I’ve been getting a bit fired up lately, and here’s why:
I am in a number of Facebook groups relating to my interests – a group for nannies, some entreprenuerial groups, a few parenting groups, etc.
Occasionally, in these groups, I will come across a question of someone asking for help with their low energy. They are struggling, as many of us do, and are looking for advice on how to feel better.
On one of these posts, I observed 100+ comments of suggestions: everything from essential oils to shakes, vitamins to water enhancers.
Some people did suggest a visit to the original poster’s doctor for testing (yes!)
But, not one suggested a sleep study.
This was disappointing to me. Why? Because I’ve been that person before. Begging for help. Anything. Looking for energy. Buying the vitamins, chugging the shakes, adding god knows what to my water to give me an extra kick. Getting tested at the doctor and coming back with everything being normal. And then still sleeping 15 hours with no relief.
Now – I am not knocking vitamins, shakes and water enhancers. They can be a great tool for people to feel better.
However, if you have been tired for a long time with no relief and have an underlying issue, there is absolutely nothing that those things can do for you. You have to address your baseline health issues (read: sleep disorders) to feel better.
Or – if you don’t have a sleep disorder – for the love of everything, get a sleep study to at least rule it out before you spend money on solutions that may or may not help.
I think one of the reasons that this is so hard for me to see is because, as women, low energy is always seen to be as our fault. It’s not a sleep disorder – it’s us. When complaining to my doctors in the past, my fatigue always seemed to be blamed on something that I was doing – working too much, being overweight, not eating well enough, having poor sleep hygiene, being depressed. The list could go on forever.
And yes, there are definitely things that we do that can cause fatigue. However, again, the root cause of my fatigue was something that WAS NOT MY FAULT. Something that, now identified and addressed, has increased my quality of life by SO MUCH. Something that wasn’t fixed by a protein shake.
I also see this phenomenon of women being blamed for their problems influence marketing a LOT.
“You ate crappy and gained weight, it’s YOUR job to fix this by buying THESE supplements.”
“YOU worked too much and effed up your adrenals, you have to purchase THIS drink to fix them.”
Again, taking personal responsibility for your health is important – but more important is getting proper care and diagnosis. Because there is likely more to it than something you’ve done to “cause it.” You may be suffering that, surprise, you cannot buy your way out of. It probably isn’t “all your fault.”
If you’re embarking on any kind of journey to increase your energy, please check in with a medical provider that you trust first and foremost. (If you don’t have one that you trust, look until you find one – they are worth their weight in gold!)
Life is more complex than we make it. Lots of our issues have many layers – it’s not just one thing that is keeping our energy low. Please keep this in mind as you go on your journey – and be kind with yourself.
