Emotional Exhaustion

Signs of emotional exhaustion include a lack of energy, a sense of dread and poor sleep quality.

Evaluating the external factors that are adding pressure to your emotional state helps bring awareness to things that are influencing your emotions. Assess your interpersonal circle and see the personality types that surround you. Take note of the people that give you energy and the people who take your energy.

Resources:

• This website helps decipher how people are affecting your energy and thoughts.
• Check out this video on emotional transitions for women veterans:

Mental Exhaustion

A continuous anxious, angry, or depressed feeling can be a sign of emotional exhaustion.

The best way to overcome mental exhaustion is to share your mental burdens in a safe environment such as with a close friend, support groups or with a counselor. Women Vets on Point offers free support groups and private counseling to help share mental stress with a group of trusted peers.

Journaling is also a simple way to help reduce mental stress. Penzu.com is a free site and app that will remind you about adding to your journal. It is private and allows for extra password protection for each entry.

Physical Exhaustion

Physical exhaustion can sneak up at inconvenient times. It can have symptoms like chest pains, shortness of breath or loss of appetite. Great ways to counter physical exhaustion include meditating, breathing exercises or even doing yoga to help restore a loss of energy. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has great free downloadable breathing exercises that you can utilize during the morning, afternoon or night (this 5-minute meditation is a good place to start).

Here are some YouTube videos that help play calm music, instructs and times you as you mediate:

Tips for managing other difficult feelings

Our campaign home page has tips for other common negative emotions or feelings.