their own doctor when they make a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome. Is it the body or the brain to blame? That's the main question. If the state of constant fatigue goes away after 2-3 days of proper rest, then you should not think about what is happening. The alarm should be sounded when severe fatigue remains after a week-long vacation, colds come more often, headaches and muscle aches appear.

Proper food is a remedy against fatigue

A healthy and proper breakfast will help you cope with fatigue and recharge your energy for the day.

Feeling drowsy an hour after eating a bowl of pasta. Catch brain fog due to insufficient fluid intake. Eating only sweets, chips and processed foods and sinking into constant fatigue and drowsiness on the verge of depression. Six strategies will help you break the vicious circle:

1. Have breakfast every day. People who eat in the morning feel better mentally and physically. Eating oatmeal for breakfast is associated with decreased levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
2. Eat every three hours to maintain blood sugar levels. When it sharply decreases, weakness and fatigue sets in. Choose healthy snacks - vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, sugar-free yogurt, cottage cheese, low-fat cheese.
3. Consume up to 25-30 g of fiber daily, as it helps to slowly saturate the body with energy, which helps get rid of constant fatigue.
4. Nourish the brain with omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in nuts, flaxseed oil, and fatty fish. Acids prevent carbohydrates from being stored as fat and are used to replenish glycogen stores in muscles - energy.
5. Hydrate cells with adequate fluid intake to thin the blood and nourish the body. If the urine is dark, then fluid intake should be increased.
6. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and limit your intake to 200-300 ml per day, which is equivalent to 2-3 cups of coffee. Excess caffeine reduces the quality of sleep and causes a constant feeling of fatigue. Drink green tea instead of coffee, which increases energy levels without adversely affecting the heart.

Start your morning with vigor! Add the juice of one lemon, two drops of mint essential oil and a spoonful of honey to a glass of water.

What is fatigue characterized by and the causes of its manifestation

Mental and physical exhaustion is the main cause of fatigue.
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The causes of fatigue are factors such as:

• prolonged mental or physical activity;
• monotonous work with monotonous, repetitive actions;
• malnutrition, presence of diseases;
• intensive communication with a large number of unfamiliar people;
• prolonged exposure to light and noise effects, insufficient lighting.

Excessive loads during sessions or exams can provoke mental fatigue in students. Therefore, you need to prepare for them in advance.

Treating chronic fatigue with healing sleep

Daytime sleepiness, headache, fatigue, lack of attention may indicate poor rest at night.

Fatigue throughout the day can be eliminated by purchasing a new mattress. The spine bends excessively on a mattress that does not provide orthopedic support, breathing becomes shallow, the brain receives less oxygen and the nervous system becomes agitated. In the morning, a person suffers from an excess of stress hormones and adrenaline: irritability, cravings for sweets, apathy.

The right orthopedic mattress, selected according to the person’s age, height and weight, taking into account posture and health problems, will force the skeletal muscles to work and relax the large back muscles, which are usually compressed and overloaded. Blood will flow freely through the arteries and veins, the lower back will take a neutral position, and the pain will go away.

• For people with back pain, it is important to choose an anatomical mattress, but with good orthopedic support for the spine.
• Physically active people with a large body weight should not use a harder mattress in order to preserve the functioning of the spine.
• If you are slouched, you need to choose a medium-hard mattress with anatomical filling.
• A soft mattress is recommended for pain in the joints and muscles, and intervertebral hernias.

Preventive measures

The following recommendations will help you:

1. First of all, rest is necessary. Moreover, scientists have proven that active recreation restores the resources of the human body much better. This doesn't mean you need to limit your sleep. Sleep is also an important component of proper rest. Active recreation means playing sports. Firstly, sport improves blood circulation. This has a positive effect on the functioning of the nervous system. Secondly, constant physical activity creates a resilient person. It is well known that an active lifestyle improves body tone and strengthens the immune system. 2. Gradual deepening into work. There is no need to rush headlong into a new business. Everything is good in moderation. It is better if the load increases gradually. This fact applies to both mental and physical labor. 3. It is recommended to take breaks while working. Usually during working hours there is a regulation when you can drink tea and take a lunch break. You should not sit in the office or enterprise during your lunch break, especially if you have a hard job. It’s better to have a full lunch and, if possible, take a walk down the street. 4. A person should be happy to go to work. If there is a negative atmosphere in the team, then nervous fatigue will set in faster. Also, an unfavorable environment can cause stress or provoke a nervous breakdown.

Psychological relief - a remedy against fatigue

Sadness, anger, anxiety, fear - emotions leave a heavy mark on your overall health and well-being. Correct work on emotions helps overcome burnout.

1. Just add water. Freshen up, wash your face - this is the advice psychologists give, recommending water therapy against fatigue and to increase energy.
2. Charge yourself with your own reflection or compliment. A fleeting glance in the mirror provides a boost of energy, like a compliment from the opposite sex.
3. To throw out emotions so as not to allow your own endurance to be completely exhausted. Allow yourself to discuss fears, anger, the cause of stress and disappointment.
4. Turn on your favorite music, which, according to psychologists, distracts from the feeling of fatigue.
5. Let go of the grudge. By maintaining resentment, the body reacts with chronic stress, increases heart rate and blood pressure, suppresses the immune system, and reduces strength. By practicing forgiveness of offenders, you can regain full control of your body’s reactions and control stress.
6. Master belly breathing. In a state of stress, shallow breathing through the chest predominates, which reduces the supply of oxygen to the brain and causes physical and mental exhaustion. Deep, diaphragmatic breathing with a rounded belly is a visual reminder that it is time to breathe and relax.
7. Do some cleaning. Stop shuffling stacks of papers and searching through an overcrowded closet—clutter leaves you feeling out of control in your life. Cleaning is the achievement of a small but significant goal, which tones you up.
8. Do something good. Acts of altruism channel happiness directly into the brain, increasing life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control, physical health and mood.

What is fatigue

Modern realities force people to develop comprehensively, spend a lot of time on self-education, pursue a fast-paced career, and play sports. An active style of being is certainly better than a passive movement along the channel of life. But in the endless pursuit of the benefits of civilization, the constant desire to achieve success, most people function at the limit. They forget that the body’s resource is by no means inexhaustible.

That is why fatigue has become a constant companion of many successful individuals today. Subjectively, it is felt as fatigue and manifests itself as a temporary decrease in the productivity of work. Prolonged fatigue often leads to overwork, which is detrimental to health. At the same time, the fair half is more prone to overwork due to the fragility of the nervous system.

Fatigue is a transient functional state that is the result of prolonged or intense work. It manifests itself as a decline in performance. Fatigue is the body's protective reaction against exhaustion during prolonged or strenuous work. Physiological disruptions due to fatigue have features of stress symptoms, which are accompanied by a violation of homeostasis. At the same time, frequent fatigue, which does not turn into overwork, is a method of increasing the functional reserve of the body. Because in this condition, the human body comes under the influence of a stressor and signals the need for recovery, after which it returns to normal full functioning.

People often feel physical fatigue due to continuous stress associated with the body, which is either in one position for a long period of time or in tension.

Fatigue may occur during physical and mental work. It can either be acute or chronic. Acute fatigue is observed during relatively short work, when the level of physical fitness of the subject does not correspond to the intensity of the activity. It is expressed by a sharp decline in cardiac performance, disruption of the regulatory function of the endocrine system and the central nervous system, influences from the central nervous system, excessive sweating, and water-salt imbalance.

Chronic fatigue is a consequence of lack of recovery after exercise. With this type of the described condition, the ability to learn new motor skills is lost, performance decreases, and the body’s natural resistance to various types of ailments decreases.

Fatigue caused by physical labor involving muscle groups is called general. It is characterized by a disorder of the regulatory function of the central nervous system, the coordination of autonomic and motor functions, and a decline in the effectiveness of volitional control over the quality of operations. This condition is accompanied by an increase in heart rate that is inadequate to the load, a decrease in pulse pressure and pulmonary ventilation. Subjectively considered symptoms are felt in the form of a sharp loss of strength, palpitations, shortness of breath, and inability to continue activities.

When intense stress falls on individual muscles, local fatigue occurs. It is caused by a decrease in lability and activity of nerve centers, an imbalance of excitatory-inhibitory functions.

In the compensated phase of fatigue formation, high performance is maintained, but is supported by volitional resources. At the same time, the efficiency of operations decreases. Continuation of activity causes uncompensated fatigue, the main symptom of which is a decline in performance against the backdrop of weakening functions of the motor apparatus and internal systems: dysfunction of the adrenal glands is observed, the activity of cytochrome c oxidase (respiratory enzyme) decreases, pronounced processes of anaerobic energy metabolism give rise to the accumulation of under-oxidized substances and a decrease in alkaline reserve blood.

How to get rid of stress? Choose your relaxation technique

The reaction to stress determines the relaxation method that is most suitable for the person.

1. Do you tend to get angry, worried or excited? Try relaxation techniques that allow the mind to cool down, such as meditation, deep breathing, or guided visualization - imagining yourself in a pleasant, relaxing place, reproducing sounds, smells, tactile sensations.
2. Do you tend to become tired, withdrawn and sleepy? The body will respond to relaxation that stimulates and energizes the nervous system, such as rhythmic exercises - dancing, running, walking. You can simply use a rubber expander for your hand, rotate your head, or toss a tennis ball.
3. Do you tend to feel anxious on the inside and become sluggish on the outside? You need to identify relaxation techniques that reset the nervous system, such as walking and power yoga.

Tired of work

No, we are not talking about physical fatigue from hard work or an irregular work schedule. This refers to the fatigue that comes from unfulfilled career goals, from a long and unsuccessful wait for recognition of merit, from dislike for the profession and the feeling that work is a joyless, routine necessity.

So, if your job regularly gives you negative emotions, you will naturally become tired of it. Professional fatigue can only be overcome in radical ways: either by changing jobs (or even activities in general), or by reorganizing the current business. It is important that you see meaning in what you do every day. And so that this meaning is enough so that the work gives you strength, and not just sucks all the juice out of you.

Restorative rest is a remedy against fatigue

Energy, mood, productivity, and memory depend on a night's rest, because almost a quarter of Russian adults sleep little and have little knowledge of sleep hygiene:

1. Reduce time spent at the computer or in front of the TV after 8 pm. Bright screen light can make it difficult to fall asleep because it suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone that tells the brain it's nighttime. Turn off the Internet an hour before your expected bedtime, better read.
2. Hide the alarm clock when falling asleep, stop monitoring how much time you spend in bed, as this causes anxiety. Conscious insomnia causes the brain to remain awake and impairs deep, restorative sleep.
3. Reduce temperature. The bedroom should be comfortably cool to match your core body temperature, which drops at night. The ideal temperature is 20-23 degrees.
4. Avoid alcohol, which depresses the nervous system, which controls the body's response to internal and external stimuli. Alcohol may have a sedative effect, but will cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. Alcohol disrupts the natural 24-hour biorhythm and increases blood pressure at night, when a person is usually relaxed and calm.
5. Add physical activity. Aerobic exercise increases the duration of the deep sleep phase and reduces the number of awakenings. Strength training increases immunity, increases resistance to stress, which is important in modern life, helps you relax better and fall asleep faster.
6. Put off worries until tomorrow. Throughout the day, keep a record of all stressors, take a minute to find explanations and solutions for them, and develop action plans. As soon as your head touches the pillow, you will know that all problems have been thought through for a long time, and this will help you relax faster.

Use the 15-minute rule for good sleep: if you haven’t been able to fall asleep within a quarter of an hour, you should do something relaxing - read, listen to meditative music, knit, but just don’t turn on the Internet! If you feel drowsy, immediately return to bed.

Types of fatigue and how to overcome them?

Chronic.

Persistent illness that lasts for weeks or months is a chronic manifestation of the disease. It is considered the longest and most difficult to treat. Such a diagnosis often requires medical intervention with the use of medications, since the immune system is no longer able to cope on its own. In addition to contacting doctors, you can also:

• try to set up a daily schedule and strictly adhere to it;
• get rid of negative habits, junk food;
• devote more time to useful rest;
• spend some time outside the city - in villages, sanatoriums;
• try to eliminate stress factors. At least the most alarming, longest lasting ones.

The treatment of this type of overfatigue is approached in a comprehensive manner. If a person is faced with this difficulty, it is better for him to immediately prepare for the fact that complete rehabilitation will take a long time.

Moral.

Another type that a doctor can help you cope with is a psychotherapist. Problems in relationships, self-esteem, self-realization, and other aspects of life can lead to depression, which is also accompanied by fatigue. In addition to the help of a doctor, effective methods will be:

• registration of leave from work;
• moving, change of scenery;
• devoting time to yourself, relaxing techniques;
• finding a hobby;
• updating your image, quitting a difficult job, breaking up a difficult relationship - any favorable changes.

To say goodbye to psychological fatigue forever, it is better to eliminate as many stress factors as possible and tune in to changes. By throwing away trash, a person thereby makes room for something pleasant and useful.

Take the self-esteem test

Physical.

The body has a limit to its current physiological capabilities. And he gets scared when his owner starts reading articles “How to lose weight in 3 days” or “5 ways to learn how to do a 100-kilogram bench press in a day.” Therefore, it is better to set realistic goals, start training and physical work small. If exhaustion has already set in, then the best options would be:

• sound healthy sleep;
• taking a contrast shower or an aromatic bath with sea salt;
• massages, spa treatments aimed at relaxing muscles;
• physical therapy, gymnastics;
• reviewing the diet in favor of foods rich in proteins.

Mental.

Students, teachers, scientists, and office workers are most often affected by this type. With this fatigue, memory, concentration, imagination, productivity, and thinking in general deteriorate. To get rid of such a reboot, you can:

• devote more time to sports - it makes the brain work better;
• love walks in the fresh air;
• determine the time of best brain activity and perform the most complex mental work during this period;
• “recharge” the brain with healthy foods - nuts, foods containing glucose;
• learn to work according to a clear individual schedule (for example, do work for 50 minutes and rest for 10).

Fortunately, this type of fatigue is easier to overcome than others. Rehabilitation also takes less time.

Spiritual.

Usually occurs in people who have witnessed violence, injustice, and other manifestations of acute negativity. Creative and sensitive people are also susceptible to this type of exhaustion. Often, the possibility and speed of getting rid of such a loss of strength depends only on the person himself. They can overcome the burden:

• travel, getting to know the spiritual practices of different peoples;
• volunteering;
• training in the art of meditation, self-knowledge;
• attending church services, communicating with religious people, but not fanatics;
• minimizing negativity - bad media news, pessimists surrounded.

If fatigue comes more and more often, this is a signal that it is time to rest. Each type of overwork is interconnected with the others. If you do not respond to the manifestation of one type of fatigue, you can end up with a whole bunch of all varieties. That is why it is better not to postpone proper rest until later.

Take the loneliness test

Hormonal fatigue

Many people know that in the last days before menstruation, women sometimes become irritable and impulsive. But not everyone notices that these days they have a significant loss of strength. On critical days, this condition may even worsen. And all because a hormonal imbalance occurs, the ratio of female hormones - progesterone and estrogen - is disrupted. And with heavy blood loss, iron levels also decrease, which also contributes to fatigue.

You should not eliminate hormonal fatigue on your own. It would be wisest to seek advice from an experienced gynecologist. He will be able to competently and accurately select the appropriate drug so that critical days cease to be so critical in every sense.

© Text: Polly Dozzi, specially from the WHITE BALANCE project

Photo: Daria Minaeva.

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Tags: health

When there is no strength left...

Sometimes a person just needs enough rest and life begins to seem wonderful to him again. But it also happens that everything is much more complicated and a couple of days off is no longer enough for him. Then the statements begin to take on a much sadder character.

1. Strong people get tired. The weak ones fizzle out.
2. Sometimes a person just needs support. Otherwise, his fatigue gradually increases until it becomes irreversible.
3. Those who endure the hardships of life alone should not be mistaken for optimists. They simply endure their fatigue in silence, with clenched teeth. And then they quietly lie down and die.
4. The greatest exhaustion comes from being alone together.
5. Extreme fatigue is not irritation or anger. This is a quiet and calm expression on the face, when there is no strength left even to express any feelings.
6. When a person does not receive warmth from others, he gets tired of such communication.
7. Sometimes your patience runs out. But only the last straw is remembered.
8. If your soul is tired, then there is no point in resting.
9. Because no one needs a person, he loses strength much faster than from fuss and troubles around the house.
10. The main component of fatigue is a feeling of hopelessness.
11. When people get tired of meaningless relationships, they leave forever.
12. Not every person is capable of becoming the hero of the book “How the Steel Was Tempered.”