To think my body gets run down way too easily?

[rundownallthetime]

My body seems to get run down from stress way too easily, even after just a normal week at work. Work is not particularly stressful and yet it seems every week on my first day off my body feels run down even though mentally I don't feel stressed.

There are tell-tale symptoms I always get when I'm run down e.g. boils, twitching eyelid, ringing in my ears, my gums hurt (?).

Does anyone else experience this? How do I make my body more resilient to stress?

I have no experience of this!

But, my first thing would be to take a daily multi vitamin. Maybe your body isn't getting the nutrients it needs from what you are eating. Also make sure you are eating your 5 a day, every day.

Me too. If you find a solution please share!

Has stressed become your normal so you don't recognize it any more? No advice apart from the usual. Sleep, take a dinner break both at work and at home on days off and use it to rest, healthy eating, vitamin pill, plenty of water. What do you do to relax and how often do you do it? Relaxation is a necessity to prioritize not a luxury to squeeze in if everything else is done. Stop running round after others unnecessarily eg if you're doing all the house chores. Don't exercise too much if you're run down, gentle things like walking is enough. The pandemic has caused everyone to be more stressed than usual I think, it hardly surprising you feel run down. Be kind to yourself, look after yourself like you would anyone else who was ill.

I would get your bloods checked, might be low B12 or low iron, mine was low and my dentist told me to get checked as my gums and tongue were very sore, i got tinnitus too

Yes. Me. I wish I had advice for you.

I wondered about anaemia/iron deficiency too - also, are you getting enough sleep?

I had this until I moved to a hotter country - now all of us are rarely ill.

Do you take a multivitamin? For the twitching try eating a banana and taking a multi. It’s either low potassium or magnesium (forget which one). I used to get this when working and too much partying (when I was young lol). And the banana be vitamin always sorted it/prevented it.

Do you wake looking after yourself a priority?

Daily vitamins, enough sleep, lots of water, healthy meals, regular exercise etc?

I do these things and I rarely feel run down anymore. I’m a single parent and I work FT for context. When I was married I used to get that run down feeling regularly because I always put myself and my needs last.

*make not wake!

I'm in my 20s with no children so my life is quite relaxed and selfish(!) I sleep 6-10 hours everyday, have 3 days off a week and don't do any vigorous exercise. My days off are usually spend watching Netflix and going on social media and going for walks so they're pretty relaxing?

I do work long 12 hour shifts hours for 3 days a week in a job that involves lots of standing and walking around (NHS) and I often skip at least one of my tea breaks everyday at work so sometimes I won't eat or drink anything from 7am to 4pm, would this make my body run down? I will make an effort to take all of my allotted breaks in future.

I will also start taking a multivitamin as per your suggestions. I am a vegetarian so I do worry that I'm not eating enough B12 or iron but have been tested for anaemia before and my levels were fine.

I find it frustrating because I almost feel betrayed by my body for having such a low resilience to stress when mentally I feel fine, but obviously I am stressed out but don't know why? Work is good, my colleagues are lovely, my manager is supportive and kind, etc.

Not eating from 7am till 4pm on random days isn’t great - your blood sugars must go haywire those days?
The lack of exercise for be a factor?
How often do you do something you really enjoy? It sounds like you work, watch TV, and go for the odd walk - if you find these fun things that’s great.

You say your iron levels were "fine" but do you know what they actually were? My GP suggested I go on low level iron for very similar symptoms as although my iron levels cane back within the "normal" range she said that actually the lower end of "normal" was actually often too low for women. As with a lot of things the reference is men. I feel soooo much better now

@Saz12

Not eating from 7am till 4pm on random days isn’t great - your blood sugars must go haywire those days? The lack of exercise for be a factor? How often do you do something you really enjoy? It sounds like you work, watch TV, and go for the odd walk - if you find these fun things that’s great.

Yes I get really hungry and grouchy at work. I will start bringing in more food. My lunch is also quite small (just a sandwich) and I think one sandwich to last me for a 12 hour shift isn't enough.

I don't really do things that I enjoy that often... I try to make the most of my days off but I'm finding it hard to find things to do that I enjoy that are allowed in current restrictions. In 'normal' life I would go to the cinema, theatre, restaurants, cafes, etc.

@JulietMadeChutney

You say your iron levels were "fine" but do you know what they actually were? My GP suggested I go on low level iron for very similar symptoms as although my iron levels cane back within the "normal" range she said that actually the lower end of "normal" was actually often too low for women. As with a lot of things the reference is men. I feel soooo much better now

No and now I think about it that was 5 years ago so I should probably get them checked again.

The issue is my complaints individually are quite minor but together, to me at least, they indicate that my body is run down. I always get the same set of symptoms all together and I can usually trace it to some kind of source of stress, however minor. I would feel silly going to the GP about the random collection of complaints I have (twitching eyelids, ringing in my ears, boils, acne, eczema flair ups) but I know my body and I know they are all because I'm run down but I don't know why. I feel like I get run down way too easily with just normal life stress.

I think you have to address the fundamentals, eat properly and get some exercise and take it from there.

I find that sometimes boredom can feel like being stressed or run down. Regular vigorous exercise may help as well - when I have a few months of not doing any (despite doing a fair but if walking) I just feel more tired and have less energy.

Between 6&10 hours sleep per night doesn’t sound consistent.

Your body needs good food, good sleep and good exercise, doesn’t sound like you are getting any of those things.

Also, to add, getting those three things build up resilience.

Are you under/overweight? Do you do regular exercise?

There’s a difference between mental stress and physical stress. Sounds to me that you are not feeling mental stress but don’t realise that your body is under a lot of regular physical stress. In your teens you can get away with that and not notice, but as you age, you have to learn to look after your body, or it will begin to have problems, as you’re now finding.

• Eat at least every six hours, some people (me!) need food every three hours. Avoid sugary stuff this will give you a blood sugar high followed by a blood sugar crash. Look for nutritious high energy food that breaks down slowly like oats/pasta salad. White bread not helpful. Avoid caffeine/alcohol.
• drink water at least every couple of hours.
• Take a daily multivitamin.
• Take your full breaks at work. Your employer didn’t schedule them to be kind, but because research shows that without breaks, employees get ill.
• If you’re on your feet a lot at work, sit whenever you get the chance. Heard the expression “a nurse never stands when she can sit, or sits when she can lie”?
• Make your sleep area as conducive as possible to deep sleep, you may be getting bad quality sleep. No screen just before bed; very dark room; plants (to give oxygen); not too hot/cold etc.
• Be in bed trying to sleep for 8 hrs a day.

If all that doesn’t help, ask the GP about your symptoms.

I take a B12 spray and found that really helped me, and I'm not vegetarian. I'd definitely give that a go.
I also take iron and vitamin d, exercise and eat pretty well now and hardly ever feel rundown or get ill.

Your body isn't getting run down easily. You're not looking after it.

I couldn't go from 7-4 without food or drink. I wouldn't even do 7-10 without a drink of water. You need to eat nutritious food, drink water and get some gentle exercise in. Once you've done that you'll know if there's a problem.

You can enjoy your work but still have stress! My
job is ace, busy, supportive team, amazing manager, genuinely rewarding work - but it’s busy and full on. So it can be stressful just because i’m taking i’m so much information and often working at pace. The lack of rests and breaks will be affecting you even if you are relatively chilled outside of work.

You should read this about the importance of rest and breaks for nurses - www.rcn.org.uk/-/media/royal-college-of-nursing/documents/publications/2018/february/pdf-006702.pdf?la=en

Not eating or drinking for hours on end will also stress your body. A lot of your symptoms can be explained by dehydration.

Have you been taking vitamin D every day throughout the winter? That's a must-do. You'll be deficient now if you haven't. People who are deficient report extreme tiredness, low moods and a rundown immune system.
Not eating for periods might actually be good for you as you aren't spiking insulin regularly. (See intermittent fasting). But it only works if you aren't drinking drinks with sugar and fuelling your body properly when you do eat.