How to restore human energy and vitality

What are energy flows

Every living being is an integral energy system with seven centers (chakras). They support the performance and normal course of physiological processes, affect the emotional state and way of thinking.

What is affected by the amount of internal forces?

To perform this or that activity, you need to spend a certain amount of “power”. Even at rest, we need “recharge” to maintain the current level of physical and mental development. Depression and lack of joy arise where there is a decline in energy. Such a state of health leads to absent-mindedness, indifference, a narrowing of the range of interests and hobbies, and a lack of self-confidence. Often a person begins to feel that he has reached a dead end.

What is energy spent on?

If resources are leaking, then the integrity of the energy system has been compromised. This can manifest itself on four levels.

On physical

• Unconscious copying of the behavior of someone who is next to you and consumes your internal resources (is a “vampire”).
• Uncontrolled muscle tension, blocking.
• Chronic diseases, ailments accompanied by incessant pain.
• Energy-consuming positions (stooping, bodily looseness).

On the energy

• Thoughts that the unwanted state will always continue.
• Complaints about lack of strength.
• Staying in a confined space for a long time without going outside.
• Shallow breathing (exhalation is shorter than inhalation).

On the mental

• Self-examination, self-flagellation and self-criticism.
• Isolation from reality, immersion in dreams.
• Unhelpful rumination over past events or worries about the future.
• A "restless mind" jumping from one object to another and completely identifying itself with its thought processes.
• Unfinished, postponed tasks.
• Staying outside your zone of influence: talking about the weather, economics, politics.

On an emotional

• The predominance of aggression, pessimism, anger over other emotions.
• Unanswered questions regarding personal life.
• Conflicting goals and dreams.
• Psychological trauma.
• Internal conflicts, unhealthy addictions.
• Sleep problems and irregular routine.
• Negative reaction of loved ones to your behavior.

What are the reasons for the leakage of vital energy?

Photo: Pascal Bernardon/Unsplash Leah very accurately identified the state of half-charged batteries that worries her. This is a common problem, but it can manifest itself and be experienced in very different ways:

• Like laziness, procrastination, lack of motivation (“I really want to write a book, I know that this is important to me, but for some reason I can’t get to work”). • Like addictions and obsessions (“I get stuck on social networks, and if I block them, I find other sites or just start chewing on problems in my head”). • Like energy sucked out by someone or something (“when the boss comes, I can’t work all day afterwards - I don’t understand why, because he didn’t seem to yell...”). • Like increased distractibility (“there’s a lot of energy, but it’s dispersed into little things, and I can’t highlight the main thing and concentrate”).

The main sign of a hole: you seem to have a lot of energy, but regularly it turns out that you do significantly less than you intended. Sometimes you can partially trace what the day or week was exchanged for, but most of the leaks remain a mystery. Many people complain about insufficient willpower, poor motivation, problems with attention and other mental functions. Others blame “vampires” - those around them: a boss, co-workers, difficult clients, a demanding child or mother. But in reality... The causes of any energy leakage are unconscious, habitual feelings.

Let me explain. Every person has many feelings, the existence of which is hidden from him. These vague mixed feelings wander in our subconscious, occasionally breaking out and making themselves felt indirectly. We are not aware of most of our feelings, but this does not mean that unconscious feelings do not affect our lives. On the contrary, they influence, and very strongly.

Among the unconscious feelings there are many familiar ones, those that a particular person experiences more often than others. They appear unnoticed for the slightest reason and even almost without reason. It is into these experiences that our energy flows. If you learn to catch and become aware of some of your habitual feelings, you can also see energy holes.

Below we will get acquainted with some common habitual feelings that cause energy leaks.

Habitual grievance

Resentment is considered to be a childish, infantile, shameful feeling of a weak person. Therefore, many do not want to admit to themselves that they often experience resentment. In fact, the habitual resentment button sometimes turns on for each of us. The situations in which she gets stuck can be very different.

•••

Lydia has a hard time experiencing the ingratitude of her own family, for whom she did a lot. Now, while helping people, Lydia does not feel any energy boost from this activity: she already experiences the usual resentment that no one “will even say thank you to her.”

Ruslan is afraid to meet girls because he doesn’t want to experience rejection. His profile on the dating site says: “Those who just want to make fun, please go through the forest!” These words are clearly dictated by habitual resentment. Instead of feeling interested and excited about meeting new people, Ruslan experiences a decline in energy.

•••

Your energy often goes into habitual resentment if you:

• have a habit of mentally justifying yourself, arguing, explaining, proving, chewing on the situation; • often compare yourself with others and find that you are underestimated, that you are entitled to a better lot than you currently have; • be angry with a person or community in advance, expecting misunderstanding, indifference, hostility or ridicule from them, and avoid communication for these reasons.

Habitual Shame

This is also a very common feeling that drains energy into a hole. Often habitual resentment and habitual shame are mixed into one offensive and shameful feeling: everyone is bad, they don’t love me, and I myself am unworthy and pathetic.

Russian culture generally encourages shame. We are brought up with shame, we willingly shame each other - grossly and subtly, directly and indirectly. As a result, almost all the most important areas of human existence are associated with habitual shame: sex and physicality, achievements and creativity, parenthood, health, age, relationships with money, hierarchical interactions.

Almost all of us have situations in which we experience habitual shame:

• we seem unworthy, “not like that,” unnecessary; • tend to fear in advance that a particular person or group of people will consider you incompetent, not fit enough and rejected; • we compare ourselves with others not in our favor according to any parameters.

•••

Andrey was often laughed at at school and university. Therefore, he painfully experiences any possibility of rejection. When his letter is not answered for a long time, Andrei begins to feel that he is “not what he should be,” and his habitual shame instantly turns on. Instead of just waiting, Andrey unconsciously tries to avoid shame, forget about it and procrastinate. Energy is wasted.

Lisa is ashamed of her body. Any mention of revealing clothes, beaches, swimming pools, any situations in which she may not look the way she would like, causes Lisa to have an attack of shame and automatic thoughts in which she scolds herself. Of course, this self-flagellation takes a lot of energy.

•••

Feelings of habitual shame are often accompanied by thoughts in which we inappropriately generalize our bad traits and devalue our good ones:

"I always…"

“I never have anything...”

"I'm just a loser."

“They praise me, but they just don’t know that I’m actually worthless.”

And it's simple:

“I have a fat ass” (which outweighs and cancels out all the good things I’ve done or have).

Habitual anxiety

This is a very understandable and also well-known energy leak. Sometimes it is easier to detect than a habitual resentment.

•••

Masha is afraid to fly on airplanes. She doesn't usually fly, but in August she faces an imminent flight to and from the US. Despite the fact that it is only April, Masha has already begun to worry, and this anxiety takes a lot of energy from her.

Vitaly passed a test that can confirm or refute the unpleasant diagnosis. The results will come after seven days, and Vitaly knows that during these seven days he will not be able to work at full capacity.

•••

But there are also less obvious cases: some of us are very good at hiding our anxiety from ourselves, making it completely unconscious. Perhaps it is habitual anxiety that is eating up your energy if you:

• hate to rest and pause, strive to fill the whole day with useful activities; • for some reason you can’t sit still, although your mood is not high, you feel like walking, it’s difficult to concentrate.

You can catch anxiety if you learn to check muscle tension. Often a person in hidden chronic anxiety pinches and raises his shoulders, involuntarily straining his back muscles. The voice becomes higher, speech speeds up. The ability to catch and become aware of your hidden anxiety can help you find this energy hole.

Publisher: Alpina Publisher

Habitual irritation

We almost never recognize the feeling of habitual irritation. If a person begins to realize that the hole in his energy is located precisely in this area, then he usually says:

“I fuss too much and waste my life on trifles.”

“I have so many responsibilities that I just can’t think of anything else.”

“My life is too chaotic, I need to organize everything properly.”

Metaphorically, this state of habitual irritation can be described as a cloud of midges that a person must constantly brush away. For example, feminists believe that the woman in the family usually bears a greater mental burden than the man. This means that even if a man is ready to help her, the woman still has to remember and tie together all the little things to ensure the life of the family (logistics, education and treatment of children, caring for things, home). It is on this, and not on actually doing housework, that most of her energy is spent (and women, as a rule, also work).

Of course, the feeling of habitual irritation does not only occur in women. The feeling of constant bustle, whirlwind, squirrel wheel, cobwebs, inconvenience or lack of freedom that you experience in life is a habitual irritation. Actually, irritation is a feeling that does not reach anger; it occurs when you feel inconvenience, discomfort, frustration and cannot get rid of its cause.

A habitual irritation may have very simple start buttons, especially if there is not much energy in principle. Let us remember the previous chapter about asthenics. Sometimes irritation can turn on and energy can drop simply because in winter you have to dress warmer and wear heavier clothes.

“The Princess and the Pea” feels the usual irritation from little things, but the energy of an insanely busy workaholic can flow into the same hole.

Habitual helplessness, or the Dragon is near

This familiar feeling is very familiar to you if there is a person or people next to you who suck energy from you. For example, a boss who quietly devalues ​​the fruits of your labor. Or a couple of colleagues laughing behind their back. Or an older relative who can ruin your mood with one phone call.

In fact, they are not the ones sucking your energy. Energy is spent on those familiar feelings that arise when communicating with these people. As I once put it, “There are no energy vampires, but there are dragons.” I call dragons people with whom you almost always find it difficult. When communicating with a dragon, you constantly dodge so that it does not burn you or eat you.

Dragons are different: angry, devaluing, passive-aggressive (such a dragon can be destructively silent for three days, while you rage in a vain attempt to get in touch with it) and others. The dragon always evokes intense feelings in you: anger, anxiety, and ultimately helplessness, because there is nowhere to escape from the dragon, and it is exhausting. It’s into these feelings, like a hole, that your energy goes.

Habitual desire for quick rewards

Strictly speaking, this is not a feeling, but I added it to the list of energy holes because it is what those who complain about laziness and procrastination most quickly discover in themselves.

The mechanism is simple. Our brain needs to regularly feel a sense of satisfaction with what we have accomplished. But when you do difficult work, the feeling of satisfaction can be delayed for a long time. If at the same time we are also full of other familiar feelings that cause us discomfort, the situation becomes critical, and the brain begins to look for the usual quick ways to get the necessary substances. These methods can be: food (especially sweet), tea and coffee, alcohol, receiving and processing simple content (social networks, videos, TV series).

This is how addictions and obsessions arise and intensify, especially dependence on gadgets. The brain simply cannot choose “more complex foods” because it needs quick pleasure that it will not waste energy on. Gradually, he becomes unaccustomed to more complex methods of obtaining satisfaction, always preferring simple dopamine buttons (by talking only about dopamine, I am greatly simplifying, but here I do not set myself the task of exhaustively explaining the neurophysiological mechanism of what is happening).

This is similar to the problem that young guys came to me with when I was a sexologist. Their erections from masturbation to porn were much more persistent, because in ordinary sexual interaction with a partner it is difficult to achieve the same degree of intensity of sensations and quick satisfaction. The brain chooses a guaranteed path to the goal.

If we are not talking about sex, but about work and leisure, then it turns out that the abundance of habitual “energy-intensive” feelings leads us to the fact that our brain does not have enough energy to choose complex activities and wait a long time for satisfaction. The reward must be immediate, otherwise we begin to experience frustration, our holes open and energy flows away even faster.

How to restore the energy of the human body in 5 minutes

By understanding what exactly is sucking positive emotions out of you, you can quickly get rid of this problem and begin to replenish internal losses.

Returning energy balance at the physical level

• Take care of your body. Consult a doctor and eliminate illnesses, give up bad habits, switch to proper nutrition, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, create a harmonious daily routine.
• Cleanse your body of clutter. Drink herbal infusions selected by specialists, go on a healthy diet.
• Learn to relax. Avoid excessive tension in your muscles: relax, meditate, go to the sauna.
• Take up yoga and eastern practices that will help restore energy to higher levels.

On the astral level

It is associated with the emotional sphere. Negative sensations deprive the body of valuable resources, while positive ones, on the contrary, attract it. To feel good, you should maintain an optimistic attitude in any situation, develop positive thinking, and work with psychological trauma from childhood. Eliminate embittered, aggressive, always dissatisfied, envious people from your environment, and be open and friendly yourself.

On an ethereal level

To fill yourself with energy, follow some of the following rules:

• Take care of your health and give up bad habits.
• Cleanse your body of harmful substances - waste, toxins.
• Relax your body as much as possible.
• Do gymnastics, yoga or other eastern practices.

How to restore clarity of thinking and memory?

Answered by Rustam Nabiullin, neuropsychologist at the Three Sisters clinic

One of the most common complaints of those who have had Covid is cognitive decline

: concentration decreases, memory weakens, so-called brain fog appears. Research confirms that after illness, people solve logical problems worse.

There may be several reasons for this. Firstly, general asthenization

after the shock that the body experienced. We are talking about rapid fatigue - both physical and emotional. In addition, the person becomes more sensitive to stimuli.

The second reason is psychological difficulties. Any sudden change for the worse is a loss that must be experienced and grieved. Since losing something is painful, our psyche can repress the stress we have experienced, and this interferes with its processing. Other circumstances may also interfere: for example, lack of visible progress and overprotection from relatives. As a result, the situation may reach the point that in psychiatry they call adaptation disorder

.

Sometimes the causes of cognitive problems are physiological: oxygen deficiency during illness can cause organic damage to the brain.

For rehabilitation to be effective, it is first necessary to find out what the cause of cognitive difficulties is: weakness, psychological problems or organic damage. It often happens that there are several reasons at once.

What to do?

If you or your loved ones notice that your memory has deteriorated, it has become more difficult to concentrate, and mood swings, on the contrary, have become more frequent, you can first get diagnosed by a neuropsychologist

. During a clinical conversation and a series of tests for various mental indicators, the specialist will be able to draw a picture of what is happening and give appropriate recommendations: for example, train memory with the help of external supports (schedules, tips, reminders); clearly differentiate between work and rest time in order to concentrate effectively and have time for recovery, and so on.

• Useful exercises for restoring cognitive functions
  can be found on the websites Cognifit, NeuroNation and Vikium.
• If the difficulty lies primarily in the emotional sphere, then it is worth contacting a psychotherapist or psychiatrist
  : regular work with emotions with the support (if necessary) of anti-anxiety medications or antidepressants can bring greater balance and self-confidence.
• Neuroplasticity (the brain's ability to restore lost functions) and physical recovery can be stimulated by aerobic exercise
  . If you exercise for half an hour a day, cognitive functions, including spatial thinking and short-term memory, improve. Proven by research.
• It is worth taking walks through difficult terrain
  . You can walk in the forest or along city streets. At the same time, it is important to frequently change direction, step over obstacles, and maneuver among static and moving objects (people on the street, for example). But the main thing is, as far as possible, to rely on your own knowledge and memory. This way we improve the process of recording and reproducing information, the ability to adapt to changing conditions and increase self-confidence.

Clinic " Three Sisters "

specializes in recovery from serious illnesses: strokes, head injuries, spinal injuries, oncology.
And with the beginning of the pandemic - and after COVID-19. You can sign up for rehabilitation or sign up a loved one on the clinic’s website or by phone. For Reminder readers, there is a 10% discount
on the first course of rehabilitation under a comprehensive program until the end of 2021. To do this, you need to tell the manager that you read this article on our website.

How to renew human energy: energy cleansing

There are many ancient cleansing rituals using the elements. And today we can observe manifestations of these tools: for example, cleansing in an ice hole on Epiphany and jumping over a fire on the night of Ivan Kupala. But we live in the modern world. Try the following methods

Water

The easiest way to get rid of negative energy. Bathing helps restore inner harmony and balance. A morning shower will invigorate and fill you with strength, and an evening shower will help you relax and prepare your body for quality sleep.

Cleaning with salt

Fill a ceramic or clay container with salt crystals and place it next to the bed you sleep on. During the night, all the negativity accumulated during the day will go away, and your rest will be more complete. Periodically you need to change the contents of the dish by dissolving it in water or burying it.

How to restore the body's energy balance: cleansing with a candle

Fire will rid the room of negative energy. To do this, you should go around each room one by one with a lit wax candle. The space needs to be walked clockwise around the perimeter, paying special attention to the corners. The wax will smoke and crackle in those places where there is a particularly unfavorable energy clot.

To get rid of negative emotions, sit in front of the flame and watch it until the wick burns completely. To clear the energy of another person, position yourself behind him. Move the heat source, moving from the tailbone up and drawing circles. As soon as you hear a crackling sound, stop in this area and wait until the light becomes smooth and clean again. Once you reach the top of your head, repeat the procedure twice.

"Cylinder" technique

Imagine yourself in such a geometric figure without a bottom and without a lid, into which the energy of a pleasant greenish color enters from above - the shade of life. It fills the body from the heels to the crown. Feel warm, calm, confident.

How to save energy for what is important?

Answered by Elena Grigorova, senior occupational therapist at the Three Sisters Clinic

After Covid, a person quickly gets tired and moves uncoordinated. Even routine tasks like cleaning or washing his hair are difficult for him. Difficulties are associated not only with muscle weakness, but also with disorders of the brain. Memory and concentration decrease. Intellectual tasks to which a person is accustomed suddenly turn out to be difficult.

It's important to remember this - here's why. If a person does not take into account that now his strength is running out quickly, then he overloads himself - and his well-being deteriorates sharply. If you cook dinner and watch TV at the same time, as you did before, you may become distracted, fail to coordinate your actions, and get injured. To return to your previous lifestyle, you need, on the contrary, to give yourself time. And - to develop a behavior strategy that conserves energy and does not take it away.

An occupational therapist can help with this.

. This is a specialist in restoring a wide variety of skills: social, household, work, motor skills - in those people whose activity has been impaired due to illness. First, the occupational therapist studies how the person lived before Covid and determines what restrictions exist now. Then it helps a person organize their life as close as possible to the usual, but taking into account these restrictions. And also - to preserve the most important activities for a person that inspire him.

What to do?

After Covid, the load should be light or moderate, but never heavy, otherwise regression will occur. Therefore, it needs to be adequately assessed. At the Three Sisters Clinic, patients are taught to use the Borg scale

: Actions are assigned points according to energy consumption. 6 points - does not require effort, 7-10 points - light load, breathing is normal or slightly deeper, and the muscles, if tense, are slightly tense. But 11–13 points is when breathing is rapid and deep, muscle work is felt, and the person is sweating. After recovery from Covid, all actions should be easy, 6-10 points. Only when light and moderate exercise no longer causes shortness of breath, does not increase heart rate and reduces saturation, can you begin tasks for 11–13 points.

Until this happens, for tasks worth 11–13 points you need to come up with an energy-saving way to complete them

. First of all, it is important to breathe correctly: do not hold your breath when doing something. If an activity causes shortness of breath, inhale before making an effort, and then exhale during the effort. Inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth, softly and with slightly elongated lips, as if you were blowing soap bubbles or extinguishing a candle.

It is also worth following the principle of the three “Ps”

: gradualism, planning and priority. This principle was proposed by British organizations: Critical Care Forum, Royal College of Occupational Therapists and Yorkshire Fatigue Clinic.

Gradualism.

If you break down an activity into smaller tasks, it will take less energy. After quickly climbing stairs, you may experience shortness of breath, and the next day you may feel very tired. But if you climb five steps, give yourself 30 seconds to rest, walk another five, rest again - there will be no shortness of breath, and no fatigue.

Planning.

There was plenty of time to rest between two energy-intensive tasks. If you do interval training in the morning, then breathing exercises should be postponed until lunch, and a walk in the park until the evening. The same goes for weekly planning: meeting with friends and studying English on different days. Try keeping a fatigue diary: record the time when you are tired and analyze what caused it. It’s worth planning not only time, but also space: everything you need should be at hand and always in one place.

Priority.

Which actions are urgent, which can be postponed until another day, and which can be completely delegated to others? You can ask relatives to buy groceries to save energy on what is really important. For a walk with the dog, for example.

An ergotherapist at the Three Sisters clinic helps restore everyday skills