Dear Alice,
To the person in the story Always Tired. What this individual may have is a sleep disorder. You can get as much as you can get, be happy and healthy, and still be tired. It's a condition...
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Dear Alice,
I'm always tired. I get plenty of rest (at least eight hours a night), eat healthy, and exercise regularly. I went to my doctor and he took blood only to conclude that I am perfectly healthy. But every day, I am exhausted constantly to the point that it affects my everyday activities. Any suggestions as to what I can do?
Dear Reader,
Glad to hear you went to your doctor to investigate your chronic tiredness. You covered many of the bases that Alice would have suggested: sleep, diet, exercise, and blood tests that check for anemia, hypoglycemia, Epstein-Barr virus, mononucleosis, Lyme disease, and other serious energy-drainers. You might consider seeking a second medical opinion.
You did not mention your psychological health. Are you pleased with your home life, job, friends, mates, finances, etc? Even occasional and mild sadness, not to mention stress, can cause prolonged fatigue. Dysthymia, the clinical diagnosis for mild depression, is common and claims tiredness as one of its primary symptoms. Mild and more serious forms of depression affect millions of people of all ages in every career, financial bracket, and lifestyle. Unfortunately, only a fraction of depressed people seek help in the form of counseling and/or medication. For too long, this common and highly treatable disorder has been stigmatized by our society, and unfairly dismissed as moodiness and laziness.
You may not be "down and out" or depressed, but Alice thinks it's worthwhile for everyone to think about these issues now and then. Talking with a counselor can be useful.
At Columbia, Counseling and Psychological Services (x4-2468) provides this type of assistance. Elsewhere, you can get referrals from your primary care provider and/or HMO, the American Psychological Association, the National Association of Social Workers, or in the phone book under "psychologists," "psychotherapy," "psychological associations," or "social workers."
October 3, 2003
Dear Alice,
To the person in the story Always Tired. What this individual may have is a sleep disorder. You can get as much as you can get, be happy and healthy, and still be tired. It's a condition that can be treated with medication and sleep pattern recognition. But first you have to see a doctor who specializes in sleep studies, which also requires an over night stay at a sleep center — to see what type of sleep disorder you may have.