Exhaustion & Fatigue

We can all feel overworked and overwhelmed at times – health and social care environments are often fast-paced, for a number of reasons. It takes a lot of energy to keep working at pace, so it’s normal to feel fatigue and exhaustion after a point, as our bodies try to recover and recuperate from expending such a large amount of energy.   

Sometimes, if your brain decides that being on high alert is not something that is going to resolve what is making you feel anxious, it can drive you to “shut down” in order to save energy. This might impact your mood, and make you feel low or numb. You might experience feeling slowed down and unmotivated.  

Things that can help  

It’s important to listen to the signals of your body and to rest when you need to.    

If you’re working at home, try to have a routine and allow yourself to take breaks. Be careful not to work longer hours than you would if you were at work.  

If you’re in work, talk to colleagues and managers about how you can take breaks during shifts and where you can get uninterrupted rest with something to eat and drink.  If you’re a manager, we’ve put together some Top Tips for Supporting Staff.  

You might feel reluctant to take time off work, because you know the pressure colleagues are under and the scale of the need of the people you’re looking after. But we all need a break – having time off is essential for our mental and physical health and wellbeing. 

If you feel you would benefit from time off work, and this is currently possible within your professional role, consider speaking to your manager.

Be aware that if you’ve been working full tilt for a long period, you may not realise how physically and emotionally exhausted you are until you stop.  Don’t be surprised if you find yourself feeling more emotional and make use of the resources on this site to take care of yourself.  

Fight Fatigue is resource for better understanding what fatigue is and what you can do about it.  

Sleepio:  An evidence-based sleep improvement programme. Follow this link for a Quick Guide for accessing Sleepio.