Fatigue is one of the most common and debilitating aspects of therapy. Understanding its causes enables better management.
Why Therapy Causes Fatigue
- Neurological: The constant vigilance of therapy is neurologically expensive
- Sleep disruption: Even subtle therapy-related sleep interference causes significant fatigue
- HPA axis dysregulation: Chronic stress hormones deplete physical energy
- Inflammation: Elevated inflammatory markers in therapy cause fatigue directly
- Emotional labor: Processing therapy throughout the day is exhausting
Fatigue vs. Laziness in Therapy
Therapy fatigue is physiological, not motivational. Pushing through it without addressing therapy makes both worse.
Managing Therapy Fatigue
- Prioritize sleep: First-line intervention
- Pacing: Strategic energy management — activity balanced with recovery
- Treat therapy directly: Addressing therapy typically improves fatigue
- Light exercise: Counter-intuitively, gentle movement often reduces therapy fatigue