Are you suffering from hyper-fatigue? As experts say it's the new epidemic, the signs to look out for... and when doctors say you need to seek help

Are you suffering from hyper-fatigue? As experts say it's the new epidemic, the signs to look out for...

and when doctors say you need to seek help By Etan Smallman Published: 11:55, 27 August 2024 | Updated: 11:55, 27 August 2024 e-mail View comments Modern life can frazzle the best of us. A survey by YouGov found that one in eight Brits 'exist in a state of constant exhaustion', and a quarter feel tired most of the time. Another poll found that 55 per cent of us describe ourselves as 'hyper-fatigued' – a phrase that originated from a 2023 trends report by the market research firm Mintel, and related to consumers being bombarded by too much information.

'The pandemic, rising cost of living , energy crisis, geopolitical unrest and climate crisis are taking their toll,' it warned. But when does fatigue become a medical matter? And what can you do about it? Here are some questions to consider..

. WHAT IS FATIGUE? Vincent Deary, professor of applied health psychology at Northumbria University and author of How We Break: Navigating the Wear and Tear of Living, says: 'One way to think about fatigue is as a physical, emotional and/or mental response to either too much demand or reduced capacity. It's a signal that things are too much.

' Fatigue is different to tiredness, which usually goes away with sleep, and is seen as a physical, emotional and/or mental response to either too much demand or reduced capacity GPs opt for the term 'TATT', or 'tired all the time', rather than 'hyper.