A strong woman is an inspiration to others, and her strength is a testament to the kind of person she truly is. But is being strong all the time too much for her to take? Or just because she makes it look easy, does it mean it really is?

“She’s strong, but she’s exhausted.” ~ r.h. sin

Being a strong woman in this world takes a lot of courage and energy. A strong woman is fierce and tackles problems directly. You believe certain things and are constantly on the lookout for solutions, caring for others and living your life to the fullest. And you always encourage others to do the same. However, sometimes dealing with everything by yourself can be a bit draining and leave you feeling emotionally and mentally tired.

In fact, “tired” maybe a bit too shallow a word to describe the exhaustion you feel inside your bones. You’re exhausted from being strong. Yet, you keep trying to be fierce and strong despite being tired to your core. But somewhere you’ve started to realize that this mental and emotional exhaustion has started to take its toll on you. It has started to affect your performances at work, your friendships, your relationships, and even who you are as a person.

Related: Warning Signs of Extreme Mental and Emotional Exhaustion

How it feels when a strong woman is drained

You’ve always been brave and tough. You’ve always played the hand you’re dealt and never ran away from a challenge life threw at you.

You’ve always emerged stronger from every situation that tried to hold you back and pull you down. You were the girl who couldn’t be hurt. Some were inspired by you, while others were envious. But for some reason, you don’t want to be that girl anymore… at least for now. 

You feel that you can’t tolerate all this anymore and just need a break from everything. A break from standing straight all the time. A break from all the pain that’s been hiding inside you for a long time. You want to run away from all the people, their expectations, all the responsibilities, and burdens. You feel that you don’t want to be strong anymore, even if it is for a little while. Because you feel so exhausted.

The exhaustion is not just in your mind, it’s in your heart and soul. You feel that you will fall apart from all the burden everyone has put on you.

Being a strong woman is great. But it’s never easy. Everyone admires the alpha woman. They admire your bravery, strength, and courage. But they don’t know what it takes to be an independent, strong woman. They don’t know how draining it is to maintain this image of a badass woman. They don’t know how it is breaking you apart from the inside.

They don’t know how tired you’re of meeting others’ expectations all the time. Tired of pretending to be happy. Tired of being tough. Tired of fighting. You’re tired of being there for others when there’s no one for you. You feel like you’re dying inside.

Related: Here’s Why The Strongest Women Often Feel So Broken Inside

Why you feel tired of being strong all the time

A strong woman is always great at whatever she does. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get emotionally & mentally exhausted. Here are 5 reasons why strong women feel tired of being strong all the time:

1. You never share your feelings

Sharing your thoughts and emotions with another person is a very uncomfortable experience for you. You never like opening up to someone about your problems as you don’t wish to bother anyone with your issues. However, this leaves you feeling lonely as you navigate through the challenges of life alone.

2. You carry all your pain inside

The main problem with a strong woman is she carries all the pain, but never reveals it to anyone. Being strong makes you forget that you too have certain weaknesses. And every time you experience any level of pain, you hide it and suppress it inside you. You refuse to face whatever is hurting you as you think that might make your pain stronger than you are. But bottling up your feelings is never a good idea.

3. You give, but never ask for anything in return

Giving comes naturally to you. As you have so much to offer, you never refrain from giving others from your heart and soul. But you never ask anything in return from anyone because you are a natural giver. And this is what makes it hard for you. Everyone believes that you don’t need anything because you are always giving.

4. You never ask for love from others

A strong woman is someone who never begs for love. It never made sense to you. And that’s how it should be. The love you have for yourself is always enough to make you feel complete. However, we also need to experience love from another person who will treat us in a special way and make us feel valued.

Related: What Strong Women Often Get Wrong About Finding Love

5. You don’t receive the care you need

Being strong and not needing others to love and care about you are not the same thing. Sadly, your inner strength makes the people in your life forget that you have emotions too and need to be cared for. So they rarely show you the love and care you deserve.

6. You don’t seek emotional security 

Not even when you need it. You were never like other girls who looked for emotional stability and security from others. As you continually observe and analyze the people around you, you can never fully trust them. You feel like you never really know what a person truly is like as you don’t allow yourself to trust others.

What you need to be strong again

The strength is already inside you. But it has drained you of all your mental and emotional energy. What you need now is someone to heal you. Granted that you can take care of yourself pretty well, the truth is, you have someone to take care of you.

Someone who will listen to you. Someone with whom you will be comfortable to share all that you’re holding inside. Someone to hold your hand and tell you that things will get better. Someone who will be there for you when you fall and pick you up. Someone who will love you and accept you even at your worst. The truth is, strong women need love too.

Of course, this person doesn’t necessarily have to be a romantic partner. It can also be a friend or a family member. It just has to be someone who will accept you and love you unconditionally. Being strong doesn’t have to mean that you don’t need anyone by your side. 

Love is what makes you stronger

Feeling overwhelmed or vulnerable doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human. We all feel different emotions at times and it’s okay if you’re not your strongest self all the time. Wanting someone to take care of you and love you is not wrong. You shouldn’t be ashamed of that. In fact, understanding and showing your emotions and being vulnerable takes a lot more strength than showing the world how badass you are. That is what a strong woman is.

Related: The Truth Is I’m Strong But I’m Tired

Give yourself permission to feel all the emotions that you are feeling right now. Give yourself permission to feel tired and exhausted. And give yourself permission to seek love and ask for help. It will only make you stronger and happier.