WE’RE EXHAUSTED: STRESS, SOCIAL MEDIA TAKING A TOLL
Being tired all the time is becoming more and more common, regardless of your age
Marie Sullivan says that she knew something “wasn’t quite right” during a doctor visit five years ago.
“I thought I might be anemic, but the results of my annual physical were fine,” the Paramus, N.J., resident recalls. “All my numbers were in the normal range. The blood work turned up nothing. I said to my doctor, ‘Are you sure? What’s wrong with me?’ ”
Her doctor told Sullivan, “You’re getting older.” But Sullivan, 60, wasn’t buying it. “I’m not that old,” she says. “I used to have tons of energy. I know you slow down as you age, but I’m physically exhausted all the time. And I know I’m not the only person who feels this way.”
Exhaustion. Weariness. Fatigue. Whichever phrase you prefer, recurring tiredness seems to be the new normal for a growing number of people, regardless of their age or background.
Causes range from illnesses such as anemia, depression, hypothyroidism, diabetes and heart disease to the increasing overuse of technology and its implications on our mental well-being.
Yes, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can wear you out, says Patricia Bratt, a therapist and psychoanalyst with offices in Livingston, N.J., and New York City.
“Social media can run the gamut from being fabulously uplifting to being totally depressing and exhausting,” says Bratt, who is also the director of trauma and resilience studies at the Livingston-based Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis. “And this applies to all ages.”
Bratt works with young adults who check their social media constantly — at all hours of the day and night — and they all complain about being tired. “It impacts their sense of themselves and their identities and makes them anxious,” she says. “Social media has created a new sense of impulsivity and urgency, it can make them feel overwhelmed by what is happening in the world, and all of these factors can be fatiguing and can impact how they sleep.”
Sleep apnea and poor diet are other common culprits of fatigue. And then there is the most obvious cause of all: not enough sleep.
In July, a survey conducted by the National Safety Council found that 97% of Americans have at least one of the leading risk factors for fatigue, which include working at night or in the early morning, working long shifts without breaks and working more than 50 hours per week. Forty-three percent of respondents said they do not get enough sleep to think clearly at work, make informed decisions and be productive.
Maria Vila, a physician at Atlantic Health System’s Chambers Center for Well Being in Morristown, N.J., says fatigue is one of the most common complaints among her patients. And, no, she doesn’t think “You’re getting older” is a particularly helpful diagnosis.
“I hear this all the time,” Vila says. “Patients are told, ‘You’re getting older ... you’re a woman ... you’re menopausal,’ and so on. That’s not what we do here. I start by looking at the patient’s history, their diet, exercise, sleep patterns and stress levels. Then I move on to blood tests. Almost everyone says they were told that their blood tests were ‘normal.’ But I’m not looking for normal. I’m looking for optimal.”
Gary Schulman, a certified fitness trainer from Oradell, N.J., warns that people living with stress should not ignore it.
“In today’s society, most people are on this disease continuum that I call stress without recovery. They’re dealing with stress from relationships, jobs ... And if they continue on that course, it eventually leads to chronic disease, thyroid problems, high blood pressure and more.”
And what about the stress that comes from a smartphone?
“We’re living in a very complex society,” says Carlos Rueda, chairman of behavioral health services at St. Joseph’s Healthcare System in Paterson, N.J., “and this causes all kinds of problems. We are dealing with perceived threats from everywhere, economic uncertainty, and we are in constant state of fight and flight. And, of course, people are constantly receiving stimuli from their computers and their phones. ... This is also creating constant stress that disrupts sleep and disrupts your circadian rhythm,” he says, referring to the sleep-wake cycle.
Dealing with these stresses, Rueda says, requires re-learning how to relax. “Set a time, say 8 p.m. or 9 p.m., when you turn off your computer and TV screens,” he suggests. “We aren’t supposed to be receiving and processing information 24/7. Stop. Take a pause.”
“Social media has created a new sense of impulsivity and urgency, (and it) can be fatiguing.”
Patricia Bratt, therapist and psychoanalyst