The Overlooked Link Between Energy, Fatigue, and Mental Health

When we think about mental health, we often focus on thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Therapy, mindfulness, and medication are all common tools — and for good reason. But there’s another layer that often gets overlooked: the physical energy behind our mental state.

Have you ever felt like your brain was wrapped in fog? Or like the smallest task felt impossible — not because of a lack of willpower, but because your body simply had nothing left in the tank?

That’s not laziness. It’s not just depression. It’s a deeper, physical form of exhaustion that can fuel or worsen mental health struggles.

Mental Health Isn’t Just “In Your Head”

Your brain runs on energy. Every thought, every emotion, every moment of focus requires fuel. When your body is worn down — whether from stress, poor sleep, blood sugar crashes, or inflammation — your brain suffers too.

This is why chronic fatigue, burnout, and low motivation often come hand-in-hand with anxiety and depression. It’s not that your mental health is causing your body to give out — sometimes, it’s the other way around. A sluggish metabolism, nutrient imbalances, or underactive mitochondria (the little “power plants” in your cells) can make even the healthiest mind feel like it’s drowning.

Fatigue Feeds the Loop

Low energy doesn’t just make you tired — it narrows your world. You start avoiding people. You skip your workouts. You stop cooking meals. You lose momentum. Before long, you’re not just tired — you’re isolated, anxious, and stuck.

This is the fatigue loop: the worse you feel, the less you do. The less you do, the worse you feel. Breaking out of it takes more than mindset. It takes a physical reset — one that starts by giving your body what it needs to produce clean, sustainable energy.

Supporting the Body to Support the Mind

The good news? Mental health support doesn’t have to be just about processing emotions. It can also be about supporting your metabolism, balancing blood sugar, reducing inflammation, and improving sleep quality.

Sometimes, what your brain needs is better cellular energy. Better oxygen flow. Better recovery. More resilience in your nervous system. When your body has what it needs, your mind feels safer, clearer, and more capable.

What Helped Me

This was a big shift in my own healing journey. After years of feeling stuck in cycles of anxiety, fatigue, and burnout, I realized I wasn’t broken — I was just depleted.

That’s when I started supporting my body more intentionally. One tool that’s helped me recently is a supplement called Mitolyn. It focuses on mitochondrial health and energy production using natural compounds like Rhodiola, Amla, and Maqui Berry. Within a few weeks of taking it, I noticed less brain fog, better focus, and most surprisingly — a more stable mood. I will also add that as someone that deals with anxiety in some of the most ridiculous ways, I hate taking any sort of supplement that I know isn't natural. So it took me a long time to find something that works for me and made me feel comfortable, like Mitolyn. It didn’t fix everything, but it gave me the energy to show up again, which is where real healing starts.

If you’re struggling mentally, don’t forget to check in with your physical energy too. Sometimes, that’s where the root is hiding.

Learn more about Mitolyn here