Above All, Stop Fatigue
By: Tiara Blain | April 16, 2021
Fatigue | Chronic Illnesses | Depression/Anxiety | Interventions | Exercise | Sleep | Diet | Spiritual Well-being | Mental health | Wellness
Fatigue is one of the most disabling aspects of chronic illnesses.
We all are diagnosed with some kind of sickness every once in a while, but when a sickness endures for a period of 3 months or longer that is when it is considered a chronic illness. Examples of chronic illnesses are cancers, arthritis, irritable bowel diseases, lupus, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, even asthma and the list proceeds. About half of the American adult population currently have or previously had at least one chronic illness in their lifetime. Individuals diagnosed with chronic illnesses experience an abundance of adversity, placing a great deal of strain and hindrance on their lives. Though every disease includes a different set of symptoms, there remain a few shared experiences across most chronic illnesses.
This sounds oh too familiar, why is this so?
There are so many possible causes to these consistent symptoms that most every person with a chronic illness endures, such examples would be medication side effects, other comorbid conditions, or even symptoms of the disease itself. Though these reasonings could play a role, there is a bold commonality that every illness share, and that is fatigue. Forty to 74 percent of individuals with a chronic disease suffer from fatigue related symptoms. Fatigue is reported to cause the greatest impact on quality of life. It is define as a debilitating ongoing of mental and physical exhaustion that exists for an extensive period of time, causing difficulties in mental, physical, cognitive and social functioning.
Yes! Fatigue does seem to impact my life drastically, what causes it?
Well, as of right now there is no concrete identification of fatigue’s causality, but most researchers, I included, tend to associate fatigue with high amounts of inflammation within the body. Although there is no exact determinant that inflammation is a contribution to your fatigue, it is possible that certain interventions that reduce inflammation could potentially reduce fatigue symptoms. In reducing fatigue symptoms there's also a great likelihood of psychological symptoms, that often cooccur with fatigue, to be decreased as well. Depression has also been correlated with high amounts of inflammation within the body, this presents a link between fatigue and depression. Symptoms of depression and anxiety present themselves after the onset of fatigue, indicating that fatigue may induce psychological distress.
Okay, how can I help fix fatigue and all the symptoms that follow it?
There is no simple way of answering this, but there are a few “somewhat” simple initiatives that can be taken to decrease fatigue and it’s coexisting symptoms naturally while enhancing quality of life.
Lifestyle Factors
Healthy lifestyle factors such as exercise, nutrition and adequate sleep quality have shown to be effective in reducing inflammation within the body while lessening fatigue symptoms and psychological distress.
At least 20 minutes moderate exercise a day and anti-inflammatory foods like certain fruits, oils, fishes, nuts, leafy vegetables, etc. that contain vitamins, minerals and amino acids can produce anti-inflammatory properties that fight inflammation. High inflammatory diets have been associated with depression, cardiovascular disease, and other health conditions, whereas anti-inflammatory diets have shown to prevent cardiovascular disease and other ailments.
Don’t forget sleep!
Sleep disturbances are associated with activation of the stress system as well as the inflammation system connecting sleep quality to both fatigue and psychological symptoms.
It is often difficult to get a good night's sleep when suffering from restlessness, pain and possibly anxiety from the day to day of life or a medical condition. That is where factors such as diet and exercise come in.
Certain foods give energy to exercise more, exercising has shown to improve sleep quality and sleep quality improves fatigue and mood. Seems like a very effective cycle but definitely requires implementing some serious routines, which is hard for anyone, especially those experiencing chronic illnesses, trust me I know, but is very doable with some hard work.
Subjective Factors
Believe it or not virtues, such as hope and spirituality, can be effective in managing fatigue, stress, and psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Spiritual well-being actually induces hope and they both appear to reduce stress, less stress is correlated with less fatigue, and as mentioned earlier, fatigue is associated with psychological symptoms. Yes, yet another cycle, but it can be very beneficial to have these practices within your life. Spirituality is not just related to religious devotion and belief in God but is also associated with meaning in life and faith in divine purpose. Hope is recognized as establishing perceived goals or motivation that an individual believes can be obtained, whether this is related to work/social achievement or spiritual endeavors.
Meditation and Mindfulness techniques are also stress reducing interventions that can help in lessening fatigue and psychological symptoms. Most of everyone has come across meditation at least once or twice in their lives - a few long inhales and extensive exhales while emptying the mind and allowing whatever thoughts that enter to pass on by. Mindfulness, on the other hand, is often heard about but we are never truly taught what it is, how to practice it or where to potentially take a session or two. You can definitely type “mindfulness techniques” into YouTube and get a good glimpse of what it is. Mindfulness is basically the conscious attempt of being present in your body and mind. Feeling the wind on your skin, movement in your toes, sound of your pulse, settling of your stomach. In fact, there is a concept called mindful eating! Which is the process of attentively consuming each bite of your food - conscientious of taste, smell, satisfaction, etc. Being present even in the subtlest of tasks is what life is all about.
So another addition to the list, mindfulness meditation!
To sum everything up!
You have consistent fatigue? I for one understand just how gruesome that is. I am sure you’ve mentioned it to your doctor before and there’s not always much they can offer. So let's at least try to enforce these interventions that show to be successful for some people who also have chronic illnesses, and even if you do not necessarily have a chronic illness but have constant fatigue this goes for you as well.
Exercise.
Include at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise into your week, as suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Anti-Inflammatory Foods.
Try to implement some anti-inflammatory foods or supplements into your diet - nuts, fruits, veggies, fishes, etc. You can always look up what foods have anti-inflammatory properties.
Sleep
Hopefully more exercise helps with sleep but try to sleep at an appropriate time on most nights.
Spirituality.
Tap into your spiritual side, which mindfulness and meditation can actually assist with, and these will potentially increase hope level - which lessens stress, and that’s right - stress can reduce fatigue.
You Got This!
I know it all sounds like a lot right now, so take it one step at a time. You may already have some of these factors already implemented into your life, you can start there and just reflect on what you are already doing that may help your fatigue. Give yourself some praise in the fact that you are doing good in these specific areas and move on to what else you feel ready to tackle when you’re ready. Remember, the overall goal here is for you to reach maximum quality of life.
References
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