Many of us suffer from unacceptable levels of tiredness as a result of a life style in which far too many demands are made on us. Our whole physiology is so geared up towards pushing ourselves, even though we might be Ôrunning on emptyÕ and do not know how to be idle, just ticking over. Our nervous system is kept on alert all the time, since the only means to get fuel in our depleted state is by keeping our nervous system keyed up, as if we are in a state of emergency. This is the kind of pit-stop fuel that we get from drinking lots of coffee or eating food that is high in fats and sugars, which gives us a quick buzz of physical energy by raising our blood sugar.

This is very different from the kind of energy that flows from and in us when we are feeling a sense of well-being and are motivated to doing something because that is what we want to be doing. Feeling our pursuits are congruent with our heartÕs desires creates a reservoir of energy that feels abundant. We find that doing what we desire actually gives us more energy. Many people who complain of fatigue and lethargy find that once they change their situations, for instance, by changing a job that is not satisfying them, their energy improves immediately. They can get up earlier and yet feel more refreshed by sleep. They can pack a whole lot more activity into the day. For example, when you are taking a course that you find really interesting and inspiring, it suddenly becomes possible to fit in long hours of study and paid work as well as the domestic work of looking after yourself and others. You find you can do much more than you would have expected to be able to do.

Doing something that drains rather than boosts your energy and enthusiasm is probably the biggest factor in feeling excessively tired. Then there is the way you push past your immediate limitations, doing just one more thing before going to bed at night, cleaning up before you can get down to something else, rushing to get to the shops before they close, or carrying on working when you have got a feverish flu.

The habit of medicating a multitude of symptoms that tell you when you are pushing yourself too hard is also a problem. Examples of this misuse of medications include taking painkillers to mask the pain of tension headaches, antibiotics for the infections that become more frequent when we are feeling run down, and the use of steroids for a range of stress-related disorders such as eczema and asthma. As well as depleting your capacity for self-healing, the use of drugs depletes your energy. Your symptoms are usually telling you to stop and make changes in your life style, not to carry on and mask the problem by suppressing the symptoms with drugs. The indiscriminate use of drugs has left many people with dysfunctional immune systems and opportunistic health problems as a result.

Alex, a young computer programmer, noticed that his energy depleted after having suffered from glandular fever. Although there is not any appropriate medication for glandular fever because it is a viral condition, his doctor gave him repeated courses of antibiotics to treat his sore throats. Not only did they not help, but they seemed to make him more tired. Instead of improving after a few months when the infection resolved itself, Alex continued to feel exhausted. He got worse, and eventually became so tired that he had to give up his job and move back to his parentsÕ house because he could no longer look after himself. He had developed chronic fatigue syndrome. By the time I saw him, he had not been able to work for several years and felt extremely depressed.

Alex had always prided himself on his good intellect and quick thinking. What disturbed him most was that he felt he could no longer think. It was a great effort for him just stringing the words together to make a sentence.

I gave him the homeopathic remedy Helleborus, because he felt that his brain had literally slowed down. He took much more time to make logical connections, and thoughts seemed to take longer to pass through the neurological wiring of his mind. He was frightened that he was unable to engage his brain in the way he used to, and he felt increasingly detached from the world.

Alex has always been grateful because of his spectacular recovery after taking his remedy. This is not a commom remedy for fatigue, but it was perfect for him. Over several weeks, his energy steadily increased, and he regained his ability to concentrate and be alert. In a matter of months he was taking steps to get his life moving again and had signed up to do some further training at college. That was some years ago, and he has since gone from strength to strength.