When You Have No Energy – For Anything

Jim was tired. Dead tired, no energy, and nearly no motivation for anything. For a guy who was known for being a creative go-getter, this felt totally wrong.

Daily it seemed like he was just going through the motions of doing the bare minimum that was expected of him. He figured there had to be something wrong with him. So, Jim went to the doctor.

His physician checked him out and pronounced him healthy, there was nothing physical that was causing Jim’s stagnation. Unfortunately, however, knowing he was healthy didn’t fix Jim’s problem – he still didn’t feel like doing anything but the basics.

This left Jim feeling sad, hopeless, and wondering what’s wrong with him and how he could fix it.

What Lack Of Energy Can Mean

• Jim’s not alone. Many people go through phases where they feel depleted and unable to motivate themselves to move forward. And while there can be physical causes for this, these feelings are very often connected to psychological issues.

• By far the most common reason for fatigue and low energy that isn’t connected to a physical illness is depression. Depression is more than feeling sad. In fact, some people with depression will tell you they don’t feel “sad” at all. Since depression symptoms can vary from person to person, recognizing depression in yourself can be tricky. But fatigue, loss of interest in regular activities, and lack of motivation and energy are extremely common symptoms of depression and experienced by most sufferers.

Jim doesn’t report feeling anxious about anything in particular, but he’s also exhausted. Anxiety is sneaky and can work itself into your life without you even being aware of it. Often it causes poor sleep which then leads to feeling consistently tired. If your mind spins keeping you awake at night, you wake up repeatedly, or feel like you exist in a general state of concern or worry, anxiety may be the culprit.

Unfortunately, both depression and anxiety can not only exist together, but can also lead to a vicious cycle. The longer these conditions exist the more tired you become, which in turn makes both the depression and anxiety worse. This can mean that breaking free of these issues and getting back to normal can be a lengthy and intensive process when they go untreated.

The Burnout Factor

Another thing that can lead to exhaustion and lack if energy, especially for people who are generally highly motivated, is burnout. Given Jim’s self-description as a “creative go-getter”, it’s entirely possible burnout is a contributor to his current state of mind.

Burnout can be the result of prolonged work stress and pressure. The constant push for productivity without taking reasonable breaks, both mentally and physically, can lead to a person feeling “burned out.” This feeling can invade more than just an individual’s attitude toward work as well and affect all aspects of their life.

Characteristics of burnout include:

• Emotional exhaustion

• Physical exhaustion

• Lack of interest in job performance or achievement

• Feeing alienated from co-workers

• Negative approach to work or other daily tasks

While burnout can certainly be a risk in high stress jobs – think emergency room physicians and air traffic controllers – any rigorous job that has constant demands without any relief can eventually take a mental toll on a person leading to burnout.

How To Get Your Energy Back

As Jim found out, when your lack of energy and motivation isn’t related to a physical condition, fixing those things isn’t as simple as a quick doctor’s visit. It can take much more work and time to get back to where you had been before.

The first thing you’ll need to do is to come to terms with what’s causing you to feel this way. Simple, right? No, not always. Especially in the case of depression, understanding why you feel the way you do can take time, introspection, and often the help of a counselor if things have gone on for a while.

While you are working towards resolving the cause of your feelings there are some other things that you can do that may help you feel better too.

While it would be an overstatement to say exercise is a cure-all, it’s not far from the truth. The benefits of exercise both physically and mentally are well documented. The biggest problem when you’re feeling unmotivated is finding the will within yourself to actually do it. Starting slow is the key. A short walk can lead to a longer walk. Just walking into the gym can have a positive mental affect. So, give yourself permission to take things in small pieces without giving yourself permission to blow it off altogether.
Taking time to clear your mind and focus on slowing down can provide relief to a stressed mental state. Just a few minutes a day can be rejuvenating.
You may not feel like being the life of the party, but just being amongst friends or people in general can be energizing.
Keeping track of your own thoughts and explaining them to yourself through writing is a clarifying and cathartic exercise, and can help you resolve things more quickly.

If Jim’s situation sounds familiar, then know that there is hope for change. You don’t have to live in a state of apathy and stagnation, you can find your energy again. Just remember it will take some effort, so don’t allow yourself to get frustrated or give-up along the way.

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