Did you Know: The Chronic Fatigue Epidemic is a Symptom of a Dis-eased Zietgeist?
“No man can surpass his own time, for the spirit of his time is also his own spirit” – Georg Hegel
Nearly everyone struggles with being overtired and feeling overworked at some point. For too many of us, life is full of pressure. We are struggling to cope with extraordinary levels, managing constant floods of information and demands, and loosing time for pleasure. A large proportion of our population is feeling tired and stressed out, and wants to know why! The relaxed lifestyle of our ancestors, now for most doesn’t exist. Most are not even aware of how much stress they are under. Over the last century lifestyles have changed drastically, but human bodies have not. We had created technologies to assist us in doing things in less time, such as laundry, dishes, transportation, communication, etc. yet we have less time. The fast paced lifestyle of our current culture has health, prosperity, and productivity consequences. The epidemic of chronic fatigue is perhaps a reflection of how our bodies are not adapted to the increasing demands of the current cultural conditioning and economics.
Could it be that the chronic fatigue epidemic is a symptom of the population shutting down, wearing, and maxing out with the current Zietgeist (spirit of the age and time). “When we judge our worth by how busy we are, we start to believe that if we are not busy, we’re not worthwhile” (Christine Carter, PhD at Berkley). When it comes to adrenal fatigue, burnout, and the myriad of diagnosis related to fatigue, the integrative prescription is rest, slow down, unshackle yourself, become your own health advocate, and maybe even tolerate some discomfort and courage to follow your passion, purpose, and talents.
Diagnosed fatigue is defined as a constant state of exhaustion, which over time diminishes energy, and mental capacity. There are so many things that can cause fatigue, thus it becomes a challenge for primary care providers to investigate and find treatment. Fatigue is not normal, yet most of us are experiencing it. Too many choices, too many decisions, overbooked times, poor nutrition, pervasive toxins, overuse of stimulants, poor stress management, prolonged stress, poor sleep qualities, hormones, addictions, etc. Perhaps, what is required is magic. Magic is a shift in perception, which can inspire new paradigms of behavior and Zeitgiest.
Many health care professionals even reference fatigue as a mental illness making it difficult for patients seeking care. This common approach supports people in pushing through their symptoms, even feeling embarrassed communicating the experience “fatigue.” Most patients feel that they just get a whole bunch of scorn from Doctor’s when they mention fatigue, or a whole bunch of brain altering pharmaceuticals! Several reports state that some Doctors are skeptical that fatigue diagnostics even exist. Many believe that fatigue is a mental illness, which can be even more discouraging for patients, as we are being manipulated to believe that we should push through it and ignore our symptoms. Perhaps it is not a mental, or physical issue, rather a spiritual issue? And perhaps, it is not a symptom of an individual dis-ease, but a symptom of a cultural dis-ease/dis-connection. What are our bodies trying to communicate to us?
Fatigue may be traceable to habits and routines. Habits and routines can become the enemies of time. Take a moment to seek, to see ,and admit the truth about ourselves, and our roles in creating our own problems, individual and Universal. We can live now the causes to create the effects we truly desire for our lives.
