Nervous exhaustion
Causes and symptoms of nervous exhaustion
What is nervous exhaustion?
Nervous exhaustion is a special psychoemotional state that occurs as a result of stress, high emotional or intellectual load at work, school or at home. Nervous exhaustion can be both a harbinger and a symptom of depression, manifested by intellectual disorders and other clinical symptoms, of which there can be a great many: cognitive abilities, memory and physical condition suffer.
Nervous exhaustion significantly affects the quality of a person's life: he cannot fully work, communicate with people, relax and enjoy life.
Causes of nervous exhaustion
Overwork is the most common cause of nervous exhaustion. When a person spends more energy than he is able to accumulate, the body is depleted. This also applies to the nervous system.
Increased emotional and mental stress, lack of sleep and rest, bad habits, anxiety, worries and stress very much tire the human brain. If you do not take a break, the person emotionally "burns out" and nervous exhaustion sets in.
Normally, a person should alternate between active mental activity and emotional discharge, the state of arousal should be replaced by inhibition and rest. If this does not happen, there is a high probability of developing depression and nervous exhaustion.
Symptoms of nervous exhaustion
Nervous exhaustion can be hidden under a variety of symptoms. For example, patients often pay attention to pain in the heart. They have fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rhythm disturbances, a feeling of numbness and coldness in the limbs, headaches, digestive disorders, insomnia, nightmares, nausea, and vomiting.
Often, nervous exhaustion is accompanied by sexual dysfunction: a person loses libido. Nervous exhaustion is characterized by impaired coordination, spatial orientation, speech and memory. The assimilation of even the simplest information causes difficulties, chronic forgetfulness develops.
Sometimes the symptoms are so pronounced that the patient may need inpatient treatment. In some cases, nervous exhaustion can manifest itself as symptoms of vegetative-vascular dystonia: increased heart rate, pressure surges, a slight decrease in body temperature (up to 35 ° C).
The common symptoms of exhaustion and depression are insomnia, weakness, fatigue, and irritability. Outbursts of anger in a person can be caused by the most harmless things: people around, sounds, smells, habits and words of friends and relatives, and their own behavior.
Some people may seek salvation from emotional and mental exhaustion in alcohol, smoking and drugs. But this only aggravates the course of the disease, causing deep dependence and depression.
Treatment of nervous exhaustion
Nervous exhaustion should not be underestimated: this condition is very common and can cause great harm to a person. Therefore, the therapy of nervous exhaustion is not always easy and in some cases, even inpatient treatment may be required.
Drug therapy consists of taking various drugs, which include vasodilators, drugs that restore brain cells, nootropics, vitamins and antidepressants. However, they also have side effects. To avoid negative consequences, only the attending physician should select the dosage and the drug. Successful treatment of nervous exhaustion is possible only with the normalization of the daily regimen. A person should lead a healthy lifestyle, work, rest and eat at the same time, spending time for walks in the fresh air and proper nutrition.
Sleep should be tried to normalize without the use of medication. This is facilitated by relaxation, meditation. You need to go to bed only in case of severe fatigue, having got rid of the habit of reading, watching TV or working while lying in bed. Do not force yourself to fall asleep by tossing and turning in bed for hours. Better to get up and read a book or have some herbal tea.
A person's rest should be as diverse as possible. Exercise deserves special attention. Light gymnastics, swimming, walking or cycling are an excellent way to combat nervous exhaustion, because often the reason for it is the lack of necessary physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle (physical inactivity).
Article author: Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich | d. m. n. therapist
Education: Moscow Medical Institute. IM Sechenov, specialty - "General Medicine" in 1991, in 1993 "Occupational Diseases", in 1996 "Therapy".
