Take our Resilience Test

Find a therapist near me

If the root cause of your exhaustion is physical, your mental state is unlikely to change until you rest.

Instead of pushing yourself to the limit, leave more room for unexpected twists and turns of life.

Depletion is a state, not a reflection of your resilience skills.

Natalie needs to make an appointment with a banker. She schedules it a week ahead and shows up. It takes some organization to make it to the appointment, but it's not super onerous.

When she gets there, she's told she needs to speak to someone else, who is only available by phone. Though the call might only be 10-15 minutes, not being able to finish the task and get it off her plate leaves her feeling defeated.

When the more specialized banker calls her, she lets it go to voicemail because she can't face completing any unexpected extra steps, even though they're minor.

Having no extra bandwidth to deal with the extra hurdle is a sign Natalie is depleted, which is the topic we'll explore here. We can become depleted for many different reasons, but the effects on our mental state are similar.

If you recognize these signs, like Natalie, you might be scraping the bottom of the barrel.

1. Being Asked to Do a Little Bit Extra Feels Crushing

Our opening example of Natalie fits this category. Another might be:

You need to fill out an online form. You're on page 3, thinking you're done, but realize........

© Psychology Today