What is mental exhaustion and why does it occur?

This is a strong emotional and intellectual fatigue, because of which a person cannot function properly and feels weak and depressed. He has the physical strength to work, devote time to his family and hobbies, but he no longer has the enthusiasm and determination. Mental exhaustion can be one of the signs of burnout.

It appears due to high workload, stress, problems at work and in your personal life. Often, mental exhaustion can be a consequence of depression, chronic diseases, insomnia.

Sometimes this condition occurs when everything in a person's life is basically fine, but there are just a lot of tasks that require his attention and effort, and there are no time to rest and recover.

How do you know that you are mentally exhausted?
There are several signs:

➖You get tired quickly.
➖You get easily irritated.
➖Any little thing can upset you.
➖You have become often late and do not have time for anything.
➖You can't take up the next task for a long time, you are stalling for time.
➖You constantly feel depressed.
➖Even simple things are difficult, cause fear and panic.
➖You suffer from insomnia or, on the contrary, you sleep a lot.
➖You are pessimistic about the future.
➖You avoid responsibility, it is difficult for you to make decisions.
➖It's hard for you to concentrate.

How to overcome mental exhaustion
The most obvious and at the same time the most difficult decision is to take a break and rest. Postpone some of the cases, and delegate the rest, write an application for a vacation, get a good night's sleep, at least for a couple of days to change the situation.

1. "Turn off" part of the senses
A large sensory load: light, sound, conversations, tactile sensations-can be very exhausting. Try to eliminate some of the stimuli and spend at least a few minutes in silence and darkness.

2. Make fewer decisions
Postpone fateful decisions for at least a couple of weeks, try to reduce smaller ones: eat the same dish for lunch every day, order the same type of coffee, get to work the same way, prepare several sets of clothes in advance so that you don't have to choose what to wear in the morning.

3. Look at the plants
Researchers from the University of Melbourne conducted a small experiment. The participants were asked to look out of the window at the neighboring roof, on which a small garden was laid out. The tests showed that even after 40-second observations, the participants became more focused and made fewer mistakes in their studies during the day.