Expert warns of risks of chronic fatigue in pre-holiday season

Anatoly Sakharov, head of the Clinical Narcology Department of the National Scientific Center for Narcology - a branch of the V.P. Serbsky National Medical Center for Psychiatry and Narcology of the Russian Ministry of Health. Anatoly Sakharov told Izvestia on December 26 about how to distinguish ordinary fatigue from chronic fatigue in the pre-holiday period.

Sakharov notes that in the case of pathological fatigue, a person can no longer tolerate previously habitual loads, recovery after rest also does not occur. A person, in addition to the feeling of fatigue and lack of feeling of rest, may additionally worry about sleep disorders, changes in appetite, mood swings in the form of lability with tearfulness or irritability, vegetative manifestations - headaches, dizziness, sweating, palpitations.

In addition, there may be a feeling of decreased memory, absent-mindedness, lack of motivation. Sometimes there may be hypersensitivity to loud sounds, bright light, touch. For this condition there is a special term - asthenic syndrome.

According to the specialist, in the pre-holiday days it happens that there is a so-called functional asthenia - a temporary reaction of the human body to increased stress, including psychoemotional. It is reversible, but completely passes after a long rest.

"Of course, the causes of asthenia are many. The main thing is to exclude somatic causes, when the cause of such a condition is a disease or psychological problems. In such cases, you need to contact a doctor in time, who will help to timely prescribe examinations and treatment," - summarized Sakharov.

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Earlier, on December 24, Maria Ignatieva, psychoanalytical psychotherapist, head of support service "Yasno" told "Izvestia" about how to prevent burnout in the run-up to the New Year. According to her, getting up in the morning and checking e-mail or social networks first thing in the morning is not the best way to start the day. It's important to take small pauses to restore energy.