Psychological Causes of Chronic Mental Fatigue

Mental fatigue can affect any person at any point in life. It is the result of the brain being overworked. This occurs from studying for extended periods or working extended hours. Symptoms of mental fatigue include clumsiness, difficulty concentrating, difficulty recollecting information and making more mistakes than normal. These symptoms usually happen later in the day. Anything that causes the mind to focus continually, or anything that causes excessive stress, can result in mental fatigue. The only cure for mental fatigue is a decrease in mental activities.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

• ADHD is characterized as having problems with attentiveness, being overactive, displaying signs of impulsivity or a combination of them all. These problems don't always signal ADHD, so in order to be properly diagnosed, the symptoms presented must be out of the norm; this is especially true of school-aged children. Symptoms of ADHD include difficulty-making decisions, trouble following conversations and trouble concentrating. ADHD can cause disruption in just about every area of your life. People with untreated ADHD usually over-concentrate, thinking they just have a problem with concentration itself. Over-thinking in this way can lead to mental exhaustion.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

• GAD is a mental disorder that causes chronic anxiety and exaggerated worry, even when these feelings haven't been provoked by anything. Excessive worry and anxiety in this way keeps the mind overworking which leads to mental fatigue. Symptoms of this disorder are fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, muscle aches, twitching, irritability, hot flashes and sweating. GAD is most successfully treated with therapy, medication or a combination of both.

Depression

• Feeling sad or down in the dumps is a normal occurrence to experience at least at once in your life, and the feeling is usually short lived, but for some, depression can be a daily occurrence. When you have daily bouts of depression, this is called clinical depression. Signs of clinical depression include trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, fatigue or weakness, restlessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, change in appetite and withdrawal from normal activities. Sometimes people suffering from depression dwell on the issue that's caused them to be depressed. This inadvertently causes them to obsess over it. Not only will this cause mental fatigue, but it can also cause physical fatigue.

Stress

• From time to time, we all stress over things such as school, family and work, but this temporary stress usually subsides when the issue we're stressed about is resolved. In some cases, people become stressed to the brink of depression. When you're stressed, your heart rate increases, your breathing quickens and your blood is flooded with adrenaline. Your body reacting in this was repeatedly can not only lead to mental fatigue from the excessive worry, but it can also create many health problems such as heart disease, digestive issues, sleep problems, depression, obesity and autoimmune diseases.

Considerations

• Getting adequate treatment is key to resolving not only the mental fatigue but also the psychological condition. The conditions listed above are a few of the more common conditions that cause mental fatigue, but there are several more that can also cause this form of fatigue. Keeping a journal of your symptoms may be of great help to your physician when it comes to diagnosing and treating your condition.