About Brain Fatigue

Fatigue is common in various diseases. Physical fatigue occurs after physical exertion. Here, rest helps. Mental fatigue occurs in depression, is relatively constant, and is not significantly affected by rest. Mental fatigue occurs after mental exertion. Rest helps, but does not cure it.

Brain fatigue it is not a normal fatigue everyone can experience, but a profound exhaustion over months and years, sometimes lifelong. It may be prominent immediately after an injury or disease and often decline gradually. The degree of the fatigue and the time to restore the energy appears not to have any relation to the severity of the trauma or disease. Brain fatigue is common and can occur after a traumatic brain injury, mild or more severe, including concussion, after a stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack), in multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s disease, brain tumour, after a meningitis and encephalitis inflammation, but also in exhaustion disorder and in myalgic encephalomyelitis. (ME). People with rheumatic disease, which is a more widespread inflammation in the body, also often describe the symptoms clearly. In neuropsychiatric conditions, brain fatigue is also common. 

Brain fatigue is difficult to understand for those not affected and can easily be misinterpreted as laziness. Usually, the person often wants to do more than they can endure and it is difficult to realise and understand how much the activity level needs to be lowered in order for everyday life to work a little better.