Act profile exhaustion. Is it possible to recover from nervous exhaustion? Three Signs of Professional Burnout

When enough nutrients are not supplied for a long time or there is no proper rest, exhaustion occurs in the body. In this case, weakness, lethargy, irritability, lack of appetite can be observed. This condition negatively affects the body and in especially severe cases can be fatal.

Physical

In medical practice, primary and secondary forms of physical exhaustion are distinguished. The primary violation is associated with malnutrition, prolonged fasting, significant weight loss. With secondary physical exhaustion, the cause is an altered metabolism and improper functioning of the body. The main symptoms: drowsiness, fatigue, decreased immunity, impaired stool, sores in the corners of the lips.

nervous

Nervous exhaustion often occurs against the background of stress, increased mental stress. Often the disorder appears against the background of monotonous work. Often the main causes of the condition is a lack of quality sleep. The corresponding psycho-emotional state can be a companion of depression. With the progression of negative changes, a deterioration in physical condition, memory, and cognitive abilities occurs.

Causes of exhaustion

Nervous and physical exhaustion are closely interconnected. Their physiological cause is that the body spends more energy than it can produce. This imbalance occurs for a number of reasons:

starvation;
trauma;
diseases of the digestive or nervous systems;
mental illness;
vitamin deficiency;
hormonal disorders;
oncological diseases;
stress;
heavy loads;
malnutrition;
smoking, alcohol abuse;
lack of life goals.

Symptoms

Physical exhaustion is manifested by a lack of body weight. The patient develops chronic weakness, drowsiness. Signs of depletion of the body in women are weight loss, pallor of mucous membranes, brittle hair and nails, excessive irritability. With the progression of the disease, body weight can decrease significantly. In the last stage of emaciation, the skin becomes greyish and the face pointed. If the patient is not treated in a timely manner, this will lead to serious consequences with irreversible changes.

With nervous exhaustion, patients experience compressive headaches, discomfort in the body, decreased appetite, and mental disorders occur. In the middle stages of the disease in men, erections worsen, up to complete disappearance. Patients often complain of lack of normal sleep, numbness, coldness in the legs. Sometimes the body temperature can drop several degrees from the normal limit.

Treatment of exhaustion

To restore the body, you will need a whole range of therapeutic and recreational measures, as well as the attitude to fight for health. Proper diagnosis in conjunction with consistent treatment can significantly improve the general condition of the patient and stop weight loss, so the first step is to visit a specialist doctor. With significant nervous exhaustion, accompanied by mental disorders, a psychiatrist's consultation is necessary.

get up and go to bed at a regular time;
avoid taking stimulating drinks;
take regular walks at a calm pace;
avoid malnutrition, take care of normal nutrition;
relaxation: yoga, stretching, taking baths.

A few days of good rest can show amazing results in exhaustion! Complement them with aroma bath sessions that will help restore strength. Eucalyptus, bergamot, lavender, clove, oregano oils will be useful for you, which will help restore strength and renew your body. Aroma lamps with ginger, rosemary, sage, thyme, pine will become an emergency remedy for a sudden feeling of impotence.

With physical exhaustion, medications are prescribed that improve digestion and metabolic processes. Depending on the cause of exhaustion, treatment can be done with hormonal drugs. In the presence of a pathological nervous condition, nootropic and vasodilators are used. Often a beneficial effect is cleansing the intestines with enemas.

To restore metabolism, you need to drink a course of vitamins. At home, treatment with folk remedies is available:

Peel 50 g of castor bean seeds, rinse and pour 0.5 l of warm milk. Add flour, knead elastic dough. Form small cakes and dry them in the oven without using oil. It is recommended to eat two lozenges every day
Buy Chinese lemongrass berries (20 g) at the pharmacy. Fold in a thermos, pour one glass of boiling water. After half an hour, strain and take a tablespoon 3 times a day.

Stress is one of the main reasons for the development of psychosomatic pathologies. It can occur in absolutely every person, regardless of their gender, working conditions, age. A state such as distress, which implies a long and intense course, with the passage through all phases of stress, is a trigger for the development of hypertension, various arrhythmias. It can also provoke a disruption of the digestive canal, lead to gastritis or colitis. Headaches, decreased sexual desire almost always accompany the course of stress.

The main reasons for the development of stress are considered to be a large number of different situations that we perceive as dangerous, while quite often there is an inadequate reaction to them. This triggers the mechanisms of mobilization of the protective resources of our body. This causes the development of stress, the stages of which are known to almost all people.

It should be borne in mind that stress is realized due to the release of hormones into the bloodstream. The main actors are adrenaline, norepinephrine. This means that the main manifestations of this condition will be those that cause these hormones. The body of absolutely all people reacts to stress in a completely identical way, therefore, three stages of stress are distinguished, described back in 1936 by the scientist Hans Selye.

Main etiological causes

Specialists divide the trigger factors of stress into physiological and psychological. The former provoke the development of biological stress, and the latter - psycho-emotional.

Physiological causes are those effects that can injure a person due to adverse environmental conditions or other traumatic effects. Most often, we are talking about temperature conditions, all kinds of damage, insufficient food or water, life-threatening factors, as well as other situations that can undermine health.

However, today much more attention is paid to the psychological aspects. They are divided into informational and emotional components, which are related to psychological reasons. They do not harm human health, but the duration of their influence is much longer, which reduces the possibility of a normal, natural reaction to them. This leads to a significant increase in stress levels. Psychosomatic pathologies develop just under the influence of psychological stress.

All stages of stress development arise under the influence of conflict situations, high workload, the constant need to invent something, or, conversely, from too monotonous work. A high level of responsibility also implies a high level of stress, because the body is constantly tense, which leads to the depletion of its protective reserves.

Recent studies by specialists in this field highlight environmental stress. The ability of the organism to survive in difficult conditions for it is being studied. It's not just about environmental pollution. For example, living in apartment buildings or high-rise buildings, the neglect of physical activity due to the elevator or transport, the presence of all kinds of electrical appliances. All this leads to a violation of the normal biorhythms of a person, provoking a constant high level of stress.

Anxiety

All phases of stress have a typical course. Anxiety is characterized by the fact that the body, having received a surge of hormones, begins its preparation to protect itself from a traumatic factor or to escape from it. This stage develops due to the influence of adrenal hormones, the immune system and digestive organs also take part in it. It should be borne in mind that a decrease in the body's resistance to pathogenic microorganisms also refers to this stage. This also includes processes such as loss of appetite, impaired digestion of food.

If the traumatic, stressful situation was quickly resolved, then all the changes that the body has undergone will pass without any trace or harm. It can be resolved in the following ways:

The escape;
Fight;
Truce;
Resolving the conflict in any way.

With a long course of such a factor, inadequate reactions of the body may begin, which indicate that the body's reserves are running out. In the case of very strong stressful situations, especially those that have a physiological basis - injuries, overheating, hypothermia, very often lead to death.

Resistance or resistance

The second stage occurs when the level of adaptive capabilities of the human body is significantly exceeded, it cannot cope with such a load on its own. This stage of stress implies the continued functioning of the body, while it is very difficult to distinguish it from normal in appearance. All processes, both physiological and psychological, are mobilized, they move to higher levels. All psychological manifestations, such as anxiety, aggressive behavior, increased excitability, are significantly reduced, and may disappear altogether.

It should be borne in mind that the human body cannot adapt indefinitely, there are certain levels that cannot be exceeded. If this happens, then the person goes through all the phases of stress development at once, the so-called exhaustion develops.

Exhaustion is somewhat similar to the first stage of severe stress, but has nothing to do with the second. It is important to understand that it is already impossible to mobilize all the reserves of the body. Therefore, right now he is screaming for help, both physiologically and psychologically.

During stage 3, there is a high risk of developing psychosomatic pathologies, and a large number of psychological pathologies also occur. If the stress factor is not eliminated from contact with a person, then his condition is significantly decompensated, in especially severe cases, death is possible.

Often, decompensation manifests itself as a long-term severe depression. It is also possible to develop a nervous breakdown. The dynamics of this stage of stress is always negative, that is, in order for a person to win, he needs outside support. Sometimes it can be psychological aspects of help, psychotherapy, quite often they resort to medication. It is important to eliminate the trigger factor in a timely manner, as well as help the person overcome it.

Treatment

If the level of stress is insignificant, then it can be overcome without outside help. But the second stage requires outside support. Treatment of stress should always be comprehensive. It includes not only psychological support, but also various therapeutic measures. Particular attention should be paid to the lifestyle of a person.

Biological stress requires the elimination of the traumatic factor, after which medications or drugs are prescribed to patients. Quite often they are not required, since the hormonal imbalance is very short-lived.

Psychological stress, along with environmental stress, requires the following approaches:

Rationalization of lifestyle. This is the basis for successful healing. It requires a change in all areas, the rejection of bad habits, the normalization of work and rest, sleep. You should also pay attention to a nutritious diet, physical activity. It will not be superfluous to eliminate excess body weight, regular exercise.
The second most important approach to stress therapy is the use of adequate physical activity. It is she who is the physiological mechanism for the utilization of stress hormones. With its help, it is also possible to carry out the prevention of this condition, since it can prevent its development or significantly reduce its intensity. It is also important to note that physical activity contributes to the production of hormones of pleasure or joy - endorphins, serotonin. The type of activity should be selected individually by the attending physician, it directly depends on the physical form, the capabilities of the individual patient.
Psychological support - sessions of psychotherapy. The duration of such treatment is selected by a specialist.
Drug therapy depends on the severity of stress, the presence of psychosomatic pathology.

Scientists are not in vain talking about « professional burnout syndrome » . It is a medical problem with numerous symptoms that vary from person to person. Men « burn out » not like women doctors - not like media consultants, but Russians - not like the Chinese.

Occupational burnout is common. Poll « Alpha Insurance » , every second employee faces professional burnout: 57% of employees of Russian companies are familiar with this problem. And every year there are more and more burnt out people. - not only in Russia, but all over the world.

Let's try to figure out why your boss looks so tormented, why your officemate puts off urgent business for the third week, accountants spend the night at work and still do not have time, and the designer simply did not show up for work last week.

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Professional burnout: background

The professional burnout syndrome was first described by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974. Studying workers in psychiatric institutions, the psychologist noticed that these people are demoralized, morally exhausted, disappointed in work and feel tired.

Trying to understand why people have ceased to bring joy to the once beloved business, the psychologist came to the idea of professional burnout. According to the classical definition, professional burnout - this is a syndrome that develops against the background of chronic stress and leads to the depletion of the emotional, energy and personal resources of a working person.

Laziness or illness: how to distinguish burnout from procrastination

American scientists Christina Maslach and Susan Jackson continued Freudenberger's research. The researchers identified three main characteristics of burnout, and created a questionnaire that measures these characteristics and understands the severity of the problem.

Three signs of professional burnout:

emotional exhaustion - there are not enough emotional resources for work, a person gets tired quickly, problems with self-control begin
Depersonalization - indifference to clients, patients and colleagues develops, the person becomes cynical
Reduction of personal achievements - suffering from burnout, it seems that his efforts are in vain, and his achievements - insignificant.

Over time, it became clear that not only employees of psychiatric clinics are subject to professional burnout. The problem is much more common, prevents people from working and enjoying it, and causes companies big losses.

Who is at risk « earn » professional burnout

Let's sketch a portrait of a person who risks being burned alive at work. Experts believe that this is a responsible perfectionist who works hard with people in an unbearable work environment.

Responsible Perfectionist

Some people are more prone to burnout by personality. They are characterized by:

high expectations from oneself, ambition, perfectionism, which lead to exhaustion and trigger the process of burnout;
strong need for recognition;
the desire to please other people to the detriment of their desires;
feeling of own indispensability and inability to delegate;
workaholism, a tendency to overestimate one's own strengths and take on too much work;
job dependency.

Both men and women suffer from burnout, but this syndrome manifests itself differently in people of different sexes. Women are more likely to experience severe emotional exhaustion, while men exhibit cynical and withdrawn behavior.

Works with people

Professional burnout often develops in those who regularly communicate with other people at work. It:

specialists « helping » professions: doctors, nurses, educators, teachers, social workers, psychologists;
service or sales workers - from waiters to commercial directors;
managers and specialists - experts who manage, coordinate or advise other people.

All these professions have two common features:

Representatives of all these professions are responsible for other people, and the result of their work is very important. The doctor or nurse is responsible for the health of the patient, and the head - for the team.
The amount of remuneration and the effectiveness of employees at risk directly depends on the ability to communicate, negotiate and restrain negative emotions.

« Mess » at work

In addition to personality traits, burnout is provoked by difficult working conditions. This is especially true for companies " juicers « with high staff turnover.

Signs of work - "juicers":

Demanding management, pressure from superiors.
Problems of interaction with managers and within the team.
Instructions and orders that contradict each other.
Hyper control, lack of freedom to make decisions, no chance to influence the workflow.
Feeling of lack of time, constant rush.
Unfavorable environment, harassment of individual employees, denunciations.
Lack of opportunities to express themselves and grow professionally.
Administrative restrictions, bureaucracy.
Increasing responsibility.
Unclear distribution of responsibilities.
Lack of team support.

Such work requires giving all the best, but at the same time provides insufficient resources to meet these requirements. If, in addition to this, the worker himself - a workaholic and perfectionist, it becomes even harder for him to get the job done and be satisfied.

How to understand that a person is burning out

The main cause of burnout - stress at work and the need to restrain emotions so as not to break into an annoying client or a picky manager. It turns out that every victim of work stress can burn out emotionally at some point.

Burnout: a typical scenario

The stronger the stress, the less moral and physical strength a person has. Health is deteriorating. Gradually, a person stops communicating with friends and colleagues, because other people have to spend energy. Loneliness is added to the moral decline.
A person has neither time nor energy to satisfy needs that are not related to work. Fatigue does not allow you to think flexibly and adapt to new situations.
Motivation falls, and indifference to work, on the contrary, grows. At the same time, both the quality of work and productivity deteriorate.

As a result, burnout leads to more serious conditions: physical exhaustion, exacerbation of psychosomatic diseases, etc.

The less a person has opportunities for self-realization outside of work, the more he is prone to workaholism. And since we all need a reason to respect ourselves, a person works more and more, eventually getting exhausted and, as a result, burnout.

Unfortunately, biological markers that unequivocally indicate burnout have not yet been found. Because of this, it is difficult to prevent the syndrome, and even more difficult to treat. - After all, you won’t leave without tests for sick leave.

How to avoid burnout at work

Modern researchers believe that we have two paths:

Increase the amount of personal resources that can be used in work and life.
Make sure you have a comfortable work environment.

Unfortunately, we rarely have the authority to change our workload or get rid of a demanding boss. However, we can change our lifestyle, save ourselves from excess stress and increase our personal energy.

How to raise personal energy

Learning to manage personal energy - conceived the only way out

1. Get enough sleep

Try at least 7 hours at night. A sleepy person has difficulty thinking and does not adapt well to new situations.

2. Eat well and eat right

Lack of proteins, fats or carbohydrates equals lack of energy. Include fruits and vegetables in your diet, limit fatty foods, and try to drink less alcohol. Drink enough water.

3. Exercise

Exercise helps to increase the energy intensity of the body. If you spend an hour exercising even after a hard day, you can prevent a breakdown.

4. Alternate load

Let periods of concentration be combined with periods when attention is unfocused. Meditate, draw, tend to plants, dance, do needlework or just take a walk in the fresh air. Constant concentration leads to exhaustion of attention and will.

5. Find a hobby that is not related to your main job.

6. Breathe deeply

Ventilate the workplace three times a day. If this is not possible, at least go outside to breathe three times a day for 10 minutes. Out for lunch? Try to take a little walk*.

7. Breathe deeply and try « ground »

This is especially useful if you are once again pissed off. Feel your feet press on the floor, feel your own weight. Feelings from your own body are the best sedative.

8. Learn to manage stress

Stress itself is neither bad nor good, because its biological task is to teach us to better navigate new situations. So if you have several months of work without sleep and rest that you cannot avoid, focus on how this work will benefit you, what it will teach you, and how much stronger you will become after passing through this test.

9. Take care of yourself

If you feel discomfort in the workplace, try to understand where it came from. Sometimes the cause of discomfort is things or circumstances that we can change. Headphones will save you from noise. From the lack of light - a table lamp, and from the cold - a blanket that you keep at the workplace and warm, comfortable socks.

*Most office centers exceed CO2 levels in the air. Building codes allow up to 1400 ppm CO2, while health codes say 1000 ppm is too high. With so much carbon dioxide in the air, it is difficult to concentrate, so a person feels lethargic and tired ahead of time.

If prevention fails

burnout - this is a serious problem.

If you have found symptoms of burnout in yourself and want to change this situation, it is better to seek advice from or to a psychotherapist. The service in the Medical Note app will help you make an appointment with the right specialist.

For various reasons that cause a deficiency in the supply of the required amount of nutrients, exhaustion of the body may develop. At the same time, his vital functions suffer. There can be many reasons for this condition. In particular, exhaustion can develop as a result of excessive physical, mental stress, as well as other factors that cause an imbalance of nutrients.

There are primary and secondary forms of pathology. The first occurs due to a violation of normal nutrition (starvation). The second develops against the background of certain diseases, or as a result of serious violations of metabolic processes in the body.

In the presence of this pathology, you should consult a doctor and follow his recommendations. Along with this, you can take advantage of the experience of traditional medicine and use its effective recipes.

What is the danger of exhaustion of the body, the symptoms and treatment of this condition, what are the causes? Let's talk about it:

Why does the exhaustion of the body occur, what are the reasons leading to this?

The main reasons are: systematic malnutrition, some diseases of the digestive system, neuropsychic and endocrine-hormonal pathologies. The cause can be chronic alcoholism (a period of binge), as well as severe burns, injuries. Exhaustion can occur in a person who is in a prolonged unconscious state, in cancer patients. The cause is often the long-term use of certain medications.

Symptoms of exhaustion

The main, characteristic sign of exhaustion of the body is weight loss. Consider the main stages of this pathological condition:

First stage: Outwardly, exhaustion is still weakly expressed. However, the body is already experiencing a lack of essential nutrients, which adversely affects the vital activity of a person. There is weakness, fatigue, daytime sleepiness. Patients complain of stool disorder, frequent colds, cracks appear at the corners of the mouth - jams.

Second stage: At this stage, swelling of the abdomen and legs, which are difficult to get rid of, joins the previously listed symptoms. Patients complain of severe weakness, a sharp decrease in activity, performance. Exhaustion is clearly expressed. The strongest hypovitaminosis is diagnosed. The work of the central nervous system is disrupted, which is expressed in frequent prolonged depressions, mental disorders. The patient's character deteriorates, suicidal thoughts appear.

Third degree (cachexia): The patient has a sharp decrease in all mental processes. There is immobility, convulsions appear, possibly involuntary separation of urine. The face becomes earthy gray or acquires a yellowish tint. Features sharpen, eyes sink.

Treatment of body exhaustion

As we have already said, the therapy of depletion of the body should be started as early as possible, without bringing the condition to a severe stage that is difficult to treat.

The first step is to start eating properly, fully. You need to eat little, but often: up to eight times a day. Nutrition should be high-calorie, balanced, include foods rich in proteins, vitamins.

Usually, the patient is prescribed medications aimed at improving digestion, at restoring normal metabolic processes.

If necessary, treat with anabolic hormones. Assign Methandrostenolone, or Methandienone or Methandiol.

Adaptogen preparations are used: Ginsana, Ginseng tincture, Nooklerin, or Deanol aceglumate. Elcar, Levocarnitine, Cropanol, as well as Stimol, or Citrulline malate or Mildronate are prescribed.

During the treatment, combined vitamin preparations are used: Centrum, Alvitil, Oligovit, Complivit, etc.

Exhaustion of the body - treatment with folk remedies

Peel, grind 50 g of castor bean seeds. Transfer to ceramic dishes, pour half a liter of fresh milk there. Add wheat flour, knead a moderately stiff dough. Blind cakes, dry them in the oven. Eat two of these cakes daily for several months.

Grind the dried bark of the Manchurian aralia plant. Pour 1 tsp into a jar. Pour in 100 ml. vodka. Close tightly, put in a kitchen cabinet for 10 days. Ready tincture should be taken 30-40 drops before meals.

Pour fresh or dried Schisandra chinensis berries into a mug. In total, 20 g will be needed. Pour them with 200 ml. boiling water. Wrap with a towel. Strain after half an hour. Drink this home remedy warm, 1 tbsp. l. three times a day.

Treatment of exhaustion also involves other equally important measures. In particular, the patient needs a good rest. You should get enough sleep, lead a healthy lifestyle, reduce coffee consumption to a minimum, and exclude alcohol.

It is recommended to watch less TV, reduce computer work. It is useful to regularly visit the bath, conduct a massage course. The main thing is to eat fractionally, but fully, to have a good rest in order to restore the disturbed functions of the body.

What threatens the exhaustion of the body, what are the consequences of this condition?

In fact, I already talked about what this condition threatens when it was about the symptoms that accompany the development of the disease. The consequences of the fact that the first phase of the disease was not stopped - its second phase that has begun, etc. As a result, the following final consequences are observed:

Appetite is absent;
weakened body;
practically no muscle tissue;
constantly nauseous;
anemia;
swelling;
mental disorders.

The consequences of exhaustion can be very sad. If adequate treatment is not started in time at the first or second stage, the third stage - cachexia leads the patient to death.

Has this happened to you? Come after a hard day at work full of difficult decisions, and the other half is planning a vacation. And suddenly you find yourself saying: "Do what you want - everything suits me."

Or like this: you wake up later than usual, you are late - and tell yourself that you will do exercises in the evening. Only in the evening there is no strength for anything.

And one more thing: you return home exhausted - there are three hours left of a beautiful summer evening. You can take a walk, meet friends, cook a delicious dinner, finish reading a book. But instead, you grab a bag of salted cookies, turn on the TV, collapse onto the couch, and mindlessly watch The Shawshank Redemption for the thirty-fifth time.

What's happening? This is chronic fatigue. Marshall Goldsmith, author of Triggers, says it's not because we're weak, it's because we're exhausted. In this article - a recipe that will help not to get tired and maintain vitality.

The Phenomenon of Exhaustion

In the 1990s, social psychologist Roy Baumeister coined the term ego depletion. He argued that we have limited cognitive resources, which he called "ego power". During the day, they go to self-regulation: resisting temptations, working, suppressing desires, controlling thoughts and beliefs, following established rules. According to Baumeister, while
ego is depleted.

Scientists have studied exhaustion in different situations. First, they explored self-control. Most often, they tempted people with chocolate. It turned out that attempts to avoid the offer to eat a treat weakened the ability of people to resist other temptations in the future.

Our self-control, like the amount of fuel in a gas tank, has its limit and ends with continuous use. By the end of the day, we are completely exhausted and can do ridiculous things.

Fatigue of decisions, or Why "the head does not think well"

Exhaustion attacks more than just our ability to control ourselves. It extends to many forms of self-regulation. Most of all, it influences decision making. The more decisions we have to make - from buying a new car to drawing up a list of conference attendees - the harder it is for us to keep up the good work.

The researchers called this “decision fatigue,” a condition that causes us to do one of two things:

make frivolous choices;
To do nothing.

Due to the fatigue of Wednesday decisions, we return the ridiculous purchases made on Tuesday, because the next day, when the fatigue passes, the head thinks better. That is why we put off making decisions when we are too tired to do so now.

But exhaustion affects more than just decisions. Interpersonal relationships and the ability to change are under attack. If purchases, decisions, and resistance to temptations are depleted, then complex behaviors are also subject to depletion (scientists confirm this).

Our main enemy

Work that requires us to be extremely focused causes fatigue. Keeping a good face, working close to the leaders, you should not show weakness. Multitasking is exhausting too. Trying to convince people to agree to your terms is also draining. It is extremely tedious trying to win over people who are prejudiced against you. It is difficult to restrain one's emotions - any occasion in which one has to control one's thoughts and feelings - which also leads to exhaustion.

However, unlike physical fatigue, we are not aware of this kind of exhaustion. When we make serious physical efforts, we know in advance that we will feel weak in the muscles and will need to rest. Exhaustion of a different kind, like stress, is our invisible enemy.

We haven't yet invented a measuring device that will tell us that our emotions are close to zero.

Under the influence of exhaustion, we are more likely to engage in inappropriate behavior, such as excessive talkativeness, divulging personal information, or being arrogant. We are also more likely to violate social norms, such as cheating. We become impolite. We can be more aggressive; under the influence of such impulses, it is difficult for us to restrain ourselves. But we can also become more passive when our intellectual resources decrease.

How to deal with exhaustion and fatigue

Structure! The structure will help solve this problem. It slows down the process of exhaustion and weakening of self-control. When we have structure, we don't have to make so many decisions - we follow a plan. And as a result, we do not deplete our psyche at such a rate. Of course, we cannot structure everything: no space is as malleable as, for example, the plan of the day. But we all rely on structure in one way or another, at least from time to time.

For example, a weekly pill box has been a blessing to millions of people who have to take their medicine every day. We wake up on a Thursday, swallow the contents of the Thu cell effortlessly. And we consider the medicine box convenient, but in fact it is a structural surrogate for self-organization. We don't have to remember to take medication. The box does it for us.

We do not even realize how many of these protective structures we use in life. When we write the meeting agenda in advance or clear the table before we open our laptop, we save energy for self-discipline. Routine actions protect us.

The more structure in life, the less you need to worry about it. Yes, not everyone is ready for such control over their lives. Some people are extreme individualists. They are annoyed by any rules or routine, as if their self-discipline has a moral superiority over external circumstances. But if you are constantly tired, it makes sense to try to unload your brain. Why reject such a possibility?

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