I find if I have a busy day coming up, such as a family event, then I do not get fatigue on that day - or at least I do not notice having fatigue on that day.
I have read other people saying they have the same experience.
does anyone know why this happens? (it feels like at some inner level my brain parks the brain and/or body repair work (which includes the fatigue pattern), because there’s just too much other stuff going on that day?)
(I am wondering if I could fool myself into thinking that everyday is a busy day and thus have no fatigue!)
thanks very much for any thoughts - no matter how apparently wacky… may give a clue…
I had the same thing, when I went to work I could push through it and the symptoms seemed to be less as I was busy but if I was on day off I couldn’t walk to the end of the drive without fatigue kicking in , hypnosis maybe, strange one but none the wiser.
Personally speaking, I find the fatigue kicks in indeed when I am generally gearing down after eating lunch in the brief moment my brain doesn’t have an obvious [now THIS is what I have to do next] mentality running for example or after coming home from work.
Perhaps a bit like with having a cold? I find that also kicks in after you let your guard down after a stressful period. And that I believe is because the body needs to be able to focus on the illness and the symptoms are more the body starting to put up a fight than the illness itself.
Like a fever for example. We get a fever because the body starts fighting. It’s not the illness that causes the fever so much as the body itself turning up the temperature to fight harder. Similarly I guess we cough as a reaction to irritation, we sneeze to clear the nose etc.
The fatigue I suppose could be the body saying [okay we’re getting spread out rather thinly at the moment, fire up the warning bells to have more butter brought over.] We feel tired in order to start resting. I guess ultimately we can only blame out own self defense mechanisms if that is indeed the case. But I suppose they are doing it for good reason.
I think everyone has a different notion of Fatigue.
My definition of fatigue, physical and/or mental, is weakness and loss of coordination --e.g. when I start to trip over my own legs when walking.
I guess it’s complicated. I’m not sure anyone really understands what has happened when a normal-size person somehow finds the strength to lift up the car with the injured pedestrian under it, or the pilot safely lands an airliner so damaged that no one is ever able to achieve the same thing in the flight simulator. Sometimes there just an extra gear we didn’t know was there and had no right to expect. We notice it most in emergencies, but I guess the potential is always there.
I just had a good example; was visiting mother, then a friend for lunch, then grandchildren in a busy day, with lots of driving also; no fatigue. I’m sure it wasn’t that I was just ‘not noticing’ fatigue because I was focused and busy on other things; - rather I just was not feeling any of those fatigue effects that I know so well.
thanks Driath. I think along similar lines to you. When the body decides it can’t focus on repair, it does not activate those systems. It’s like there is ‘another human’ inside us, pulling the levers. Very very weird, but that seems to be what happens.
Hi there, This happens to me, and I’m so glad it does. I am wheelchair bound and if I’m just sitting around my home (effectively doing nothing) I tire very easily and for me it manifests itself as me slumping forward in my wheelchair, not able to lift up my head and torso. But the minute a day out with the family is organised or recently I attended a concert. I feel great, no slumping etc. I put mine down to the pure joy and happiness it brings to be in the company of my family and good friends. It’s the best medicine for fatigue there is. Looks like that’s what your busy family days brings you too. Regards, Christine
Something very encouraging or invigorating that lifts your spirits would definitely also dispel feelings of fatigue I would imagine yeah. I could see the adrenaline of exercise having an effect too (with revenge hitting afterwards probably).
That at least I struggle with a little. If I manage to go jogging a little around noon, I am all but lying on the floor like a dead fish for the rest of the day, for example.
Especially if as you mention you are essentially trapped somewhere all alone with nothing to brighten your spirits, and then boom here comes a family outing or somethind finally, that’d feel like a massive energy burst I would think.