You might think of energy as a physical thing, driven by what we eat and how much exercise we do. That’s true, but it’s not the whole story. Your mental health can have a big impact on your energy levels, so if you want to be raring to go, you need to take care of your mind as well as your body.
This is particularly true with conditions like depression, which can make you tired and sap all your motivation. It interferes with your sleep habits, stops you from paying attention to diet and exercise, and generally makes it much harder to want to do anything.
Now, this doesn’t mean you can ignore diet and exercise. They’re both things that help you improve your mental wellbeing as well as your physical condition. Simply drinking enough water is essential to both feeling energetic and being clear-headed.
Then there’s sleep, or at least getting enough rest. You need to take time to relax if you ever want to recharge after burning a lot of energy. Physical and mental tiredness both slow you down, and both can only be recovered from with time and patience.
It’s not always possible to completely avoid stress, but making sure you get enough breaks is important. Try to manage your schedule so you’re not overworking. Make time for things like meditation or yoga if you find them helpful for calming you down and rejuvenating you.
While getting enough rest is an important part of maintaining your energy levels, so is activity. You might not want to go out if you’re tired, but even a little bit of movement or interaction can get your endorphins buzzing, which means more energy and a better mood. Again, your physical and mental health (and energy levels) are inexorably linked.
Treating mental health problems sometimes needs more than extra exercise or some deep breathing. You might need medication and/or therapy to get your symptoms under control, at which point you may find your energy returning to a healthier level.
It’s incredibly tiring being ill, whether physically or mentally. It’s worse when physical illness and mental illness feed off of each other. Whether a few changes to your lifestyle and routine can make all the difference or you need more professional guidance, getting both of these things under control can dramatically improve your energy levels.
