Why Deep Change Can Be So Physically Tiring

By John El-Mokadem

Why tiredness during periods of transformation may not always mean what we think it does

In my last Substack, I wrote about how surprised I was at how physical the experience of grief could be.

It wasn’t just the emotions that came with losing a loved one, but the sense that my body itself was involved in the whole process.

Another reader posted a comment sharing a fascinating piece about the metabolic cost of grief. It reminded me of a way of understanding grief, and change work more generally, through the idea of the brain as a prediction ‘engine’.

And it got me thinking about something I’ve observed for years, which is:

“Why is it that periods of significant change can sometimes leave us feeling so physically tired?”

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First published on our Substack, Breakthrough That, on 12 August 2026.