Self Care for Mental Exhaustion

• Shower – The heat and privacy of a shower can help you to relax. It will prevent your sympathetic nervous system from taking over and flooding your system with a cascade of stress hormones. The warmth of the shower can help your muscles relax, and allow you a reprieve from the demands of everyday life. A burst of cool water at the end can also help to energize you, and has been touted as a way to boost your immune system.

• Eat – You need to keep up your strength. Mental exhaustion can occur from many things… whether from being overworked, from experiencing intense grief, depression and/or anxiety, or from dealing with heartache to losses and setbacks in life. These bumps in life might make you lose your appetite, but not eating can wreak havoc on your immune system and your blood sugar levels, causing already fragile emotions to wildly swing. Keep the negative effects of anger, irritability, depression, anxiety, and sickness at bay by eating regular and healthy meals.

• Rest – whether it be more sleep or just slowing down. Work less if that’s a possibility for you. Take time for yourself. If you want to work more and enjoy feeling productive consider finding new hobbies that give you joy and allow you to be creative. It’s nice to have positive distractions and positive changes in one’s life, but be careful that you don’t fatigue an already tired system. Mental fatigue is physically exhausting. Rest is essential, whatever form that may take for you.

• Exercise – Like eating and sleeping it’s important for your health. The rush of endorphins will benefit you by increasing your mood, and being active can help to boost your confidence.

• Massage – Massage has been shown to improve your immune system, decrease anxiety, as well as reduce pain and improve mobility. Massage helps you to slow down and be present… Mindful breathing, tuning into your body, and having areas of tension and pain treated by a professional can soothe the body and the mind.

There are many ways to take care of yourself and to find ways to heal and move forward in life. What are some practices that you find useful?