The Instagram page with the passive-aggressive name iam.tired.ok is nearing 80k followers. Its description doesn’t say much and includes the same phrase “I am tired ok” with a yawning emoji alongside it. The profile picture shows a sleepy woman rubbing her eye making us realize that we also could use some relaxation time.
The posts on this account vary in theme, but all of them have a meme format. Most of them fall into the theme of being tired, but some of them show the struggles of being productive, getting stressed, being an overthinker and not having your life together as you should as an adult.
While the memes are fun, the message behind them is quite serious and reflects the terrifying reality of getting tired and exhausted just from living. There is an actual term for it and it is called emotional exhaustion.
It is defined on Healthline as “a state of feeling emotionally worn-out and drained as a result of accumulated stress from your personal or work lives, or a combination of both. Emotional exhaustion is one of the signs of burnout.”
There are many symptoms, because every person experiences it differently. It can range from lack of motivation to headaches and even depression. The main reasons for emotional exhaustion are high-pressure jobs, pressure at school, having children, being homeless and poor, or living with a serious illness, among others, which are reflected in the memes of the Instagram account as well.
Because it is a state of mind, emotional exhaustion isn’t like a disease that can be treated with medicine, but with lifestyle changes instead. Like trying to avoid stressors, eating healthy, drinking less alcohol, exercising, getting enough sleep and practicing mindfulness.
Alice Boyes, Ph.D, the author of The Anxiety Toolkit and The Healthy Mind Toolkit, has six tips for people struggling with feeling overwhelmed by life.
She says that you shouldn’t think that something bad is happening to you because you deserve it and it’s just how the world is. Every decision you make takes you to a better or worse decision and sometimes it’s harder to recover from it than other times.
Another piece of advice that Boyes likes is by Dr. Fran Vertue, who said “Remind yourself that you’re doing what you can right now given the circumstances and your resources. Practice flexibility so that you can take advantage of opportunities for change.”
Dr. Boyes thinks that if you are feeling tired and fed up with everything, you shouldn’t try to treat fire with fire and work even harder, because it will just bring more problems and questionable ways of coping with them.
It could be hard to take time for yourself because you may feel like you need to find a solution to solve your problems because otherwise you won’t have a relaxing evening until then. But Dr. Boyes suggests to try and forget them for a moment anyway and focus on something that would enhance your mood.
Some people feel better when they have a consistent routine, so that is worth trying, as well as physiological self-soothing strategies, like “rolling up your sleeve and stroking your arm (releases oxytocin), gently rubbing your lips with one or two fingers, or the hand rubbing technique listed here.”
Being tired all the time, whether physically or mentally, shouldn’t be considered a normal state. While memes help to disconnect from your problems or relate with other people over them, it’s always wise to seek help and try out methods like a healthy diet to change the situation.
This said, do you relate to any of these memes? What do you personally do when you get sick and tired of everything and want to reset? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
