For awhile now, maybe the last couple years, I’ve suffered from bouts of chronic fatigue. In 2012, it was discovered my vitamin D3 and B12 levels were too low, which was a likely culprit. But I’ve since gotten those levels back up, yet I still find myself tired all the time … or groggy. I’ve gotten blood tests within the last year and they turned up clean, including thyroid. So, I started looking for other areas, besides my diet, that could be contributing to this tiredness.
As I was explaining to my best friend the other day, it isn’t just mental exhaustion … it’s physical exhaustion, as though I could lie down and fall asleep in the middle of the day.
Strangely (or not so strangely) enough, I’m currently reading a book called “Anatomy of the Spirit,” by Caroline Myss. She talks about chakras and how our bodies have an energy field that surrounds them and whether it’s us identifying with outside objects or people or situations or it’s allowing outside sources to affects us, we essentially have energy drainage that happens to most of us on a daily basis.
So she talks about being self aware day in and day out and observing when we are feeling tired and to try to notice what might be causing it as it’s actually happening. For me, it’s no surprise my often hectic, mind-heavy job is one source. The other one … my emotions, emotional attachments and of course, the lovely anxiety/depression I’ve battled my whole life as well as the desire to be “in control.”
I also have been toying with caffeine. I’ve gotten off of it for a few days now, but have been off coffee altogether for a month. I’m curious if that will regulate my energy levels so I don’t have those “crashes” anymore.
Suffice to say, while I have pinpointed some sources, I’m still learning how to “un-attach” from their draining powers. One thing I can say is, the more present you are, the more unaffected you’ll be by the day-to-day grinds and flow of emotions. But … as I can vouch for myself, it’s far easier said than done.
So, my advice? Take it one baby step at a time. Try to rework your perception of that source of draining. Change the dialogue in your head about it. Find things to enjoy about that situation or person or job and focus intently on those. Our thoughts, attachments and perceptions inevitably cause the actual energy drain, not the situations or people themselves.
But, I’m also finding it’s not something you can force … sometimes you just need to “feel” things, allow the emotions to flow through you, be the awareness behind those emotions, almost like a third-party witness to your mind and feelings. Resisting them will only fuel their fire and ultimate drainage. And trying to control something which is out of your hands is also a BIG energy/prana drainer.
Practice releasing, practice surrendering to what is. As hard as it is, continue the mantras in your mind, “I surrender to what is.” “I release the need to control and I surrender to the present moment.” “I live in the present moment.” You’ll find that even during the moments when you feel yourself folding in half, when you feel your energy being depleted, being aware and present, rewording the dialogue in your mind, restating those mantras over and over again WILL help you slowly break the chains.
It’s not an overnight task. It has taken a long time for us to form these attachments, these thinking patterns, so it will take an equally long time to rewire them. But if you do the work daily, as I am trying to as well, it will change and shift.
Another positive affirmation to recite: “I release the thought patterns and attachments to sources that drain my energy and cause fatigue. I am energized, rejuvenated, vibrant and full of prana.”
Be well my friends. Remember, we’re all in this thing called life together.
I’m here if you need me.
Love, C