Sorry, one should not express oneself so categorically about something so complicated, so let me immediately moderate the statement: Mental fatigue is not always due to overwork. Certainly, it can sometimes be the case that overexertion is behind a fatigue reaction, but 8-9 times out of 10 we find the cause at the other end of the scale in the form of under-recovery. Yes, I know, you can’t find the word under-recovery in the dictionary. But agree that it should exist, and should be used much more often than the word overexertion, because it gives a good clue to where to look for measures that can have an effect. For the person affected, as well as for friends and relatives, managers and colleagues, the concept of under-recovery is a useful guide and a reliable indicator of how best to help the exhausted person.
Indeed, this is also true for carers, doctors and psychotherapists, who too often focus on the exertion aspect and exaggerate the importance of relief from all kinds of effort. The problem with this is that it risks misleading the patient into missing the purpose of respite from work, which is to free up time, attention and energy to prioritise recovery. Getting rid of all responsibilities and getting rid of everything that consumes energy – i.e. the relief itself – does not solve the problem.
Stopping doing the wrong thing is not the same as doing the right thing!
Even though it is clearly wrong to perpetuate an incorrect prioritisation and continue to try to perform even when your energy is depleted, it is not enough to just stop trying. You need to switch to qualitative ‘battery recharging’. Recovery is a skill that many people need to train. Pseudo-rest is increasingly common nowadays. This is when tired people take a break and say they are going to rest, and perhaps do so physically, but are unable to bring their brain into rest mode. Resting with a screen is one common cause, but there are several others.
Want to learn more about this and get a more in-depth explanation of how to train mentally to improve the quality of your recovery? Send an email to clas.m@clasmalmstrom.se and you will receive (for free!) a pdf describing a basic programme for enhanced recovery.