Burnout syndrome - what is it, what are its symptoms and how to get rid of it

Imagine a state in which a person feels weakened physically, morally and mentally.
The individual does not understand what is happening to him, the working day seems endless and dull, it is impossible to concentrate on performing any function, to perform a certain operation on time and well. Professional activity does not bring the same satisfaction. Even the smallest failure unsettles you, makes you give up, and haunts you with irritability and resentment. And this is not the blues, but the so-called burnout syndrome. If previously it was associated with exhaustion and a person’s feeling of uselessness, now the situation has changed. Now a psychosomatic component has been added to these factors, and experts are inclined to consider this condition a pre-disease.

This phenomenon of personality deformation is included in the ICD under number Z73 under the heading “Stress associated with difficulties in maintaining a normal lifestyle.” It is quite common in the world.

It is very important to notice the first manifestations of this mental disorder in time and immediately take measures to eliminate it, since if it is allowed to develop, it will lead to a serious nervous breakdown.

Pathogenesis

Many scientists believe that the syndrome appears due to problems that have recently arisen in professional activities. Regular conflicts, negativity from other people and their inappropriate behavior can undermine even the most stable psyche.

Statistics show that the disease mainly affects those whose professions involve daily contact with other people, namely:

• Teachers and educators;
• Medical workers, social service employees;
• Bank and service sector employees, operators.

Scientists have identified several stages of increasing emotional stress, which are associated with the professions of patients:

1. A person is completely satisfied with his work, but minor conflicts and stress gradually begin to darken his life.
2. The first signs of pathology appear: irritability, chronic fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite.
3. It becomes difficult for the patient to concentrate on his direct responsibilities, as well as to perform them efficiently. He stops having time to do everything that was planned, so he often stays at his workplace until the night.
4. Lack of sleep and fatigue significantly harm your health. The patient's immunity decreases, which leads to the development of various diseases and exacerbations of chronic diseases. At the same time, people with burnout syndrome cease to be satisfied with themselves and the colleagues around them.
5. Apathy, irritability and short temper, mood swings and exacerbation of many pathologies are the main signs of stage 5 of the syndrome. The condition requires immediate help from a specialist, as the risk of developing deep depression rapidly increases.

Causes of pathology

Mental burnout syndrome in most cases develops precisely because of regular stressful situations in the workplace. But there are other factors that influence the emotional state of the patient:

• Intense rhythm of life;
• The so-called “Groundhog Day”;
• Regular criticism from your boss or colleagues;
• Insufficient incentives for work;
• Feeling of uselessness.

The risk of pathology increases in people with the following character traits:

1. Maximalists who always try to do their job perfectly;
2. Overly responsible and obligatory;
3. Dreamers whose self-esteem is often inadequate.

The syndrome often worries patients who suffer from alcohol or drug addiction, as well as people who smoke. With such bad habits they try to get rid of stress, thereby increasing their performance. But in fact, such methods of solving problems in professional activities only harm a person. His body is depleted, new diseases appear.

The disease does not always occur only in working citizens. The disease can even affect a housewife, especially if her work goes unnoticed and unappreciated. People caring for a sick relative experience similar feelings. Over time, a whole lump of hopelessness and injustice accumulates inside them.

People of creative professions are also susceptible to pathology: artists, writers and actors. Often the syndrome arises as a result of one’s own insecurity, especially if one’s talent is not recognized.

Essence and types of syndrome

Pathology usually occurs as a result of accumulated negative emotions that are associated with a person’s profession. The main reason for the development of the syndrome is the need to help other people. As a result, for example, doctors, psychologists and teachers simply do not have enough time to take care of themselves. They perceive every negative event and failure in the life of their ward as their own defeats. Ultimately, frequent stressful situations lead to the appearance of the disorder.

The pathology is considered dangerous because over time it causes real depression in the patient. A person feels like an outcast, he cannot realize himself due to enormous self-doubt, he loses his job and people close to him, and all prospects for the future completely disappear. As a result, the patient loses interest in life and may have thoughts of suicide.

Burnout syndrome in medical workers

Since the work of medical employees involves regular communication with patients, the syndrome of professional emotional burnout threatens them to a greater extent than people of other professions. That is why it is important for specialists to undergo all kinds of examinations in a timely manner and correct their own behavior.

The work of a doctor is characterized by increased mental stress, frequent conflict and stressful situations. All the time, the doctor is under the gun of other people’s negative emotions, which in any case will affect his state of mind. As a result, in order to protect itself from stress, the body builds a certain barrier, as a result of which the doctor becomes less emotional and susceptible to other people's problems.

Professional burnout syndrome among teachers

A teacher at an institute or a teacher at a school constantly has to interact and communicate with people - colleagues, students, parents.

In this case, burnout syndrome may appear due to frequent psycho-emotional stress, regular noise and insufficient work organization. At the same time, the teacher constantly experiences a sense of increased responsibility and takes everything too personally. To return to normal life, experts recommend that teachers seek help from a psychotherapist, who will not only conduct a relaxing conversation, but also prescribe appropriate medication.

Burnout syndrome among psychologists

The work of psychologists also involves regular interaction with other people. The psychotherapist regularly encounters anger, irritation and temper. Moreover, he goes through every problem of the patient through himself in order to find a truly correct way out of the current situation. In this case, even a strong and self-confident person cannot always withstand the load that has fallen on his shoulders. That is why sometimes psychologists need the help of experienced specialists.

Personal burnout syndrome

A striking example of personality burnout syndrome can be the detached, indifferent behavior of a person. In this state, the patient changes his attitude towards friends and close people, relatives; he can no longer cope with the stress that arises in the workplace. The patient believes that he is no longer competent in his specialty. A person loses the meaning of life, since he does not receive joy or satisfaction from his own achievements. There is a need for loneliness and solitude. His memory deteriorates and his concentration decreases.

People with burnout syndrome can also negatively affect their colleagues, friends, and family. Patients constantly break down and make scandals, causing pain to others. It is impossible to help such people without consulting a psychotherapist.

How to overcome professional burnout at work? 10 Step Technique

Let's figure out what to do in such a situation. The ten steps below will help you find the best course of action:

1. To solve a problem, you need to recognize it and accept it
   .
2. Understand that the problem is not in others or circumstances, but within you. It's difficult, but necessary. You cannot change circumstances, but you can change yourself and overcome difficulties through this.
3. Understand the causes of burnout. Maybe you don't see purpose or meaning in your work. Maybe you work with conflicting clients or one of the customers puts psychological pressure on you.
4. Once you recognize the problem that is leading to burnout, create an action plan to solve it. It is important that you can implement the plan on your own
   . For example, you have the power to change your job or no longer take on projects from a conflicting client.
5. Find meaning in your work. He does exist. For some, it is important that work improves their personal well-being. Others want to make a difference in the world by doing important work. Find your motivation and become aware of it.
6. Learn to set goals and achieve them. A very good book on this topic is “The Whole Life.” Many people suffer from burnout because they set unrealistic goals or don’t work towards them and end up feeling disappointed and feeling like failures (which they are not).
7. Always remember why you are working and putting in so much effort.
8. Make an “Achievements Diary” and write down your victories there, even small ones. When you find it difficult, open your diary and read - it will become easier to cope with overload.
9. Try to be positive. Read biographies of people who have faced difficulties and successfully overcome them. Understand that you are not alone with this problem, and many people have successfully solved it. You can do it too!
10. Learn to dose your loads and quickly relieve stress. If you have a very stressful job, read the book “Under Pressure.” It is written by professionals who work with athletes and describes useful techniques that help overcome stress and emotional overload in extremely stressful situations (like sports competitions). This is a very useful book.

Real life story: how to avoid burnout at work

I experienced burnout when I wanted to do more than I actually could.
He didn’t give up on projects, he took on everything at once. At first I tried to get everything done, but things piled on top of each other and turned into a snowball. There was irritation and constant hassle. I stopped. I paused. I looked at my life and made plans for what I really want, why and when. I weighed everything realistically and crossed out half the points from my plans. I left only real things. I started planning every day. Since morning. I plan no more than what I can do. It turned out that if you don’t overload yourself, your work goes more efficiently. In fact, I began to get more done than when I was “loading myself to the brim,” and my mood improved. Now, if irritation or force majeure suddenly arises, I immediately look to see if I have made realistic plans, or am I trying to overload myself again? If the plans are unrealistic, then I reduce the load. I only leave what I can do.

Symptoms

Mental burnout syndrome develops slowly and gradually. At first, the patient feels slightly tired, but later he loses the desire to work and do his favorite things. This condition occurs due to decreased concentration. Along with this, apathy, causeless temper and irritability appear.

Scientists divide the signs of the disease into three groups:

1.Physical manifestations, which are characterized by the following symptoms:

• General weakness;
• Fatigue;
• Joint pain;
• Decreased immune defense of the body;
• Regular headaches;
• Hyperhidrosis;
• Lack of appetite;
• Change in weight;
• Frequent dizziness;
• Insomnia.

2. Socio-behavioral signs:

• Irritability and anger towards everything that happens;
• Complaints about one’s own work and the team;
• The desire to find someone to blame for all your failures among other people;
• Pessimistic mood, only gloomy forecasts for the future;
• Avoidance of responsibility;
• The desire to be alone as often as possible.

Sometimes a patient may begin to abuse alcohol or drugs in order to drown out absolutely all the problems at once. As a rule, this does not lead to anything good.

3. Psycho-emotional signs:

• Indifference to events occurring in one’s own life;
• Diffidence;
• Loss of interest in work;
• Conflicts with loved ones, family;
• Bad mood for a long time.

Burnout syndrome, in its clinical manifestations, is very similar to deep depression. The patient always feels that absolutely no one, including his family, needs him anymore. He feels doomed and depressed, and it is also difficult for him to concentrate on any important matters.

Communication

The most difficult problem, in the sense that it is difficult to solve. Communication problems are about conflicts with clients and colleagues. A bad team at work also applies here.

Previously, it was generally believed that only people in professions related to communication burn out. This is not true, but the problems in this area are the most noticeable.

How to decide. Try to please everyone. In general, everyone, including the most disgusting clients. This is not because it will be easier for others around you, but because friendly and sociable people have an easier life.

Conflicts not only exhaust those around you, they primarily harm you.

Money

This is exactly what bothered Dasha in the first place. And she's not alone.

The problem with money is that there is always less of it than you want.

How to decide. ABOUT! There are two ways here. The first is succinctly called “lowering the bar of desires” or simply “rolling up your lip” and is illustrated by the picture:

The second is called long and sophisticated: “Long-term plan for increasing material well-being.” Let's illustrate with Dasha:

Career advancement

Burnout occurs when your career reaches a dead end and there is nowhere to go further.

How to decide. About the same as the problem with money. Either you lower the bar of aspirations, or you think about what you need to do in order to get a promotion.

Instability

This is about changing salaries, schedule changes, travel, unexpected affairs and the need to immediately respond to the situation. This happens in many professions, but the work of sales managers really consists almost entirely of such surprises.

How to decide. Routine helps cope with instability. Any surprise ceases to be unexpected if you prepare for it.

Time management skills, the ability to structure tasks, creating scenarios for unpleasant situations and planning help.

If all this paperwork seems pointless to you, you're right. Their purpose is only to give you a feeling of stability.

Routine

Routine is the opposite of instability: life is too boring.

How to decide. It's more complicated here. Making routine work more fun is not easy. Rather, changes in the rest of your life will help. Travel and visit new places, start a hobby, engage in active sports. Let work be the most stable thing in your life. Then you can take a break from adventures on it. It sounds difficult, but you can at least try.

Existential problems

The meaninglessness of life. Universal injustice. Time slipping through your fingers. All this is not directly related to work, but can cause burnout.

How to decide. This is a difficult question. If existential problems were so easily solved, people would be much happier.

The only thing that can be suggested here is to try to do charity work. Helping others gives great meaning to existence.

Spiritual practices also help a lot.

Diagnosis of the syndrome

It is estimated that the pathology has about 100 different signs. As burnout syndrome develops, the patient increasingly complains of constant fatigue, aching pain in the joints, insomnia, forgetfulness, irascibility, decreased mental performance, and loss of concentration.

Doctors distinguish several main periods of development of the syndrome:

1. The previous stage is characterized by excessive activity of the patient in the professional sphere. At the same time, the patient is not interested in anything other than job responsibilities.
2. The next stage is called the period of exhaustion. Its duration has no clear boundaries. The patient experiences chronic weakness that does not disappear even after sleep.
3. Personal detachment is a new stage in the development of the disease. A person loses interest in his own professional responsibilities. The patient's self-esteem drops, and a feeling of loneliness and doom appears.

To identify the disease, a special test was developed that determines the degree of development of the pathology. In addition, there are 5 most striking manifestations of the disorder, which help to distinguish it from similar mental illnesses:

• Emotional: pessimism, indifference, callousness towards other people, cynicism.
• Behavioral: attacks of aggression, lack of appetite.
• Physical: fatigue, apathy, overwork, insomnia, high or low blood pressure, heart disease, panic attacks, skin rashes, increased sweating.
• Social: social activity decreases, the patient prefers loneliness, and limits contact even with family.
• Intellectual: concentration and memory deteriorate, refusal to participate in developmental programs is observed, patterned behavior arises.

Treatment

The main problem in the treatment of the syndrome is the non-serious attitude of patients towards this pathology. They believe that to improve their condition, they simply need to overcome themselves and fulfill all professional obligations, even despite the lack of desire and overwork. But such an opinion is wrong.

To cope with the disease, first of all, you need to slow down the pace of life. This does not mean that you should quit your job and abandon all responsibilities. You just need to take care of yourself and, at least a little, rest.

For example, psychologists recommend that housewives alternate household chores with something pleasant that will help them distract themselves and relax: let them watch an episode of their favorite TV series after cooking or read an interesting book after cleaning the house. Such encouragement will not only help you cope with household chores faster, but will also increase your interest in life.

If the syndrome occurs in an office worker, then the best treatment option would be extraordinary leave or sick leave. Usually this period is enough for a person to rest and return to a normal, happy life.

Also, one of the most important places in the treatment of pathology is the analysis of the reasons that led to the development of the syndrome. These factors can be outlined to a friend or written on a piece of paper and then burned. It has been proven that such an outburst of emotions helps improve a person’s moral and physical condition.

Professional burnout syndrome must begin to be treated as soon as its first symptoms appear. Usually, in such a case, getting rid of the disease is quite simple. You should take a break from pressing problems, do what you love and relax. You also need to learn to cope with negative emotions, for example, through regular exercise.

Short-term methods to combat burnout

• Vacation. The simplest thing you can do. Just move away, and don’t think about work under any circumstances. Positive emotions in large quantities make the monkey temporarily shut up. The main thing is not to overestimate the result - the positive effect of the vacation will not last long.
• Humility. Imagine the most dire consequences of the situation and come to terms with them. This is if you can’t go on vacation, but a frightening situation is already on your doorstep. Even if your whole life depends on negotiations, you should not tremble and be afraid - this way you will only feed the monkey. Better check out HeadHunter, there are plenty of vacancies in your field. So, even if they fire you, nothing bad will happen.
• Positive thinking. Write down on paper all the good things about your work. Just take it and write it down. Salary? Stability? Colleagues, in general, nothing? Successful project last week? A beautiful flower on the window?
• Dynamics. Has your life gotten better in the last 24 hours? And in a month? What about a year? And in 10 years? Has your salary increased? Has your career progressed? Has your professional knowledge increased? Think about it. If there is dynamics, then life is improving and there is nothing to be upset about.

Prevention

To prevent the disease, experts recommend conducting classes that help improve personal qualities and increase the level of resistance to various stressful situations. To do this, the patient himself must take a direct part in the treatment of the syndrome. He needs to know what this pathology is, how to get rid of it and how to prevent relapse. In this case, the main thing is to provide the patient with proper rest and isolate him from his usual work environment. The help of a psychotherapist is also often required.

Typically, emotional and psychological burnout is a consequence of mental and physical exhaustion. Therefore, to prevent the occurrence and development of pathology, the following preventive measures can be taken:

1. Do some kind of sport, take a walk in the evenings before going to bed. Such activities promote a good mood and the release of all negative emotions. You can choose the type of physical activity depending on your own preferences, for example, running, dancing, volleyball or even figure skating.
2. Maintain a healthy diet and increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and fiber. At the same time, you should avoid products with high caffeine content, as it contributes to stress. It has been proven that within 3 weeks after completely stopping its use, the level of anxiety and worry decreases sharply.
3. Maintain a positive atmosphere in the workplace. Psychotherapists advise regularly taking at least short but frequent breaks.
4. Sleep at least 8 hours. Scientists have proven that night rest helps the patient cope with all negative emotions in a shorter time. It is believed that a person is truly awake only when he easily wakes up at the first ringing of the alarm clock.
5. Find your favorite activity, hobby. There is a moment in everyone's life when it is necessary to quickly reduce emotional stress. It is in this case that your favorite hobby helps. For example, painting or making clay sculptures will help relax the nervous system.
6. Conduct auto-training, meditation and aromatherapy. In addition, psychologists advise not to take the problems that happen in life too personally. It is important to learn to look your fears in the eye and be able to overcome them.

Burnout syndrome is the body’s cry that it needs rest. Therefore, already at the first manifestations of the disease, you should take at least a few days off and just relax. Traveling, meeting with friends, playing sports, psychological training and other relaxing techniques can reduce the risk of illness and cope with existing illnesses.

Long term methods

So, if you have done all of the above and have found a little joy in life, let’s review the problems.

Let's imagine that life is a business project. Business problems can be solvable and those that need to be dealt with. The solvable ones are money, people, resources. Philosophically perceived - laws of state and laws of physics, competitors and much more.

So, to prevent burnout from occurring further, you need to solve the problems that lead to it, or learn to treat them philosophically.

And here we come into conflict. I wrote earlier that it is impossible to feed a monkey. Yeah, that's right. The monkey loves to feel like a helpless victim. When someone comes to solve her problems, she suffers because everyone around her is doing everything wrong, and again she feels like a victim.

The only way to deal with it is to solve your problems yourself.

So, classification of problems.

Health

Oh, there could be a whole lot of options here. From swollen feet among salespeople and back pain among programmers, to poisoning by toxic substances among factory workers.

Health problems are a huge contributor to burnout and need to be addressed first. This also includes migraines, stomach problems and insomnia.

Except for the most radical cases, like the toxic substances mentioned (no, if everything is so bad, maybe you should think about changing jobs?), the problem can be completely solved by playing sports, eating right, having a normal daily routine, and visiting a doctor in advanced situations.

It smacks of banality and moralizing, but it works.

Forecast

Burnout syndrome is the result of severe and prolonged stress. At the same time, pathology can disturb absolutely any person. To avoid such a situation, you should get rid of all negative emotions and experiences as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the appearance and development of pathology becomes inevitable. Typically, the disease leads to loss of strength, increased anxiety and anger, and without proper timely treatment, to emotional breakdowns and deep depression. In this case, it is especially difficult to do without the help of a qualified specialist.