If you ask someone “what are you doing?”, chances are, if you don’t hear the typical “I’m fine”, you’ll get the answer “I feel tired”. With obligations never ending, working hours getting longer than normal and you trying to fit jobs into a day that objectively can’t, fatigue is a dominant feeling these days. However, this does not mean that it is normal, nor that you just have to accept it and learn to live with it.

“It’s not normal to feel tired all day, every day,” writes the trainer and nutritionist Karina Antram in her new book, “Fix Your Fatigue.” “We accept burnout as the norm, but the time has come to change that. I think we’ve gotten so used to feeling tired all the time, that it doesn’t seem unnatural anymore,” she tells Stylist. “Many just live with it” and, seeing it as normal, do nothing to change it.

Dr. Jeffrey Bland, head of the Institute of Functional Medicine, says that most of us are seemingly fine, but actually don’t feel that way. “And society plays a role. The imperative to ‘have it all’ and ‘do it all’, pushing yourself to the limit has created unhealthy work practices and boundaries, ultimately leading to more cases of burnout.”

He argues that if we begin to question fatigue as a normal state, then we may just begin to set some necessary limits.

“It’s normal to be tired, but it’s not normal to feel tired all the time,” explains Antram. “Chronic fatigue may be a sign that something is wrong. It is an indication that the body is trying to tell us something. It could be something simple, like the body needs more vitamins or iron and therefore we should make some changes in our diet. Perhaps, however, it testifies to something more serious. That’s why we shouldn’t ignore the signs, but look for the cause of our chronic fatigue,” he says, adding that “if this feeling lasts more than a few weeks, I would strongly advise you to look into it. It’s never been more important to be in control of your health than it is now.”

Antram explains: “There are so many causes, some of which may be biochemical, emotional, physical or cellular. The most common reasons are stress, poor sleep, thyroid imbalances, adrenal fatigue, gut microbiome imbalances or micronutrient deficiencies in my clinical experience.

“The doctor can play a pivotal role, as, by doing the necessary tests, he will be able to rule out serious health conditions and ultimately arrive at a safe diagnosis,” she recommends. Antram explains how important it is not to be afraid to visit the doctor and talk openly about exactly how you feel. Ultimately, there are solutions to chronic fatigue and there is no reason to live with it.