which is worse ?. my ex would come home and say she is mentally exhausted.... then I would come home and say you don't know what exhausted is !.until you have Worked a day doing my job ..which is extremely physically exhausting.... she would say mentally is just as tiring.. I would say yes it must be hard you get to wear nice business clothes all day smell good sit in a comfortable chair staring at a computer screen and answering phones in an air conditioned office... the heaviest thing you Lift all day is a coffee cup... lol.. she would snarl at me and then she would be perfectly content allowing me to make dinner and do the dishes afterwards.. saying how tired she was !..meanwhile my back would be killing me my knees ache I would be suffering from mild heat stroke and I probably walked 20 miles throughout the day.. not to mention all the heavy lifting.. not forgetting the breakneck pace .. that being in construction sets.. I would just look at her and say yes !.you must be really tired.. lol so I'm wondering which is worse !..being mentally exhausted or physically exhausted..?

Physically. I've done both. She should've at least washed the darn dishes. What a lazy biotch!

Id rate them as equal

mental exhaustion can also affect the muscles and joints in much the same way physical exhaustion can

I have been both and I think they are both equally exhausting...
I do call B.S, u in loud clear letters on her not helping make dinner or clean the mess up.

That in my mind that is where a true partnership comes in..
Hey baby I will cook the meat you do the veggies.
I will set the table you fill the glasses..
I will clear if you want to start loading the DW.

Because in the end the chores have to be done and if you do it together then there is more cuddle time..
Win win my way

Neither is worse if either is caused by stupid reasons.

Both feel good, to me, if I've achieved them doing something I enjoy.

Ive only been truly mentally exhausted twice....the week of my daughters death and the day of my dads funeral. Both were ten times worse than any physical exhaustion Ive ever been through.

And any normal mental exhaustion....i.e., buried in bills, staring at a screen of some type all day, dealing with a family problem, etc....can usually be remedied by getting in some serious physical exhaustion. Gotta love the healing properties of a good sweat.

I'd rather be both physically and mentally exhausted...than emotionally exhausted.

When I was in high school and was taking Calculus........man....talk about mental exhaustion. I would need some "physical" exhaustion just to get over the mentalness of Calculus.

.. I'm not the only one that feels the way I do ,a lot of the guys at work bust their *** all day and come home and listen to their significant other tell them..That they are just as exhausted As they are... and I get it!!.. I just think being physically exhausted is far worse.. because once you sit down on the couch it is really hard to get back up again..... that's why God invented the automatic beer dispenser... Honey can you get me a beer from the fridge please lol I'm too tired and physically exhausted to get off the couch..

They both are horrible. You should have got take out...

lol, I keep my answers as brief as possible. I am too mentally exhausted to read thesis's.... not meaning yours blondie

Having worked in both mental and physical fields, i must say , to me, both are bad.

Physical exhaustion i can overcome quicker by food, good mood(a few sexist jokes with the guys), shower and sleep.
Physical exhaustion often comes because i poured my energy into something and i have visible/tangible resto show: i see, the work is done. Here it is, look. This is what i contributed to.


Mental exhaustion wears off much slower as i need to forget what's on my mind, and how i was/was not able to do what was needed, and often something i did with my mind does not have a visible, tangible result:
-systems stay up-no complaints from my users (but nobody applauds me; the absence of complaints is my reward).
-paperwork is done, something can happen elsewhere. (something i do not see or partake in or profit from)
Therefor to me, mental effort pays off much less.


Where things were once really bad was at a Steel plant, manufacturing fibre to reinforce concrete:
-Loud noise, much dirt, no security and a TON of production pressure
were combined with
-Running around, lifting heavy, and diving under machines to fix things on the run.

And no matter how my exhaustion levels were, the Boss was never happy because i could not deliver what he wanted, at least not the right quantities of it.



mental: slower recovery, long term exhaustion
physical: recovery mechanisms known, short term exhaustion

Both equally bad...

When my man is physically exhausted, I will cook him a nice dinner, clean the house, then give him a good massage and let him enjoy a hot shower!

And once he recovered tiredness, he wanted... (you know what I mean)

By then.. I will be both mentally and physically exhausted!

I think you're being very judgemental here ... It sounds like you were playing a tit for tat game. And what do you expect to get from a partner when you don't even acknowledge her suffering?
I've had a partner who constantly acted/reacted that way, belittling my sufferings, his were always worse. I can tell you, it does NOT help a relationship!

I personally think mental fatigue is worse. As it is not as easily released as physical fatigue. A nice bath, a good chair, a snooze or a rest and your body will probably feel better again (unless there's physical ailments of course).
Mental fatigue is another issue entirely. It wears you out, also physically btw. It affects your entire being, mentally, emotionally, physically. It can knock the wind out of someone, ruin the zest of life.

When you're physically tired, you may be chirpy again as soon as the chores are done and you can rest your @ss in a comfy chair. Whereas the mental fatigued one will still be exhausted.

Often there a lot of stress concerned with mental fatigue that is /can not be released, builds up in the body and affects it, sometimes in bad ways.

Me thinks, Mr PhD, that you have thoroughly underestimated your partner's suffering. And conveying the message "You have it easy" sure as heck won't help a relationship. Understanding does.
Such reactions from a partner are also what hurts, and it hurts badly!, and it tends to stick with you, even after divorce.
I'd even go so far as to say that maybe if you want to improve the situation ... it could help to tell her "Chit, I'm sorry, I never realized ...(I was a narrow-minded a-hole)"

It depends on what you mean by exhaustion. I've spent years doing university courses and there's a different sort of pressure with things where you have to use your brains. It's usually pressure that you put on yourself because you want to do well and not just get the job done, unless you're already mentally exhausted.

I mean, it's been years of slogging away, trying to achieve something and even though people tell me that I've got brains I don't always feel that I'm achieving my potential, or if I do have that potential. You can feel so mentaly exhausted that you just don't want to go on anymore and a bit of rest or sleep won't make any difference. Physical exhaustion can seem trivial in comparison because I suppose that you assume that the physical excersise is always going to do them good and they will feel fine and ready to go again soon enough.

that'd be a "whose it worse" competition

lot of couples who have been together fall into that habit

I know my ex husband and I sure did



given choice? I would choose physical over mental any day of week

mental/emotional you go thru when you are dealing with a major traumatic or stressful time? ugh that one sucks

Exactly, the tit for tat game..

Plus ... forgot to say that just now ... mental can sux the life out of you, and will ruin someone's lust for intimacy as well. ESPECIALLY if the partner has no understanding for their situation.

My answer is mental exhaustion is worst.
Why?

Physical Exhaustion is heavenly to other people.
If it is not everyday.
It makes you focus on something that can be achieved immediately.
Rewarding and fulfilling especially if you see the results of your labor.
When your body is too tired, you can relax a bit and then you can have a long rest and sleep.
Induced by physical exhaustion.

Mental Exhaustion is a warning for me..to take things easily from that point that I feel mental fatigue.

People who prefers Psychological approach would always see it, equating it to - "how do u mentally cope"

People who prefers God-centered approach would always see it, that you need faith for you to cope mentally & spiritually.

People who just see it as mental exhaustion will just stop dwelling on it for a while.
Relax the mind.
Remove your emotions from the equation.
It is always the emotions that complicate things.
Then take up the issue when you are well rested and relax.
I think it is healthier.

BTW, with your ex wife issue, I think it is not about physical and mental exhaustion..
It is about what you can do for each other.
what you can do to take care for each other.
What you have taken for granted to each other.
If I may say this, you and your wife are both to be
blamed of what happen to your relationship.

Crystal Fairy is closest to my answer.

The real problem for the OP here, isn't his or her exhaustion. It's each of their dismissal of each others' lives and concerns.

In my own life, I suffer from both. They are best described as differently problematic.

And just as I experience when it comes to the question of whether it's worse to be too cold (as in winter) or too hot (as in summer) all the time, when I am suffering from one, I feel sure it's worse than the other. Until I suffer from the other, at which point I reverse my thinking completely.

I have been in both types of jobs and I would say physical is worse. To be fair even though working in an office can be mentally draining I enjoy paper work :)