You like to think you’re a superhero, able to take on anything and everything all at once without letting it phase you. However, you soon realize that’s a total pipe dream when you find yourself feeling… eh, less than your best. You’re a human being, and as such, you have your limits when it comes to how much you can handle at once. If you recognize any of the below, all signs point to you being mentally and emotionally exhausted and drained.
1. You’re snappy and irritable with everyone for no apparent reason.
Obviously, people are annoying and do obnoxious things sometimes, but if your default mode is “ready to rip everyone who crosses your path a new one,” you might be mentally and emotionally drained. When this happens, your reserves of patience and understanding are shot, and it only takes the smallest thing — it could be something as basic as literally asking your partner asking what you want for dinner — to send you flying off the handle.
2. You’re constantly exhausted, no matter how much sleep you got the night before.
You could have gone to bed at 9 p.m. and slept like a log until your alarm went off at 7 a.m., but you’re still absolutely shattered the next morning as if you were tossing and turning all night. Not even your morning iced latte with three extra shots of espresso is doing the trick to wake you up. You just feel heavy-limbed and completely devoid of energy, which points to a lot of mental and emotional exhaustion, not just physical.
3. You burst into tears all the time.
There’s nothing wrong with having a good cry. In fact, it can be really cathartic at times. However, it should go without saying that if you’re bursting into tears constantly and without provocation, there might be something deeper going on. It could be that you’re suffering from mental health issues, or it could just be that you’re experiencing burnout in every sense of the world and really need some serious time to recoup. Either way, being in floods of tears 24/7 is not a good sign.
4. You find it hard to get excited about anything, even stuff you used to love.
Some people just aren’t very excitable in general — I know because I’m one of them. Even when I’m super stoked about something, it’s not necessarily evident to the people around me. However, if you don’t feel excited, happy, or anything at all about happy news, activities, or events that normally would get you hyped, you might be emotionally and mentally exhausted. You have no stores of feeling left, so everything is just a bit blah. It shouldn’t be that way — your hobbies and passions, as well as your friends and family (among other things) should bring you joy and fulfillment.
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6. It’s impossible to get motivated to do, well, pretty much anything.
You used to be a very get-up-and-go kind of person. You were self-motivated and didn’t need anyone to light a fire under your backside to get you to get things done. These days, however, things have changed. Instead of being excited to start your day and get after your goals, you can barely muster up the wherewithal to get off the couch and get into bed at night or to shower before work in the morning. It’s very unlike you, and there’s probably a good explanation: you’re drained.
7. You avoid people and just want to stay home alone.
You love spending time with your friends and getting out in the world, but not lately. Instead, you turn down social invitations, cancel on plans last minute, and generally try and hibernate in your house after work as much as possible. You say it’s just because you’re “feeling lazy” or it’s raining out or you’re waiting on an Amazon delivery or whatever, but the truth is that you’re mentally and emotionally exhausted and just can’t face having to be “on.” It’s great to enjoy being alone, but if you’re resorting to that because you just can’t handle being around other people, something’s gotta give.
8. You have a lot of anxiety on a daily basis.
You like to think of yourself as being pretty well-adjusted and able to roll with the punches in life, but not lately. Your anxiety levels are sky-high even though nothing out of the ordinary is going on to make you feel any more stressed than usual. You feel it in your chest every second of the day — it’s a feeling you can’t shake no matter how much mindfulness you practice or meditation you do. It’s even scarier because since you don’t know what’s causing it, you can’t fix it!
9. Pretty much everything feels overwhelming.
Again, up until this point, you used to be able to take pretty much everything in your stride. However, since you’re now mentally and emotionally drained in every possible way, it doesn’t take much of anything at all to make you feel overwhelmed and like you just can’t cope. For instance, it could be something as simple as having a dentist appointment on the same day you have to drop your clothes off at the dry cleaner. These are totally normal things that aren’t really a big deal, but to you, they feel like it right now.
10. You feel detached and numb from everyone and everything.
You don’t know why, you just do. You’re usually someone who feels very connected to your closest friends and family and you find joy in sharing relationships full of emotional depth and reciprocity. However, that’s just not the case right now. You don’t feel like you’re close to anyone or that anyone “gets” you or vice versa. Instead, you feel like your own private island, floating aimlessly with nothing or no one around you.
11. You just don’t feel like yourself these days.
If anyone asked you what exactly you were feeling, you wouldn’t be able to put it into words. When you’re emotionally and mentally drained, all you know is that you suddenly don’t feel like you. All that life you used to have just feels like it’s gone and you’re not sure how to get it back. You’re at a loss as to how to move forward, so much so that you don’t think you’ll bother trying at all.
12. You feel physically unwell even though nothing is clinically wrong with you.
This is one of the most classic signs that all is not well inside. You don’t have a cold or flu but you constantly feel like you do. You don’t suffer from hormonal imbalances but your periods are all over the place. You’ve never had a problem sleeping well, but all of a sudden, you’re up all night tossing and turning, sweating, and feeling full of dread. It’s clear there’s something more going on, and the sooner you deal with it — whether by speaking with your boss, your doctor, your therapist, your family, or all of the above — the better you’ll feel. It’s a tough conversation, but one that’s well worth it.
