Burnout-

What Is Burnout?

It happens to everyone at some point or another. Our lives get busy as we deal with various daily
responsibilities, be it working, helping others, or taking care of our families. Sometimes, we get
too busy and forget to take a step back and rest. That's when burnout can occur.
Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It happens when we
experience too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. In many cases,
burnout is related to one’s job. But burnout can also happen in other areas of your life and affect
your health.
Burnout can be caused by stress, but it's not the same. Stress results from too much mental and
physical pressure and too many demands on your time and energy. Burnout is about too little.
Too little emotion, motivation, or care.
Stress can make you feel overwhelmed, but burnout makes you feel depleted and used up.
The condition isn’t medically diagnosed. But burnout can affect your physical and mental health
if you don’t acknowledge or treat it.
Burnout keeps you from being productive. It makes you feel hopeless, cynical, and resentful. The
effects of burnout can hurt your home, work, and social life. Long-term burnout can make you
more vulnerable to colds and flu.
Burnout vs. depression
Burnout can look like depression. So, it's critical to get a professional diagnosis. A key
difference is that you can ease burnout with rest or time off. However, depression, a medical
illness, needs to be treated with therapy or medication. Burnout is usually related to one aspect of
your life -- your job, caregiving, or some other type of prolonged and stressful activity.
Depression, on the other hand, affects every aspect of your life. Not treating burnout may raise
your risk for depression.

Types of Burnout

These are four types of burnout:

Overload burnout: This happens when you work harder and harder, becoming frantic in your
pursuit of success. If you experience this, you may be willing to risk your health and personal
life to feel successful.
Under-challenged burnout: This happens when you feel underappreciated and bored. Maybe
your job doesn’t provide learning opportunities or have room for professional growth. If you feel
under-challenged, you may distance yourself, become cynical, and avoid responsibilities.
Neglect burnout: This happens when you feel helpless. If things aren’t going right, you may
believe you’re incompetent or unable to keep up with your responsibilities. Such burnout can be
closely connected to imposter syndrome, a psychological pattern in which you doubt your
abilities, talents, or accomplishments.
Habitual burnout: The most serious phase of burnout, habitual burnout happens when your
physical and mental fatigue is chronic. You feel sad and your behavior changes. Sometimes, you
can cross over into depression and suicidal thoughts. It's crucial to seek help at this stage.

Stages of Burnout

Burnout develops over time, and it's hard to realize at first. Two psychologists, Gail North and
Herbert Freudenberger, came up with 12 stages of burnout.

1. An urgent need to prove yourself. In this earliest phase of burnout, you want to do well
to the point of perfectionism for fear of not fulfilling demands.
2. Working harder. You feel the need to do everything yourself and complete tasks as
soon as possible.
3. Neglecting your needs. You think the stress of work or activities, such as caregiving, is
normal. You neglect your social life and look down on others who pursue one. You begin
to make small mistakes.
4. More interpersonal conflicts. You have conflicts with co-workers, friends, or your
partner. You don't sleep well, have other physical complaints, or become forgetful.
5. Revision of values. You see things differently and begin to seem insensitive to others
around you. Friends and family become secondary to your goals.
6. Denial. Bitterness and cynicism creep in, and you begin to cut yourself off from others,
becoming impatient, intolerant, and angry. Your performance suffers, and you feel
physical discomfort.
7. Withdrawal. Dealing with others feels like a burden. You get angry if someone criticizes
you, and you may feel disoriented or helpless. You may try to self-medicate
with alcohol or illegal substances.
8. Behavioral changes. Apathy sets in and nothing matters. You avoid additional
responsibilities.
9. Depersonalization. You lose your sense of identity, seeing yourself only as the vessel
through which work and responsibilities are completed. Your life feels meaningless, and
you begin to neglect your health.
10. Feeling empty. Exhaustion, anxiety, and panic set in.
11. Despair. You may have feelings of self-hatred or depression coupled with suicidal
thoughts.
12. Total burnout. This last phase of mental and emotional collapse requires immediate
care.

Causes of burnout-

Originally, the term burnout was applied to work-related stress only. However, many
psychologists see burnout as any type of prolonged, stressful condition. Studies show that
women report experiencing job burnout in higher numbers than men, but more research is
needed as to why.
Life and work factors that can contribute to burnout include:

 Unmanageable workloads
 Unfair treatment at work
 Confusing work responsibilities
 Lack of communication or support from managers
 Immense deadline pressure
 Too much work, not enough time to rest (downtime)
 A feeling that work or life is out of your control

 Feeling unrecognized or unrewardedWork or responsibilities that feel too demanding

 Boring or routine work, or chaotic or high-stress work
 Taking on too much without asking for help
 Lack of sleep
 Few supportive or meaningful relationships
 Personality traits such as perfectionism, pessimism, and a need for control.

Signs of burnout-

Many burnout symptoms can feel like symptoms of stress, but there are three ways to
differentiate them:

 Feeling tired, or exhausted

 No enthusiasm, and feelings of negativity toward your job
 Inability to perform your job

Burnout can have many symptoms. It can often be confused with stress or advance to depression.
These are signs to look for if you or someone close to you is experiencing burnout:

 Exhaustion: You may feel drained and unable emotionally to deal with problems around
you, both professional and personal. You may feel low and experience extreme tiredness,
leaving you without energy. These symptoms can show up as physical pain, and stomach
(or bowel).

 Alienation from activities: Look out for signs of cynicism and frustration toward work
and colleagues. You may start to distance yourself emotionally and feel numb about your
work and environment.
 Reduced performance: This can occur at work or home (when caring for family
members) because you have no energy left for everyday tasks. Burnout makes it hard to
concentrate, handle responsibilities, or be creative.
 Mental burnout symptoms: You may feel self-doubt, helplessness, defeat, and failure.
You may feel that you are on your own, lose your sense of purpose, and feel increasingly
cynical, dissatisfied, and incapable.
  Physical burnout symptoms: You may feel greatly fatigued and without energy. You
may get sick often, have body aches and recurring headaches, lose your appetite, or
experience insomnia.

Burnout Treatment-

Burnout builds over time. It’s caused by stress at work or in other parts of your life,
making it difficult to manage your job and other responsibilities. Once you’ve identified
your burnout signs, there are ways to tackle your stress:

 Talk with your supervisor: If you are in an environment where this is possible, try to
explain how you’re feeling and discuss a more manageable workload. Communication is
important for creating a healthy work environment.
 Get enough sleep: Sleep is vital for good physical and mental health. If you aren’t
getting enough because of anxiety over your job, it’s likely to lead to burnout. Prioritize
getting enough sleep.
 Try a relaxing activity: Yoga, meditation, or tai chi can be great ways to release stress.
Burnout symptoms can appear physically, as you can hold onto stress in your body.
Practicing these activities can help you release the tension.
 Be mindful: This gets you to focus on yourself internally, and know how you’re feeling
in the moment. Mindfulness can help you identify when you’re feeling overwhelmed and
let you take stock of your emotional well-being. It can also help you manage the
challenges of life and work.
 Find support: The support of trusted coworkers, friends, and family is important. Their
support can help you deal with the stressors of your job. Finding a therapist is also a great
way to discuss your feelings and get support.

Risk factors of burnout-

Burnout is a chronic state. Workers with burnout are more likely to take sick days or wind up in
the emergency room. These feelings of stress and despair can result in long-term impacts on your
physical and mental health.
Health care workers are at high risk for burnout. Even before the overwhelming stress of the
COVID-19 pandemic, burnout among health professionals was high, with over 54% of nurses
and doctors and about 60% of medical students and residents reporting burnout. Chronic job
stress among these workers can mean impaired judgment and physical ailments such as heart
disease and diabetes, sleep and relationship problems, anxiety, depression, and the possibility of
substance misuse. Teaching and law enforcement are other professions with a high risk of
burnout.
Other risk factors for burnout include:

 Difficulty maintaining work-life balance

 Having a "Type A" personality (being hyperfocused on work and achievement)
  Competitive workplaces with lots of high-performers
 High-pressure social and work environments
 Cultural expectations

Effects of Untreated Burnout

If left untreated. burnout can affect your career and relationships, as well as your physical and
mental health. Unchecked burnout may lead to depression or anxiety.
In the workplace, prolonged burnout can lead to chronic absence and job dissatisfaction.
Physically, burnout may cause:

 Weight gain
 Headaches
 High cholesterol
 Type 2 diabetes
 Heart disease
 Stomach and gastrointestinal problems
 Muscle and joint pain
 Breathing issues
 Injuries, and even early death

Burnout Prevention

If you're experiencing burnout, don't try to keep going. It will only make things worse. Instead,
take a break to help yourself recognize the signs of burnout and work to lessen it.
What you can do:

 Seek help in managing your stress. Burnout can make you apathetic and less likely to
help yourself. Turn to friends and family to talk about how you're feeling. Spend quality
time with loved ones.
 Engage socially. Talk to or have lunch with colleagues. Avoid interacting with negative
people. Find a volunteer effort, religious organization, or support group where you can be
around and talk to people who enjoy the same activities as you.
 Change your attitude about work. You can't always change your job, but you can
change how you feel about it. Find something to value in your work and create balance in
your life. Take a vacation or extended leave to remove yourself from work stress. Then,
disconnect from your job completely.
 Set new priorities. Slow down and reconsider your goals for life and work. Practice
saying no. Disconnect from technology each day and pick up a new hobby or activity.
 Exercise. Exercise helps lift your mood. Aim for 30 minutes a day, but even a 10-minute
walk can boost your mood for several hours.
 Eat healthy. Limit sugary and carbohydrate-rich foods that can lead to a dip in energy
and mood. Avoid caffeine and nicotine, two stimulants that can affect your mood. Drink
alcohol moderately.
Burnout Recovery

There are ways you can help yourself recover from burnout.

 Know the problem. Realizing you have burnout is the first step toward recovery.
 Prioritize your health. Get more sleep, eat better, and exercise -- whatever it takes to get
back on track.
 Keep a healthy distance. If possible, remove yourself from your source of stress. You
can't always leave a job or get rid of caregiving duties, but you may be able to take a
vacation or a day or afternoon off to get a break.
 Consider what went wrong. What led to your burnout? Does your work or life reflect
your values? Ask yourself what brings you joy. Think about what's most important to
you.
 Make changes. What can you do to avoid continued burnout? Should you leave a job or
relationship? Get help with caregiving duties? How can you make your life less stressful?
Follow through with whatever changes you decide to make.