Models are working harder than ever before! We are making more content, doing more/longer live shows and spending more time on promotion and engaging with our fans.
With this level of work and pressure, it is natural to feel tired. Due to the current world climate, however, you may be experiencing something that seems different from tiredness. What you are experiencing may actually be fatigue.
What is fatigue?
There is a big difference between feeling tired/sleepy and fatigue.
Fatigue is a persistent feeling of being tired and unmotivated that does not get better with rest or any other lifestyle adjustments. When you have improved your sleep schedule, made sure you are drinking enough water, eating properly and kicked what stressors you can but you still feel like you are walking through wet concrete every day, this is an indication that it may be fatigue.
Fatigue is a difficult symptom to describe. I say it is a symptom because it usually is associated with other health conditions, rather than being a condition by itself. It affects your concentration, ability to think properly, manage your moods and just physically do things. These symptoms overlap with a lot of other health conditions so it can be difficult to get help and to manage it. People who have never experienced fatigue can write it off as just being tired and “if you slept more, you will feel better,” but a good night’s rest will not resolve fatigue like it will tiredness.
For many people, it is a very debilitating symptom that is misunderstood, even by medical professionals. Doctors who understand fatigue may use the Fatigue Assessment Scale to get an objective measure of how it affects you. Of note: I have suffered with fatigue for 30 years and saw this assessment tool for the first time in 2021!
Who experiences fatigue?
Fatigue is a symptom of stress, mental health conditions and viruses – such as COVID-19 and glandular fever. It is also an indicator of a wide range of other health conditions including:
— Anaemia (lack of iron in your blood)
— Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s Disease, coeliac disease and ulcerative colitis)
— Diabetes
— Multiple sclerosis
— Kidney and liver disease
For most people, it is something that creeps up after time and progressively becomes worse until it affects your ability to do things you used to be able to do easily. Many people who have had COVID report fatigue as being a lingering symptom that they just can’t seem to kick. As I mentioned, I have suffered with fatigue for decades due to my own health conditions, but I have become quite good at managing it and believe me, it can be managed.
Managing Fatigue
Good news… Fatigue can certainly be managed!
Firstly, consultation with your doctor or medical professional is vital to make sure any underlying conditions are treated and stabilised. Once that is done, and you have made whatever adjustments you can to your lifestyle, then try out my top tips for managing fatigue:
Pacing: This means working out exactly how much you can do on a given day and still be productive and comfortable. This is a process of trial and error, but once you work it out, it will make planning out your time much easier. For me, I can do a task in the morning, and a task in the afternoon/evening and keep a handle on my fatigue. I can attend one appointment a day, but anything over that will have me paying for it in the days ahead!
Naps: Or just, times when you can lay down and relax for a while can help keep fatigue under control. However, keep these short. One to two hours is a good amount of time to give you a recharge, but anything over that can interfere with your actual sleep schedule.
Exercise: It may seem counterintuitive, but when you are suffering from fatigue, too much rest results in a cycle where you require MORE rest. For me, short walks or getting some content made which requires physical effort really helps. But the key is to listen to your body; do as much as you feel you can without discomfort, then have a break.
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Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and has worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counseling for almost two decades. Contact Sequence via rem@ynotcam.com and visit her on Twitter at @remsequence.
Background header image via Unsplash here.
