People go through a period in which they experience tiredness or exhaustion. Exhaustion may be caused by activities such as working hard at a job, studying too much, cramming for an exam, or playing sports. Your body feels tired, and all you want to do is go home, take a hot shower and sleep; however, there is a different type of exhaustion brought on by mental fatigue. 

Exhaustion from mental fatigue causes additional fatigue on the body to the point where you cannot get out of bed, let alone physically move. You want to stay in bed and don't get up even though you have to. Your muscles and body ache, you feel restless, and you think you will faint because of this extreme fatigue. Some people refer to extreme fatigue as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), and the symptoms are brought on by mental fatigue, which then takes a toll on the entire body. When the mind goes through such a massive fatigue episode, it acts out in the body, and as a result, the body becomes tense. It does not matter how much rest you get from sleeping; you do not feel the refreshing feeling of a good night's rest. 

People with CFS visit their doctors often and say, "I am extremely exhausted." At times, they physically cannot move and are worried about their jobs or schoolwork because they cannot perform the required duties correctly; as a result, the situation becomes even more stressful. The fatigue becomes habitual, and the mind and body become extremely exhausted. Dr. Claire Weeks, a subject matter expert in cognitive behavioral therapy, describes that mental fatigue comes from an exhausted nerve, and the nerve is permanently active. 

How can you get rid of CFS symptoms? Instead of lying in bed, it is suggested that you get out of bed and focus on something that will take your mind off the worries. The technique sounds easy but requires much mental and physical effort. You will have to force yourself to get out of bed. When you lay in bed, you do nothing but enhance the stresses and worries about why you feel this way. The stress leaves you feeling more tired, depressed, and unrested. Lying in bed increases your mental worries and intensifies your fatigue. 

So, what do you do? Start by changing your mind to a different way of thinking, and you will begin the healing process. For example, get out of bed and focus on cleaning or painting your home. You are now telling yourself; I can barely get out of bed. What does she mean by cleaning and painting my house? Once you take the initial step to start doing something physical, the physical activity itself will burn off the stress within the body and the muscles. The mind will then focus on the things you are physically doing and discover new passions for those activities. By engaging in physical activities, the brain will be hacked by those said activities, and as a result, the mind gets a mental vacation away from the stresses and worries. The extreme exhaustion from the mental worries you were feeling in your body will soon dissipate as you focus on physical activities, like cleaning your house. Eventually, the body will start feeling less stressed and worried because your mind will be occupied with physical activities.  

By engaging in physical activities, you will feel less tired and become excited about accomplishing things you are passionate about and enjoy doing. I am not saying to overdo it and paint your entire house in one day. The technique will take some time to get used to. I am also not saying to paint a little and then lay down; I am saying to paint a little, clean a little, and maybe do a little gardening. Finding different activities to do around your home and community will eventually ease the mind and relax the body. Once the mind and body are relaxed and focused on something other than mental worries, you will feel all the aches and pains melt away and you will start feeling more energetic and rested. Give it a try and start with baby steps. CHANGE YOUR MIND…CHANGE YOUR LIFE.