Burnout

Burnout, triggered by intense and persistent stress, is a condition of emotional, physical and mental fatigue. It happens when you feel stressed, exhausted physically, and unable to fulfill constant demands. As the stress continues, you start to lose the interest and enthusiasm that in the first place led you to take on a certain task.

Burnout decreases productivity and saps your vitality, making you feel more and more powerless, hopeless, pessimistic, and resentful. You can finally feel like you don't have anything more to offer.

The detrimental effects of burnout, including your home, career, and social life, spill over into every area of life. Burnout can also contribute to long-term body changes that render you prone to diseases such as colds and flu. It's important to deal with burnout immediately because of its many implications.

Signs and symptoms of burnout

Most of us have days where we feel powerless, overloaded, or unappreciated, needing the determination of Hercules to get ourselves out of bed. However, you can be burnt out if you feel like this most of the time.

Burnout is a slow, painful process. It's not going to happen immediately, but it could creep up on you. At first, the signs and symptoms are mild, but as time goes by, they get worse. Think of the early signs as warning flags that something that needs to be dealt with is wrong. You can stop a big breakdown if you pay attention and deliberately reduce the stress. You'll finally flame out if you neglect them.

Physical signs and symptoms of burnout

· Feeling exhausted most of the time and drained.

· Diminished immunity, repeated diseases.

· Frequent headaches or pain in the muscles.

· Appetite or sleep patterns are altered

Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout

· A feeling of weakness and self-doubt.

· Helpless, trapped, and defeated feeling.

· Detachment, feeling in the world alone.

· Motivation loss.

· An increasingly pessimistic and negative view.

· Decreased fulfillment and sense of achievement.

Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout

· Withdrawing from duties.

· Self-isolation from others.

· Procrastinating, taking longer to do things.

· Coping with food, medications, or alcohol.

· To take your anger out on others.

· Skipping work or leaving early and coming in late.

The difference between stress and burnout

The consequence of unrelenting stress can be burnout, but it is not the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, requires too much: too many demands that physically and emotionally demand too much of you. Stressed individuals, however, can still imagine that they'll feel better if they can only keep it under control.

Burnout, on the other hand, isn't sufficient. Burning out means feeling empty and emotionally drained, deprived of inspiration, and beyond caring. People suffering burnout sometimes do not see much possibility that their conditions will improve positively. Burnout is a feeling of being all dried up if constant tension feels like you're drowning in obligations. And while you're normally conscious of being under a lot of tension, when it arises, you don't often notice burnout.

Causes of burnout

Often, burnout results from your work. But everyone who feels overworked and undervalued, from the hard-working office worker who hasn't had a break in years to the frazzled stay-at-home mother who tends to children, housework, and an elderly father, is at risk of burnout.

Yet burnout is not exclusively triggered by stressful jobs or too many duties. Other factors, including the lifestyle and character traits, lead to burnout. In reality, what you do in your downtime and how you look at the world can play just as large a role as job or home demands in causing overwhelming stress.

Work-related causes of burnout

· Feeling like you have no influence over your job or no control.

· Lack of acknowledgment or recognition for successful work.

· Unclear or excessively challenging requirements for jobs.

· Doing job that's unchallenging or monotonous.

· Working in an area of uncertainty or high pressure.

Lifestyle causes of burnout

· Doing too hard, without any time to socialize or relax.

· Lack of supportive, close relationships.

· Taking on too many tasks, without adequate support from others.

· Not having enough sleep.

Personality traits can contribute to burnout

· Tendencies of perfectionism; nothing is ever good enough.

· Pessimistic interpretation of yourself and of the universe.

· Reluctance to delegate to others; the desire to be in charge.

· High-achieving, personality type A.