Energy Drain Audit - Identify and Address What is Draining Your Energy
- melissarivard
- Aug 12
- 3 min read
Written By: Melissa Rivard, Registred Clinical Naturoapth, Nutritionist, & Health Coach
Honouring What Your Body Is Telling You About Your Fatigue
Chronic fatigue is not a baseline - it does not need to become your ‘normal’.
Neither is the short fuse, the constant lack of motivation for things you want to do, the poor recovery you feel you are getting throughout the week.
When I work with clients who feel “off” - low energy, low mood, low capacity; we look deeper and holistically at what is going on. We want to understand what’s draining their energy: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually; and understand the key driving factors.
The 4 Kinds of Energy Drains (and How to Begin Plugging the Leaks)
1. Mental Drainers: The Overloaded Mind
Your brain is brilliant but it wasn’t designed for 74 open tabs, constant notifications, and a never-ending mental checklist.
Common mental drains:
Decision fatigue (what to eat, wear, say, do...)
Overthinking, second-guessing, rumination - especially on things outside of your zone of control
Consuming too much, integrating too little - endless scrolling and information gathering overwhelms our brains capacity to process
What it feels like:
Brain fog
Wired but unproductive and tired
Snappy, irritable, or easily overwhelmed - a small window of tolerance to stress
Energy reset:
Create 5 minutes of white space - no noise, no input
Reduce daily decision load (batch cook, automate, simplify)
Put your phone down and come back to the present moment
2. Emotional Drainers: What You’re Carrying
So many of us are quietly hauling around grief, resentment, unmet needs, or porous boundaries — and wondering why we’re exhausted.
Common emotional drains:
Saying yes when you mean no
Avoiding conflict to keep the peace
Absorbing other people’s emotions
Suppressing your own
What it feels like:
Emotional shutdown or numbness
Emotional fragility - feeling upset easily
Energy reset:
Let yourself feel — even if it’s messy (see my “holding the cactus” practice)
Redefine boundaries as clarity, not walls
Notice where you're abandoning your needs in order to be “nice”
Speak with your primary practitioner about getting a referral to a consellor for extra support if needed - you do not need to hold everything on your own - support is available.
3. Physical Drainers: What Your Body’s Trying to Say
We’ve been conditioned to think health means discipline, restriction, and hustle. But your body doesn’t thrive under extremes; it thrives under care.
Common physical drains:
Undereating (especially protein, micronutrients)
Living on caffeine and skipping real meals
Overtraining or not moving enough
Underlying chronic inflammation, gut issues, or metabolic imbalance
NOTE: underlying conditions that are not being managed properly or needing to be diagnosed (e.g. metabolic disease, thyroid conditions, autoimmunity) - always see your GP to look into further investigations that may be needed.
What it feels like:
Afternoon crashes, cravings, or anxiety
Poor recovery, achy joints, or puffy body
Low-grade pain, skin flare-ups, hormone imbalances
Energy reset:
Get curious about what your body is telling you - bloods can help
Fuel properly: mostly whole foods with enough protein
Hydrate (boring but crucial)
Sleep is not optional - it’s foundational
4. Spiritual Drainers: Being Out of Alignment
This one’s easy to dismiss, but living out of sync with what matters to you is one of the most powerful energy leaks there is. Being trained in ACT therapy, we look closely at an individual’s values and see how they can increase behaviours aligned with these values in order to increase a sense of purpose, which increases mental health outcomes.
Common spiritual drains:
Disconnect from meaning, nature, or a sense of belonging
Overgiving or overperforming to “earn” your worth
Making choices that don’t align with your values
Ignoring your inner voice in favour of external approval
What it feels like:
A vague “off-ness” or dissatisfaction, even when life looks good
Feeling disconnected from yourself, others, nature, community, the bigger picture
Quiet dread or low-level resentment
Energy reset:
Reconnect to your why and core values — acting in alignment with these (even in small ways) increases as sense of meaning and purpose
Notice what drains you vs. what lights you up
Let go of the belief that your value is in what you produce
Attached here is a diary that you can keep reflecting on daily behaviours that take you away from vitality (drain your energy) and behaviours that take you towards vitality (put energy back in). Sometimes, things that are energy givers can become energy drainers and vice versa - depending on our circumstances and capacity. It is therefore important to have self-awareness and a flexible mindset that allows you to adapt healthy boundaries to help manage your energy currency.
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