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Moral exhaustion: 9 signs
According to a WHO study (2023), 38% of adults in developed countries experience symptoms of mental exhaustion, but only 12% are aware of its causes. It is a state of slow fading, in which the soul “stops rustling.”
A Quiet Crisis of Meaning
Robert Sapolsky, professor of psychology at the University of California, in his work “The Biology of Moral Wear” (2021), identifies three phases of the development of the syndrome:
- Erosion of Empathy – Decreased Emotional Resonance
- Cognitive “freeze” – difficulty making decisions
- Existential vacuum: Loss of connection to values
9 Markers of Hidden Attrition
- The paradox of fatigue: fatigue after rest (the phenomenon of “unrefreshing sleep”)
- Emotional algesia: inability to feel joy/sadness
- Cyclical thinking: obsessive repetition of thoughts without progress
- Glass wall syndrome: Feeling invisible barriers to communication
- Chronophagy: distorted perception of time (days stick together)
- Neutral cynicism: indifference to previously significant ideals
- Cognitive fog: Difficulty with concentration and memory
- Somatic mirage: psychosomatic pain without medical causes
- The effect of the impersonal mirror: non-recognition
The Neurobiology of the Flooded Soul
A 2012 Nature Neuroscience study found:
- Decreased brain islet activity by 40%
- An imbalance between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex
- Excess cortisol at normal serotonin levels
Reset strategies
The method of Dr. Emily Anhalt, author of the bestselling book Emotional Literacy:
- Microdoses of transcendence: 17 minutes of daily contemplation of art/nature
- Paradoxical recovery: purposeful inactivity 2 times a week
- Emotional mapping: visualization of feelings through metaphors
Glossary
chronophagy A subjective sense of “disappearance” of time boundaries.
Emotional algesia Inability to experience emotional experiences.
Insular share The area of the brain responsible for self-awareness and empathy.
Moral exhaustion is not a sign of weakness, but a signal to renegotiate a contract with oneself. - Carl Jung.
