What's Draining Your Energy

If you ever find yourself thinking why am I so exhausted for no reason?!

Well, there might be something or someone draining your energy without you even knowing it… & that something or someone could be you.

Stressors are the main culprit for siphoning energy. This doesn't necessarily mean feeling stressed, although being stressed out is absolutely a result of consistent or over exposure to stressors and/or a reflection of your relationship with stressors.

We all know about fight or flight & that it serves to protect us. The release of certain hormones activates our Sympathetic Nervous System so that we can perform in a dangerous situation. There is no time for digestion when you need to run from a tiger.

Now imagine, you are not running from a tiger but you are replaying a previous conversation with a friend that didn't go so well. Maybe at the time of the conversation, you felt your heart racing & an emotional & physiological reaction. As you circulate your thoughts on this conversation after the fact, you actually continue to release the hormones that activate your Sympathetic Nervous System which is why you can think about the conversation & similar feelings arise in your body. You are also continuing to shutdown the rest & digest [Parasympathetic Nervous System] part of your body. And guess what is not happening? Yup... resting, digesting, repairing, restoring, returning back to homeostasis or a more calm, stable state.

Basically, you might not be "stressed out" but simply circulating on thoughts that activate your Sympathetic Nervous System will drain you of energy. Where does this most commonly happen?!?!

Internally:
1. Incessantly replaying the past
2. Worrying about the future [you can consider the future, worrying is different] or something that has not happened
3. Complaining
4. Always seeing the danger or the worst
5. Trying to control what is out of your control
6. Over personalizing

Externally:
1. Violence, hatred or fear based content
2. Emotionally aggressive, closed off [having to be right] conversations
3. Complainers
4. Feeding drama, gossip or unproductive conversations
5. Constant or overstimulation
6. Sedentary, latent, or inactive
7. Only focusing on the external or things outside of yourself

How to recognize?
1. Immediate physiological signs extending beyond the event or conversation- racing heart, closing throat, rock in the stomach, headache
2. Reoccurrence- of thoughts, stories, limiting beliefs, interactions
3. Energetic or physical state of being literally drained at the end of the day or after an interaction
4. Follow up from 3. is to monitor or notice the "what" when you feel this way- what did you do, what did you talk about, read, consume
5. Sleep-ability, stressors can alter ability to fall asleep & stay asleep & the quality of sleep. When this happens, come back to the "whats" of the day or week

How to plug the holes that are draining your energy?
1. Moments of breathing or breath awareness during real time physiological reactions or intermittently throughout the day
2. Observe your internal dialogue & potentially re-route
3. Observe your external dialogue & notice its perspective, tone, & intention
4. Adjust your consumption- what you're reading, listening to, how much time on the news & social media- according to impacts on your energy level [I noticed this summer that the times I was spending more time consuming the news, I couldn't sleep at night. Stay informed while avoiding overconsumption or stimulation]
5. Be open & avoid having to always be right & fight to the death about everything, it will exhaust you. "Activism fatigue" is real, so save your energy for the cause you are passionate about & not everyday conversations. As Ron Burgundy says "agree to disagree"
6. Surround yourself with people who are the kind of person you want to be. This does not necessarily mean creating an echo chamber, think about the characteristics & values of the person
7. Make nourishing choices & habits- movement, sleep, fresh air, breaks, healthy foods, journal, pray, meditate
8. Embrace challenges & stressful moments as learning or growth opportunities instead of failure
9. Ask "is it really that important?"
10. Listen to what YOU are feeling, not others or the shoulds, & honor it
and ALWAYS practice gratitude, even when it's hard

As we head into the holidays & winter weather, we are more prone to a compromised immune system. I encourage you to consider some of these concepts to lower or mitigate additional stressors so that you can stay healthy. It is proven that we can make ourselves sick & you play a powerful role in that. Find ways to build yourself up, not break yourself down this time of the year... well, I think that statement stands for all times of the year.

This is an excerpt from my weekly newsletter Toolkit Tuesday. You can check out more Toolkit Tuesdays here or sign up to get them straight to your inbox here.