Concern: I am exhausted all the time these days. I leave for work at seven and get home around six. By the time I come in the door I am sooo tired. Today I have to cook dinner for some friends, do some laundry, do the dishes, and try to get through some reading. I am so exhausted, I am not sure how I am going to accomplish it all. Now I know that I work hard - but this is ridiculous. Perhaps - since I started working full time the day after I turned in my last final- I never got the end of the semester downtime and now I am feeling it? Still - I shouldn't be this tired, should I?
Edited to add: Now that I think about it, my sleep has been really restless. The last three nights I have woken up with "mini panic attacks." That has to be it. Any solutions?
Edited to add: Now that I think about it, my sleep has been really restless. The last three nights I have woken up with "mini panic attacks." That has to be it. Any solutions?
Here is my advice...You are probably tired because you are working too hard. Think about what you can get away with slacking a little on. Give yourself a break, play hooky on something and take a nap. If you are too worn out you won't work effectively anyway. I'm speaking from personal experience here, so you may have a completely different thing going on. My first year in grad school I got migraines almost every Friday.
I used to wake up in the middle of the night feeling like I couldn't breathe. actually, it usually happened just as I drifted off to sleep, I'd sit up and start sucking and gasping for air. It was horrible. It went away when I finally got my PhD program.
Now I have what I think is a recurring nightmare that there is something in my room with me. It only happens when I'm stressed out. I wake up in a panic. One time I woke up standing in the middle of the room punching.
I've discovered that the identity of the thing changes based on what I'm stressed out about. it is often something I'm not conscious of and I think this is my mind's way of calling it to the surface and making me notice.
I don't know exactly why I'm telling you this except that is sounds like stress. The best thing I've found is to really think about what is stressing you out, not just the obvious things, but the subconscious anxieties.
I think some people are more prone to this than others, too. I came down with a fever the last three times I handed proposal drafts in to my former advisor. Once I came out in a rash.
Anyway.
It's an unfortunate secret that many, many grad students need professional help in managing their stress. Unfortunate that it's a secret and unfortunate that it's a reality.
When I started having "mini panic attacks" in grad school, I told myself that I just needed to chill out and stop stressing about work so much. That I needed to take more time off to do pleasurable things. But trying to take breaks from work only made me more anxious. I couldn't escape the debilitating circle of "I'm stressed, I must rest, I can't relax when I have work, I have to work, I must rest . . . ." After my mini attacks turned to major attacks, I sought help at my uni's counseling services. I was told that I was one of many, many. Now, as a faculty member of a uni, I'm one of many colleagues who takes avantage of mental health services. But things are so very much better than they were back in the day.
If you need help controlling your stress, get it, dear AA. I'm confident that you'll come out of the wash just fine. And I'm glad you're having a fun night with fellow book lov-ahs!
I just realized how much my above comment reads like a magazine testamonial ad for some sort of miracle product.
I'm embarrassed and sorry.
Find the change. Now, befoore you run off to your car or sofa, I mean the thing that has changed or is going to change (or even threatens to change) within a one- or two-month time frame.
I get burned out at the end of every semester, even though my computer calculates my grades, my reports could not be simpler to print, and I can usually take a real weekend afterward. Still, it's the end of a semester, and that is a change.
Once you know what it is, work on coping with that source of stress. It won't get 100% better, but it will get better.
I feel what you are saying, but it's not always to do with stress at your workplace.
Fatigue is a problem that is affecting lots of people nowdays and sometimes it is the result of medical problems, such as apnoea (waking up frequentely during the night because of breathing problems), anemia, etc.
You also have to watch out for your diet, sleeping habits and maybe the levels of oxygen in your office.
Never be too tired to take a holiday! There is plenty of information in the internet about fatigue and feeling exhausted all the time. Just do a quick search and I am sure you will find plenty of useful tips.
I hope I made some sense since English is not my native language :o