tiredness

[fluff]

Does anyone else seem to get tiredness with there depression/anxiety?
And if so any ideas on things to help stop it :-/ I seem to get very tired so quickly,
Ive had blood tests all was fine I do have a toddler to look after but even when I wake up after 8 hour sleep im tired. I do exercise and try and eat healthy diet.

[anthrokid]

Tiredness/fatigue is one of the more common symptoms of anxiety. The main reason for this being thatwhen you are anxious, your body is on 'high alert'. Your nervous system is extremely active and always on the look-out for dangers. This means that you use an enormous amount of energy without even realising. This then means you have less energy to useon other things throughout your day, or that the energy needed to do these things increases, which further adds to your fatigue or tiredness.

It's difficult to manage, because the main cause of the fatigue is, in fact, the anxiety. In an ideal world, we would elimate the anxiety and feel much more refreshed after a good night's sleep. However, we all know that you can't just get rid of anxiety.

So we have to take other avenues. I'd suggest trying some yoga, meditation or other relaxation methods to try and give your body some time to rest and rejuvenate. I know this is obviously difficult with a toddler to keep an eye on, but it is generally a practice very beneficial to sufferers of anxiety, and is known to be beneficial in people with frequent fatigue.

You could also explore a diet that incorporated more low GI foods, which release energy more slowly. So wholemeal products instead of white, foods high in fibre, etc. You could also experiment with eating several small meals throughout the day rather then your standard breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is also known to help increase inergy and reduce fatigue.