Fatigue and low vitality
Fatigue is not one thing. Some people are depleted and cannot recover. Some are wired but tired and cannot downshift. Some have unstable digestion and do not extract energy properly. Some have inflammation or metabolic strain that quietly drains the system. Treatment starts by identifying the dominant driver, then rebuilding stability in the right order.
What drives fatigue and low vitality
Chronic fatigue persists when the body loses clean regulation and recovery. You can feel tired but tense, exhausted but restless, or “running on adrenaline”. I look for the main driver below and treat it first.
Poor recovery and depletion
When recovery is low, sleep is not restorative, muscles feel heavy, and effort has a cost that lingers. You may feel weaker after stress, illness, or physical exertion, and bounce-back becomes slow.
Overdrive and dysregulation
Some people are not only tired. They are stuck in high alert. Sleep becomes light, the mind stays busy, and the body cannot fully downshift. This often presents as “wired but tired”.
Digestion and metabolic strain
If digestion is unstable, energy production is unstable. Blood sugar swings, poor appetite, reflux, bloating, and irregular stools can all feed fatigue. Metabolic and inflammatory load can quietly drain vitality.
What I assess in the first visit
I map the fatigue pattern with precision. Timing matters. What makes you worse matters. What improves you matters. We connect fatigue to sleep depth, digestion, stress physiology, pain, and inflammation patterns.
Fatigue pattern mapping
- Timing: morning heaviness, afternoon crash, evening second-wind.
- Quality: heavy, foggy, weak, restless, sleepy, or drained.
- Triggers: stress, poor sleep, overwork, exercise, illness, food timing.
- Associated symptoms: headaches, dizziness, palpitations, pain, swelling.
- Recovery: how long it takes to bounce back after a bad day.
System checks
- Sleep depth, early waking, night sweats, or frequent waking.
- Digestion: appetite, bloating, reflux, stool quality and regularity.
- Stress physiology: tension holding, anxiety, overwhelm, irritability.
- Metabolic signs: thirst, cravings, frequent urination, weight shifts.
- Tongue and pulse to confirm the underlying pattern.
How treatment is structured
Fatigue improves when regulation is restored first, then recovery is rebuilt, then resilience is consolidated. If we push tonics too early while the system is dysregulated, you can feel more restless or inflamed. The sequence protects you and improves reliability.
Stage 1: Stabilise regulation
Calm the system, improve sleep support, reduce reactivity, and stabilise digestion. This is where energy becomes less chaotic and crashes soften.
Stage 2: Rebuild recovery
Support deeper replenishment so the body restores properly. This includes recovery capacity, steadier appetite, improved tissue nourishment, and better tolerance to stress and exertion.
Stage 3: Consolidate resilience
Lock in progress so energy stays stable under real life pressure. The goal is fewer bad days, faster recovery when they happen, and a realistic maintenance plan.