Fatigue can have a significant effect on your life and can be especially difficult if it has occurred as a side effect of a neurological condition. Occupational therapist Treise Moran offers some practical advice about managing this challenging problem, and the support we can give you at UCLH Private Healthcare to help you find your feet again.
Most of us will feel fatigue after a busy week or a late night. However, if you’ve got a neurological condition, this kind of exhaustion won’t be fixed with a lie in. Neurological fatigue can completely change how you live day-to-day. It’s not about being a bit worn out; it’s a persistent, physical, and cognitive exhaustion that potentially changes how you live your life.
What is fatigue?
Fatigue is one of the most common and debilitating symptoms of neurological illness, especially when you are dealing with:
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Multiple sclerosis (MS)
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Parkinson’s disease
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Motor neurone disease
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Post-stroke recovery
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Recovery from brain surgery
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Long covid with a pre-existing neurological diagnosis
Symptoms of neurological fatigue
Neurological fatigue feels like waking up tired, staying tired, and feeling wiped out after simple tasks. It’s not fixed by a good night’s sleep or a weekend off. You might struggle with:
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Physical fatigue – your body feels like it’s run a marathon just getting dressed.
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Cognitive fatigue – your brain gets tired after a short burst of focus.
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Emotional fatigue – you feel more sensitive, flat, or irritable.
The most frustrating thing is that you often look fine to everyone else, and it can be difficult to explain the impact your fatigue is having on your life.
The triggers of neurological fatigue
There are some triggers that can exacerbate neurological fatigue. This is especially true for patients with MS but can affect patients with a range of neurological conditions. These include:
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Heat – hot showers or even being out on a sunny day can sap energy
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Stress – mental overload or trying to power through everything at once
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Doing too much, too quickly – using up all your energy in one go can leave you exhausted for days.
Understanding your triggers is key to effective fatigue management.
How occupational therapy can help
As occupational therapists we look at your whole routine including work, home life, and everything in between, to help you find practical ways to manage fatigue that fit into your life.
Broadly, we recommend the strategies below as a starting point:
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Pace yourself – instead of trying to do everything at once, break tasks into chunks and take proper rest breaks.
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Plan rest into your day – short breaks every few hours can help you recharge. No phones, no tasks; just pause and reset.
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Prioritise and delegate – ask yourself: “Do I really need to do this now?” “Could someone help me?”
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Shift your mindset – accepting fatigue as part of your condition, not a personal failing, helps you work with it, not against it.
At UCLH Private Healthcare we can also develop a cognitive behavioural approach to help you reframe how you think about fatigue. That shift in thinking from “I’m lazy” to “I’m managing a genuine symptom of my condition” can be life-changing.
Coping with fatigue at work
Work can be challenging when you're dealing with fatigue. But it is worth knowing that you are protected under the Equality Act if you’ve been diagnosed with a neurological condition. Your employer has a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to help you to return to work or continue to work in a way that supports you.
Our occupational therapy team can liaise with employers, offering guidance on reasonable adjustments that make a huge difference, so you can stay productive without burning out. This might include:
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Adjusting your work schedule
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Building breaks into your workday
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Reducing commuting stress
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Spacing out meetings or intense tasks.
A multidisciplinary approach to managing fatigue
Fatigue management works best when it’s a team effort. At UCLH Private Healthcare our occupational therapists often collaborate with:
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Neurologists – for medication reviews or issues like sleep-related concerns
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Physiotherapists – to build exercise plans that improve energy, not drain it
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Psychologists – for emotional support and cognitive fatigue therapy
At the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), we’re lucky to have a team of therapists that works closely together. Joint sessions with physiotherapists and occupational therapists or back-to-back appointments mean your care feels seamless, and there can be real value in booking these sessions together.
If you would like our therapists to support you with managing the side effects of your neurological problem, please email the team on uclh.
