Michael Richardson

Digital Fatigue

Feelings of stress and exhaustion that often accompany days spent staring at a screen will be familiar to many of us, and ‘digital fatigue’ can signify numerous different micro-events that challenge us throughout the day and threaten to throw off our emotional balance.

When fatigue manifests, it does so across a spectrum of sensations, feelings and behaviours. Simple exhaustion is the most obvious, but irritability, a lack of focus, anxiety and even depression can all be brought on by the daily challenges of our digital lives.

 

Finding Our Way Back

A frustratingly slow internet connection, email miscommunications, clients and colleagues who bombard us with messages: although these external technological pressures may often be unavoidable, by being active and choiceful in our emotional response to daily stresses we can find a way back to feeling energised.

Stepping into each moment intentionally returns power to us as individuals. If a video call is dropping out repeatedly, or the presentation is taking five hours to upload, the mounting frustration we feel threatens to sweep our whole mental state along with it. In allowing these feelings to carry us day in, day out, it contributes to our sense of mental and spiritual exhaustion in a profound way.

 

Choosing Stillness

Instead, by making the choice to acknowledge and challenge these feelings we can unravel the pattern of emotional fatigue. Choosing to plant our feet on the ground and breathe deeply, to smile or laugh inwardly, reconnects us to our own stillness even when all around us is a flurry of activity and pressure. Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, five minutes; these small moments add up to a sustainable and grounded sense of acceptance. When we reconnect with our own internal stillness, we discover our own limitless source of energy.

 

Chris Blakeley

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