What exactly is fatigue?
Is there an agreed upon medical definition of fatigue?
Is fatigue a medical condition?
Or, is it the symptom of another condition.
Fatigue, in its most general sense, is the difficulty or inability to initiate activity. This tends to appear three ways:
- A sense of weakness.
- An inability to take part in activities.
- Difficulty with concentration, memory, and emotional stability.
Some of you will have a combination of the above symptoms. Others will have just one. Fatigue may be the illness unto itself. Or, it could be a symptom in connection with another medical condition.
That is to say that fatigue can be both a symptom and a cause. This is what makes treating it so challenging! Whether fatigue is your illness or its a symptom of another condition, this course will help you to increase your energy.
Fatigue can also be further classified depending on how long it occurs. The three types of fatigue based on length of time they occur include:
- Acute Fatigue – Fatigue lasting one month or less.
- Subacute Fatigue – Fatigue lasting between one and six months.
- Chronic Fatigue – Fatigue lasting more than six months.
Fatigue Stats
Conservative estimates put one in three doctors visits are due to fatigue. And if you’re reading this, I imagine you are one of the three.
Population-based surveys done in the USA and Great Britain found that 6-7.5% of the population experiences fatigue on a regular basis. In the United States alone, that’s nearly 23 million residents experiencing fatigue.
Nearly 40% of Americans feel fatigued at least once over a two week period of time. Fatigue alone is suspected to cost employers $136 billion in lost work time or productivity.
Even more alarming, fatigue holds you back from pursuing that which brings meaning and purpose to your life. When you’re fatigued, it takes all your effort to keep your head above water. Completing daily tasks can consume all of your energy. This leaves no energy left for the pursuit of your passions.
It is my personal belief that there is something special inside of you. Something that needs your time and energy invested into it. When this is done, you’ll flourish. It will bring purpose and meaning to your life.
For some, this could be making music. For others, it could be playing sports. Right now you might be too tired to even consider something as frivolous as purpose. This course will help you overcome fatigue. And it will serve as your initial step into the exploration of what brings meaning and purpose into your life.
Let’s get going.