Have you ever left like you were drifting through life like a zombie? Emotional exhaustion can be one of the more serious mental health problems and is characterized by very low emotional strength and feelings.

When you are emotionally exhausted, you have probably depleted most of your emotional reserves and you have exceeded your capacity to handle emotional stress. It is almost analogous to physical exhaustion. When you work too hard and exceed your physical strength limits, you experience exhaustion and will need to take a rest in order to replenish those energy reserves. The same applies when you tax your emotional reserves with too much stress – you’ll be no longer capable of managing it.

The clearest manifestation of emotional exhaustion is when you feel both physically and emotionally drained – which come with a number of characteristics. For example, you might have very low motivation levels, loose your appetite and even run the risk of suffering a nervous breakdown.

What drives human beings everyday is the motivation to accomplish something. We wake up every morning to embark on the journey towards your goals in life. Emotional exhaustion can deplete that motivation to take the initiative towards a goal and leave you psychologically paralyzed, even though you are still a physically functioning human being. If you’re working on a project that requires your consistent dedication in order to make it a success, emotional exhaustion may bring it to a halt until you are able to replenish your emotional energy reserves once more.

The other manifestation of emotional exhaustion is very low tolerance levels for stressful situations in life.  You can experience inattentiveness, or snap at the slightest upset.

Noting these signs early can help you make early interventions, restoring your mental energy and limiting the impact it might have on your work, school, or family roles.  When you deal with these problems early, you’ll also be able stop more serious stressful conditions that may develop in their tracks.

Other signs of emotional exhaustion include the following:

• A lack of zeal for life.
• A defeatist mental attitude: You feel that whatever you do will not make much difference anyway.
• Having bouts of fitful sleep
• The inability to concentrate on your work
• Feeling fatigued all the time
• Everything that you embark on may look impossible or feel too difficult.
• Your creativity and imagination disappear. You may be unable to visualize things in new ways or deploy your imaginative powers effectively. This will become more apparent if you are involved in tasks that require lots of creativity. You feel that your creative powers slipping away slowly from you.
• The work that routinely excites you and makes you happy becomes too dull to even contemplate. You might be seeking for excitement and motivation but your emotional state simply does not have an appetite for anything.

How to Effectively Deal With Emotional Exhaustion

Emotional exhaustion does not have to leave you in a state of paralysis. There are several steps that you can take in order to replenish your mental energy reserves:

Get Active

Instead of lifting your hands in supplication to the paralysis in your life, begin building your motivation and energy reserves by taking up more regular exercise: adding more physical activity to your life. Working out regularly releases endorphins and helps you to build up a positive mental attitude.

Distract Yourself with something you Love

There are things you love to do, even if they aren’t your current main focus. Getting busy on these will lead to inspiration in other areas of your life. Emotional exhaustion is like a mental switch. When you are exhausted, the brain has flicked off the switch for motivation and zeal for your daily work and life. You might not know which activity will switch it on again. Take a long walk, get some sleep or just relax for a while…

Get a Change of Scenery

If you live in the city, take a relaxing break to the countryside, if you live in countryside, take an exciting break in the city. Change is key here. Mixing up your environment will have a totally positive impact on your mental state. Go for something totally different. Do something that you’re scared of. Bungee jump, skydive, go zorbing. Before you know it, your brain will be buzzing with inspiration.

Get Out and Meet People

Create some time and meet new people, and get some inspiration from them. Hang out and with both new and old friends, building and strengthening the bonds that will sustain you in your life.  When facing an emotional crisis, it is these kinds of bonds that will act as your lifeline, expediting you recovery. Take time to visit family members and attend family gatherings to help you put life into perspective.

Change your Attitude Day by Day

Emotional exhaustion can be due in part to the attitude that we adopt in life and the way we react to the frustrations we encounter along the way. Do not hold excessive self-expectations that you don’t have the capacity to meet. You are likely to experience depletion of your mental energies trying to pursue something that you cannot accomplish easily or on your own. Take baby steps. As Steve Jobs said:
[Tweet “”If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” – Steve Jobs””]
Learn to be more confident and assertive in life. Do not let others push you around in your work and daily life. Once you are in a place where others burden you unnecessarily, you’re stress levels will skyrocket . You must also develop your own effective techniques of controlling and managing the stress in your life.

Keep track of your mental state. By being constantly aware of the state of your body and mind, you can spot emotional exhaustion early and institute measures to prevent or mitigate it, before it develops.