Feeling Mentally Exhausted?

Is your brain tired? The social unrest across our nation has got you feeling down? Too many interruptions—the rapid shift from COVID-19 and now the added layer of social unrest?  Too many things going on without time to catch your breath or refuel your energy? You could be experiencing Mental Fatigue.

Mental fatigue is the physical manifestation of emotional heaviness.  Please be aware that submerging yourself in the constant news and media feeds involving the protest and COVID-19 can lead to psychological and emotional affects.  The brunt of viewing repeated negative (and even well meaning) images can trigger memories, sensations, stir acts of anger, depression and other fear-based emotions.  

Mentally fatigue is your body’s way of telling you to rest, take a break or pay attention to what’s happening (your feelings, thoughts and emotions). One of the most effective ways to effectively deal with mental fatigue is by moving it out the body. You don’t want to get stuck in your emotions. Doing something meaningful is healing.  Don’t allow mental fatigue to dull your life.

Tips for Managing Mental Exhaustion

• Maintain spiritual discipline.

• Rest (practice self-care).

• If the news becomes overwhelming, take action to prevent mental exhaustion. How? Shut it down. Disengage. Limit your access. Create a healthy media diet. 

• For individuals who’s experienced racialized trauma, please understand that you are not the problem. Racism is. You don’t need to change anything about your appearance. Your blackness is authentic and beautiful. You are wonderfully handmade by God. 

• Find something about yourself to celebrate.

• Affirm a friend with kindness.

• Do not throw judgment stones at your brothers and sisters who are expressing their thoughts and feelings during this difficult time.

• Don’t judge leadership (church, community, governmental) in panic, based on perceived ideas of how they should respond during this time. 

• Don’t use prayer as an inactive mode to avoid or ignore your feelings.

• Activate prayer so you can have God’s peace and guidance.