Shift Work Fatigue – Can Your Mindset Give You More Energy?

If you’re a shift worker like me then the term ‘shift work fatigue’ is something you’d rather forget, or even better – eliminate completely.  Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent over 15 years as a shift worker having many fights with my alarm clock, so I know exactly what it’s like to feel tired all of the time and to have no energy. 

You see, as shift workers we work some pretty crazy hours and getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark is something that many of us consider to be “normal”. 

Hmmm.  Yes I guess we are a strange breed.  

But the enormity of shift work fatigue is not only apparent on our physical health which is somewhat easy to recognise, but it’s when our mental health is disturbed that shift work fatigue can become more prevalent, and potentially more dangerous. 

You see many studies have shown that there is a direct link between people working shift work and a high incidence of depression.  Now depression can come in many forms and if you’re particularly worried then you should really be seeking expert medical advice. 

But what I want to talk to you about today is a mild version, but potentially can lead to acute depression if you’re not careful. 

Let me share with you my own personal story to help explain. 

Three years ago my workplace underwent a massive change.  New management changed the dynamics of the workplace entirely and resulted in a third of my colleagues either quitting their job or resigning due to stress.  Now I worked for a huge organisation so those numbers were massive.  For myself, well I ended up in my doctor’s office in tears and close to breaking point. 

And this is when my doctor saved my life. 

She handed me a flyer which simply said “Change your life my changing your thoughts”.  Now when I read that I thought – “What the?”  But it wasn’t until I took that flyer home and read it more deeply, that I started to understand the concept of ‘Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’.  You see I had so many negative thoughts going through my head that they was making my shift work fatigue even worse then it should have been.  You see negative thoughts create negative energy which in turn, adds to your fatigue. 

So I got hold of any book I could on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or ‘CBT’ and started absorbing the contents like a mad woman.  I started to change my thinking and you know what started to happen?  My shift work fatigue became less apparent and I started to get my energy back.  I started to focus on all of the good things happening in my life instead of all of the negative ones. 

To this day I still thank my doctor for opening my eyes to the wonderful world of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and I’m no longer visiting her surgery in tears! 

If you’d like to learn some more handy ‘shift worker tips’ like beating fatigue, boosting your immune system and even losing weight then you can order my Free Report “Why Shift Workers Are So Tired, Unhealthy & Unhappy– And What YOU Can Do To Fix It!” at http://www.healthyshiftworker.com/  I hope you enjoy reading it because I really enjoyed writing it!