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Recently, I've been working on a large project that required learning and collating lots of new data. It's been a big challenge with several unexpected turns, so it has been dominating my thoughts for weeks now.

Today, it all came together and pulled together into a demonstrable project, which was amazing; I was elated and eager to show everyone around me.

30 minutes later and I'm resting with my head in my hands because I am abruptly so tired. People asked if something was wrong and nothing could be further from the truth, yet I am utterly exhausted.

Is there a word or saying for this state, or even a better way to describe it than the above? For example, "Nothing's wrong, it's just [exhaustion after success on a long and tough project]."

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  • I’m just spent.
    – k1eran
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:54

5 Answers 5

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How about weary?

Weary

adjective

  1. feeling or showing extreme tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion.

(From Lexico)

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  • This worked best, it seemed everyone immediately recognised this one.
    – Savriss
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:44
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'Come down from a high'?

Also while the word 'comedown' appears to generally mean the depression after a drug high, I've seen it used in non-druggy contexts as well, suggesting a crash after euphoria. For example, in this Reuters headline: In North Dakota's Oil Patch, a Humbling Comedown.

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    That's a really good phrase and is probably exactly what's going on. Sadly, my office mates immediately agreed with the other suggestion of 'Weary' so I'm going to mark that as correct and upvote this.
    – Savriss
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:43
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You could say "a post project slump"?

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I would agree with being "spent" as a short-hand adjective, or else similarly the phrase "hit a wall" could apply. Tuckered out; burned/burnt-out are used pretty often in regards to work, but the connotation can suggest that it may not be a pleasant feeling or something you're indifferent about (unless prefaced with "I'm fine, just....)

Specific examples requiring slightly more explanation: "I'm fine, I just hit a wall after all the excitement" "I was on 'cloud 9' and now I've plateaued" or "I used up all my adrenaline (energy/stamina) and now I'm just exhausted (coming down/spent/leveled-out/etc) "Ran out of momentum"

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  • Hello, Arianna. As you might deduce from the lack of support for the above answers, they're not exactly what are required on ELU. If you can find some supporting evidence that 'hit a wall' applies here (synonyms for 'weary' as in other answers are not specific enough, and 'burned out' has a serious denotation), adding the linked references could make this into the sort of answer appreciated on ELU.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Nov 2, 2019 at 17:13
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I think the proper word in the context is:

drained It is an adjective and means to lose energy and vitality to do anything after some effort or because of emotions

Here is a link which shows the meaning of drained.

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/drained

Here is another link which shows the meaning.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/amp/english/drained

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  • I need to try this on someone next...
    – Savriss
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:45
  • The link doesn't seem to show the meaning you have quoted.
    – Justin
    Nov 1, 2019 at 16:50

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