Feeling Tired?

Many people today complain of feeling tired for long periods (usually greater than six months), even when getting plenty of rest. It’s a difficult thing to suffer from, since there is no “disease” that can be readily blamed for this chronic tiredness or fatigue. Also the sufferer of chronic fatigue gets little or no sympathy from the people around him or her, and it’s usually her with this condition. Women seem to get this very real condition more than men and frequently suffer in silence.

The constant battle to overcome this fatigue, often with little or no improvement, can cause the sufferer to become low-spirited or even occasionally depressed. Depression can be a cause of tiredness, but it can also be an outcome of this condition.

What causes chronic tiredness? The causes are many and wide-ranging. Here I will look only briefly at a few of the primary ones.

The main cause, I have found, is a combination of overwork, stress and a poor diet. Generally, in women looking after a home, holding down a full-time job and giving birth all combine to weaken their nervous and endocrine systems, which leads to chronic tiredness.

In certain individuals, anxiety or depression in itself can be a cause of fatigue. Certain diseases in themselves can lead to tiredness e.g. rheumatic arthritis and many other auto-immune diseases. Your GP will normally give you a blood test if you complain of chronic fatigue. This will rule out any auto-immune diseases like low thyroid function, which can also cause chronic tiredness. But if no “diseases” are found, then what? In these cases, Herbal Medicine can often help insomnia (not being able to get or to stay asleep) can be eased with Valerian, if taken for a number of weeks. In certain types of insomnia, it may be necessary to take a tonic along with the Valerian, for example, Korean Ginseng.

If fatigue combines with poor digestive function, like loose stools, bloating, nausea and not being able to eat heavy, fatty foods, then Korean or Siberian Ginseng and Liquorice will often help.

If a person is very run down with feelings of dizziness or light-headedness and no stamina, then using Spirulina or Bee Pollen, together with Astragalus and/or Korean Ginseng, will often, over time, give them their strength back.

If stress and anxiety are a major factor in fatigue, then Passionflower is excellent. If depression and fatigue combine, then Rhodolia is great for strengthening the whole nervous system.

Sometimes toxic overload can block your energy due to your body storing too many waste products collected over many years in many cases; using a De-tox Herbal formula helps the body flush out the toxins which can give you a real lift.

In the past, before deep-freezers and refrigerators, each spring all over the world people had a Herbal de-tox to clear out many waste build-ups stored over the long winter of eating preserved foods.

Finally, it is always wise to look into chronic fatigue with your GP or Herbalist before self-prescribing in order to rule out any known illness.

David Foley

MNIMH, MRCHM

Medical Herbalist