How to deal with burnout? Burnout - How To Deal With Work Stress How To Deal With Emotional Burnout

Scientists believe that burnout is not just a mental condition, but a disease that affects the entire body.

The term "burnout" was coined in 1974 by the American psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger. At the same time, he compared the state of a "burnt out" person with a burned down house. From the outside, the building may look safe and sound, and only if you go inside does the degree of devastation become apparent.

Psychologists now identify three elements of burnout:

• exhaustion;
• cynical attitude to work;
• feeling of own failure.

Exhaustion leads to the fact that we get upset easily, sleep poorly, get sick more often and have difficulty concentrating.

A cynical attitude towards our activities makes us feel disconnected from colleagues and lack of motivation.

And the feeling of inadequacy makes us doubt our own abilities and perform worse in our duties.

Why does burnout occur?

We are used to thinking that burnout occurs simply because we work too hard. It's actually because our work schedule, responsibilities, deadlines, and other stressors outweigh our job satisfaction.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley identify six factors associated with employee burnout:

• workload;
• control;
• rewards;
• team relationships;
• Justice;
• values.

We experience burnout when one of these aspects of work (or more) does not meet our needs.

What is the risk of burnout?

Fatigue and lack of motivation are not the worst consequences of burnout.

• According to researchers, chronic stress that occurs in people with burnout syndrome negatively affects thinking and communication skills, and also overloads our neuroendocrine system. And over time, the effects of burnout can lead to problems with memory, attention and emotions.
• One study found that those who experienced burnout accelerated the thinning of the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for cognitive performance. Although the bark naturally becomes thinner with aging, those who experienced burnout were more likely to have a more pronounced effect.
• It's not just the brain that is at risk. Another study found that burnout significantly increases the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.

How to deal with burnout?

Psychologists advise looking for ways to reduce the workload at work: delegate some of the responsibilities, say "no" more often and write down what causes you stress. In addition, you need to learn to rest and enjoy life again.

Remember to take care of yourself

It is easy to forget about yourself when there is no strength for anything. In a state, it seems to us that taking care of ourselves is the last thing to spend time on. However, according to psychologists, it is precisely her that should not be neglected.

When you feel close to burnout, it's especially important to eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get enough sleep.

Also, remember what helps you to relax and take more time for it.

Do what you love

Burnout can happen if you don't have the opportunity to regularly devote time to what you love.

To prevent job dissatisfaction from turning into burnout, think about what is most important to you and include it in your schedule.

At least a little every day, do what you love, and once a week devote more time to it. Then you will never have the feeling that you do not have time to do the most important things.

Try something new

Do something new, for example, which you have long dreamed of. It might sound counterintuitive because you’re already busy all the time, but in fact, doing something new will help you avoid burnout.

The main thing is to choose what will restore strength and energize.

If adding something new to your schedule is completely impossible, start by taking care of yourself. Focus on sleep and nutrition, and try to exercise at least a little every day. This will help avoid the consequences of burnout and return to duty.

Stress and high pace of life accompany most of us throughout the year. In spring, chronic fatigue caused by a lack of sunlight and vitamins is often added to this. All this can lead to the so-called professional burnout syndrome. Even the most successful specialists are not insured against loss of interest in the profession.

Groundhog Day
Having barely lifted your head from the pillow, you wandered languidly into the bathroom, remembering with horror that today is only Tuesday, which means that the weekend is still far away. Standing in a traffic jam on the way to the office, mentally scold narrow roads, broken traffic lights and inattentive pedestrians. Within an hour after starting work, you feel tired, any business requires serious stress from you. Everything annoys you - colleagues, your boss, reports, emails, and even a pen with a company logo. More and more often you look at your watch in anticipation of the evening ...

Finally, the working day is over. After spending another couple of hours in a traffic jam or subway, you return home, but you cannot cope with a bad mood even with your family. You go to bed with the sad knowledge that tomorrow everything will be repeated from the beginning.

Did you recognize yourself? Isn't your job fun anymore, and isn't talking to prospective clients inspiring? If you feel that life has turned into a solid groundhog day, then, most likely, there is a so-called professional burnout syndrome - the depletion of the emotional resources of a working person against the background of chronic fatigue and stress. HR managers call this phenomenon demotivation.

At-risk groups
Who is most at risk of being burned out at work? There are several risk groups. Firstly, these are specialists who work with people on a daily basis - teachers, doctors, journalists, PR specialists, client managers, recruiters, salespeople, etc. Agree, it is not easy to meet every day from year to year with the most diverse representatives of humanity , listen carefully to them and try to help them, not always receiving gratitude in return.

Secondly, introverts can “burn out” at work, that is, those who keep all their experiences in themselves, without splashing out their emotions on others. Finding himself in a stressful or uncomfortable situation for himself, such a person will not express dissatisfaction for a long time, accumulating negative. Chronic fatigue and burnout are often a natural consequence of this.

Finally, another category of workers who are at risk of burnout are perfectionists, that is, those who always strive to do their job best. "Red" university diplomas, successful independent projects, victories in professional competitions - all this is given to perfectionists not for their beautiful eyes, but is the result of daily hard work. Several years of work practically without days off often turn into a syndrome of professional burnout.

Who rests well, works well
So, if you notice in yourself such signs as irritation in relation to your once favorite work, dislike for colleagues, a feeling of routine, chronic fatigue, insomnia, or, conversely, drowsiness, lethargy, then it's time to take care of your condition. Otherwise (sadly, but this is a scientific fact) daily stress can lead to a serious deterioration in health - systematic headaches, gastritis, hypertension, heart problems, etc.

How to prevent this and regain simple joys - inspiration before starting a new business, satisfaction from what has been done, real drive from work? It is best to start your own rehabilitation program with rest. How long have you been on vacation - with travel, sea, delicious food and sunshine? By the way, it has been proven that prolonged absence of the sun in itself provokes depression in people. What can we say about the mental state of office inhabitants, sometimes for months "sunbathing" under the light of a computer monitor!

So go on vacation whenever possible. Beach or skiing with kids, lonely fishing or spa with a friend, conquering mountain rivers or excursions to cities and countries - there are many ways to get new experiences and rejuvenate. Choose the one you like best.

Learn, learn and learn
A good remedy for professional burnout is to improve your educational level. Think about what knowledge you lack in your work. In what direction would you like to develop? For example, if your specialty is PR and you are in charge of public relations in an investment company, why not move up a notch with a degree in economics? Studying will not only drive away the blues, but also open up new horizons in your activity, give you the opportunity for career growth.

If you don't need a second higher education, think about trainings, refresher courses, seminars, speaking language clubs, etc. Sometimes even banal English courses give a tremendous boost of energy: you meet new people, raise your language level, and at the same time take a break from work, because a change of activity is the best rest. Moreover, investments in education are the most reliable.

Refresh workplace
A much simpler but surprisingly effective way to combat burnout is to change your workplace. You can offer to swap places with a colleague, you can just move your table and chair a little. Throw away unwanted papers, clean up your computer folders, dust off where a cleaning lady doesn't, and you'll be surprised how much easier your breathing becomes.

If possible, if it is not prohibited by company rules, add some nice little things to this - for example, a houseplant in a pot, a photo of loved ones, etc. It will be much more pleasant to be at work. Of course, the fight against professional burnout is not limited to cleaning at the workplace - this method is good in combination with others.

Workout
Scientists have proven that regular fitness exercises contribute to the production of joy hormones. Find time for sports in your busy schedule. Let it be what you love - oriental dancing or yoga, swimming or volleyball. The joy of movement will transform your life - you will have more strength, including for work. Even if you do not have the opportunity to regularly visit a sports club, do not deny yourself at least walking, cycling or rollerblading. Relax, recharge your batteries, and then a working attitude will appear.

Talk to your boss
If you feel that, despite all the measures taken, you still do not want to go to work, that the past labor exploits are beyond your strength, it may be time for a frank conversation with the manager. Surely he has already noticed your mood and the decrease in the efficiency of your work. Explain that you are tired of monotony (or, on the contrary, of excessive variety) in your work, you want to change something in your life, you sit in one place ...

An adequate boss will appreciate your frankness, especially since staff motivation is most likely part of their responsibilities. The chef may well help you: for example, provide more opportunities for creativity, send on an interesting business trip, entrust a new project - in a word, make it so that you can show your talents to the maximum and feel involved in the company's success.

Change job
Finally, the last and most radical remedy for professional burnout is a job change. Sometimes it is better to sacrifice a place in the company than to bring yourself to a state of absolute rejection of the profession. So if, despite the efforts made, you do not see prospects for yourself, are tired of the routine, do not feel opportunities for self-realization, perhaps the time has come to post your resume on job sites. And find a job that you enjoy.

Scientists believe that burnout is not just a mental condition, but a disease that affects the entire body.

The term "burnout" was coined in 1974 by the American psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger. At the same time, he compared the state of a "burnt out" person with a burned down house. From the outside, the building may look safe and sound, and only if you go inside does the degree of devastation become apparent.

Psychologists now identify three elements of burnout:

• exhaustion;
• cynical attitude to work;
• feeling of own failure.

Exhaustion leads to the fact that we get upset easily, sleep poorly, get sick more often and have difficulty concentrating.

A cynical attitude towards our activities makes us feel disconnected from colleagues and lack of motivation.

And the feeling of inadequacy makes us doubt our own abilities and perform worse in our duties.

Why does burnout occur?

We are used to thinking that burnout occurs simply because we work too hard. It's actually because our work schedule, responsibilities, deadlines, and other stressors outweigh our job satisfaction.

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley identify six factors associated with employee burnout:

• workload;
• control;
• rewards;
• team relationships;
• Justice;
• values.

We experience burnout when one of these aspects of work (or more) does not meet our needs.

What is the risk of burnout?

Fatigue and lack of motivation are not the worst consequences of burnout.

• According to researchers, chronic stress that occurs in people with burnout syndrome negatively affects thinking and communication skills, and also overloads our neuroendocrine system. And over time, the effects of burnout can lead to problems with memory, attention and emotions.
• One study found that those who experienced burnout accelerated the thinning of the prefrontal cortex, the region responsible for cognitive performance. Although the bark naturally becomes thinner with aging, those who experienced burnout were more likely to have a more pronounced effect.
• It's not just the brain that is at risk. Another study found that burnout significantly increases the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease.

How to deal with burnout?

Psychologists advise looking for ways to reduce the workload at work: delegate some of the responsibilities, say "no" more often and write down what causes you stress. In addition, you need to learn to rest and enjoy life again.

Remember to take care of yourself

It is easy to forget about yourself when there is no strength for anything. In a state, it seems to us that taking care of ourselves is the last thing to spend time on. However, according to psychologists, it is precisely her that should not be neglected.

When you feel close to burnout, it's especially important to eat well, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get enough sleep.

Also, remember what helps you to relax and take more time for it.

Do what you love

Burnout can happen if you don't have the opportunity to regularly devote time to what you love.

To prevent job dissatisfaction from turning into burnout, think about what is most important to you and include it in your schedule.

At least a little every day, do what you love, and once a week devote more time to it. Then you will never have the feeling that you do not have time to do the most important things.

Try something new

Do something new, for example, which you have long dreamed of. It might sound counterintuitive because you’re already busy all the time, but in fact, doing something new will help you avoid burnout.

The main thing is to choose what will restore strength and energize.

If adding something new to your schedule is completely impossible, start by taking care of yourself. Focus on sleep and nutrition, and try to exercise at least a little every day. This will help avoid the consequences of burnout and return to duty.

In professional language, burnout syndrome is called "demotivation" - an employee develops a cynical attitude towards work, and emotional exhaustion sets in. The return on such a worker is usually small. In addition, he can infect the entire team with a decadent mood. Burnout syndrome can be defeated. But you need to fight not with the consequences of demotivation, but with its causes.

Why staff are less motivated

Usually, at the initial stage of the relationship with the employee, the organization takes an extremely advantageous position for itself. When an employee is just starting a new job, most often his intrinsic motivation is strong and can be the main factor in determining behavior in the workplace. For many specialists, this is a challenge: new tasks, obstacles, an opportunity to learn something. Even an employee with solid experience will have to delve into unfamiliar problems, build relationships with colleagues and clients, and learn to take advantage of the benefits. In this situation, the main task of the leader is not to lose an advantageous position.

Burnout is not an employee's personal problem. The company is also responsible for not minimizing the risk of burnout. First of all, the syndrome appears among employees in communicative positions - managers of negotiation processes, employees of personnel services, specialists in external communication relations of the company. Also, employees who experience constant stress in the workplace are susceptible to burnout syndrome. In any case, the likelihood of "burnout" does not depend on the personal characteristics of a particular employee, but on the moral and psychological climate in the company, employment conditions and the management system as a whole. That is why it is necessary to fight not with the consequences - exhaustion, demoralization, fatigue and other signs, but with the causes. If the first signs of "burnout" in the employee do appear, he needs moral support in the form of positive optimistic attitudes from the management. This will allow the subordinate not to be left alone with his oppressed state. The active involvement of the employee in the work will also help, not only on his site, but also on adjacent ones. For some people, the opportunity to learn new things is more beneficial than, for example, material incentives.

How to deal with burnout

It is quite possible to prevent the development of the staff burnout syndrome. To do this, you should know the reasons for demotivation.

• Breach of gentlemen's agreements

Motivation may decrease already some time after the employee arrives at work. Hopes often do not come true, since many important questions remain behind the scenes in the process of negotiations with the employer.

The interview usually discusses the nature and mode of work, time of rest and remuneration, but practically does not stipulate the issues of the corporate climate. Often the employer only talks about the pros of a future job.

The candidate's expectations are at odds with the actual state of affairs in the company, and soon after starting work, the employee discovers that he has drawn the wrong card: training is formal, there are no prospects for growth, the team is a closed group of employees. As a result, there is no trace of the candidate's energy and enthusiasm.

Recommendations. In the selection process, HR professionals should provide the candidate with as much information about the company as possible. Candidates who are not intimidated by possible complications will have realistic expectations.

• Unclaimed talents

Overqualification is often worse than underqualification. Experienced managers know that it is dangerous to hire someone who is too qualified for the position being offered. It is highly likely that in a few months he will get bored and will try to realize his unclaimed talents. Until the employee finds a worthy application for himself, colleagues will have to watch his attempts to "hook" not so qualified bosses or poke their noses everywhere with their advice. There are no perfect matches. A candidate may not have absolutely all the skills you need, but this can be easily remedied with internal training and internships. It is more difficult with the skills that he has and that will not be useful to him in a new place. Carelessly discarding such skills over time is fraught with serious demotivation.

Recommendations. It is necessary to try to apply unclaimed skills and knowledge of employees to solve new problems. Even short-term projects will let the subordinate understand that the company values ​​all his knowledge and skills. For example, an employee who speaks a foreign language can be instructed to find the information you need on foreign sites or to review the foreign special press. The employee will be grateful to you for the opportunity not to forget the best of what he knows.

• Ignoring ideas and initiatives

When starting a new job, employees usually "gush" with new ideas - from improving working methods to rearranging office furniture. Most often, management simply brushes off these ideas - because of distrust of newcomers, unwillingness to part with the usual work environment, etc.

Recommendations. All employees of the company should be able to express ideas and suggestions. Even if they are not genius enough to bring them to life, they deserve to be considered. The development department or HR department can organize this activity. It is useful to create a section "Questions and suggestions for the management" on the internal Internet portal. Employees must necessarily receive a response, an explanation of why this or that idea is premature or not suitable for implementation in the company.

• Low involvement

This demotivator is most relevant for employees working outside the company office, or for support staff. An employee who does not feel like a part of the company will carry out his duties carelessly. This problem can affect not only field employees, but also staff members, and sometimes entire departments.

Recommendations. A sense of community and team spirit are strong motivators. Employees with such a motive are ready to sacrifice their personal interests and time, working to achieve the company's goals. That is why we need general corporate events, regular information about what is happening.

• Lack of visible achievements

Quite often, due to the specifics of the work, employees cannot immediately see the result of their activities. Work “without result” turns into a routine and after a certain time it neutralizes internal motivation. People of creative professions experience the absence of interesting work especially painfully.

Recommendations. For employees of the "routine" sphere, create from time to time projects - short-term tasks, including in areas related to their specialization. This will dilute the routine and allow them to learn something. Divide long-term projects into visible stages, actively discuss intermediate results and, of course, encourage participants.

• Lack of recognition

Not so long ago, the Boards of Fame were a strong motivator in work. Ambitious workers (and there are most of them) went out of their way to be able to show their portrait to others. Recognition was more important than a prize: bonuses are spent alone, and many will recognize the best employee by sight. And today, opinion polls show that workers suffer if colleagues do not notice their achievements.

• No change in status

If all the bosses start carrying logs, then there will not be enough logs for everyone. If all the bearers are bosses, the result will be the same. In other words, structural constraints are the most common cause of career slowdowns (stalls). For years, employees have not been able to achieve a change in their status, that is, to receive broader powers, the ability to solve new problems and grow. The situation is typical for large companies with a rigid hierarchy. To cope with it, instead of raising the status, the leadership of the organization offers a decent compensation package and many other opportunities. But, as a rule, such companies cannot boast of a high level of employee motivation and loyalty.

Not the least important demotivator is the subjectivism of the bosses when making decisions about the relocation of employees. Imagine what an employee feels, who has stayed in his position and clearly grew out of it, at the moment when another person is appointed to the vacant position.

Stages of decreasing motivation

In management psychology, the following stages of motivation decrease are traditionally distinguished:

Stage 1. Confusion. The first symptoms of a stressful state begin to appear. They are a consequence of the confusion of an employee who ceases to understand what he needs to do and why his work is not going well. This is not yet particularly affecting labor productivity, but the load on the nervous system is increasing.

Stage 2. Irritation. If the employee feels that the situation is not improving, he begins to experience irritation associated with a feeling of powerlessness. His behavior is somewhat demonstrative. He is inclined to deliberately withdraw into himself or take an emphatically defensive position. At the same time, the productivity of his labor increases. The employee is making more and more efforts, hoping that he will be able to cope with the stressful situation.

Stage 3. Dual role. Noticing that the immediate supervisor does not make any attempts to remedy the situation, the employee ceases to doubt who is to blame for the difficulties and changes tactics. He can disrupt the work process in the hope of drawing the attention of others to the problem, begins to avoid the boss. This stage can be noticed by insufficient contacts between the manager and the subordinate.

Stage 4. Disappointment. From this stage onwards, it is much more difficult to restore a shattered interest in work. Labor productivity is reduced to the minimum acceptable level. The duration of this phase can fluctuate depending on the employee's self-confidence, energy and moral values. Personal contact between the boss and the subordinate with an open discussion of the problem can restore interest in work.

Stage 5. Loss of willingness to cooperate. The most obvious symptom of this stage is the employee's attempt to emphasize in words or deeds that "this and this is not my business." The employee crosses the boundaries of his duties, trying to narrow them down as much as possible. Some begin to behave defiantly, neglecting work. At this stage, relationships with colleagues also deteriorate.

A state when there is no strength, no feelings, no joy in life is the scourge of our time. Fortunately, this can be combated, says the famous Austrian psychotherapist, founder of modern existential analysis, Alfried Langle.

Emotional burn-out is a symptom of our time. This is a state of exhaustion, which leads to the paralysis of our strengths, feelings and is accompanied by a loss of joy in relation to life. In our time, cases of burnout syndrome are increasing. This applies not only to social professions, for which the burnout syndrome was characteristic earlier, but also to other professions, as well as a person's personal life. Our era contributes to the spread of burnout syndrome - a time of achievement, consumption, new materialism, entertainment and enjoyment of life. This is the time when we exploit ourselves and allow ourselves to be exploited.

Light burnout

I think that every person has ever experienced the symptoms of burnout. We show signs of exhaustion in ourselves if we have experienced great stress, carried out something large-scale. For example, if we were preparing for exams, working on a project, writing a dissertation, or raising two small children. It happens that at work it took a lot of effort, there were some crisis situations, or, for example, during the flu epidemic, doctors had to work very hard.
And then symptoms such as irritability, lack of desires, sleep disorder (when a person cannot fall asleep, or, conversely, sleeps for a very long time), a decrease in motivation, a person feels mostly uncomfortable, and depressive symptoms may appear. This is a simple version of burnout - burnout at the reaction level, a physiological and psychological reaction to excessive stress. When the situation is over, the symptoms disappear on their own. In this case, free weekends, time for yourself, sleep, vacation, sports can help. If we do not replenish energy through rest, the body goes into a mode of energy saving.

In reality, both the body and the psyche are arranged in such a way that great stress is possible, because sometimes people have to work hard, achieve some great goals. For example, to save your family from some kind of trouble. The problem is different: if the challenge does not end, that is, if people really cannot rest, they are constantly in a state of tension, if they constantly feel that some demands are being made on them, they are always preoccupied with something, they feel fear , are constantly vigilant in relation to something, expect something, this leads to an overstrain of the nervous system, a person's muscles tense, pain occurs. Some people begin to gnash their teeth in a dream - this can be one of the symptoms of overexertion.

Chronic burnout

If stress becomes chronic, then burnout goes to the level of frustration.
In 1974, New York psychiatrist Freudenberger first published an article about volunteers who worked in the social field on behalf of the local church. In this article, he described their situation. These people had symptoms similar to depression. In their anamnesis, he always found the same thing: at first, these people were absolutely delighted with their activities. Then this delight gradually began to diminish. And ultimately they burned out to the state of "a handful of ash". All of them had similar symptoms: emotional exhaustion, constant fatigue. At the mere thought that they had to go to work tomorrow, they felt tired. They had various bodily complaints and were often sick. This was one of the groups of symptoms.

As for their feelings, they no longer had power. What he called dehumanization happened. Their attitude towards the people they helped changed: at first it was a loving, attentive attitude, then it turned into a cynical, rejecting, negative one. Also, relations with colleagues worsened, there was a feeling of guilt, a desire to get away from all this. They worked less and did everything in a pattern, like robots. That is, these people were no longer able, as before, to enter into relationships and did not strive for this.

This behavior has a certain logic. If I no longer have the strength in my feelings, then I have no strength to love, to listen, and other people become a burden for me. It feels like I can no longer meet them, their demands are excessive for me. Then automatic defensive reactions begin to operate. From the point of view of the psyche, this is very reasonable.

As a third group of symptoms, the author of the article found a decrease in productivity. People were dissatisfied with their work and their achievements. They experienced themselves as powerless, did not feel that they were achieving any success. There was too much for them. And they felt they weren't getting the recognition they deserved.

In doing this research, Freudenberger found that burnout symptoms did not correlate with the number of hours worked. Yes, the more someone works, the more their emotional strength suffers from it. Emotional exhaustion increases in proportion to the number of hours worked, but the other two groups of symptoms - productivity and dehumanization, dehumanization of relationships - are hardly affected. The person continues to be productive for a while. This indicates that burnout has its own dynamics. This is more than just exhaustion. We will dwell on this later.

Burnout stages

Freudenberger created a scale of 12 burnup steps. The first stage still looks very harmless:

1. At first, burnout patients have an obsessive desire to assert themselves (“I can do something”), perhaps even in competition with others.
2. Then a careless attitude towards their own needs begins. A person no longer devotes free time to himself, does less sports, he has less time for people, for himself, he talks less with someone.
3. At the next stage, a person does not have time to resolve conflicts, and therefore he displaces them, and later even ceases to perceive them. He does not see that there are any problems at work, at home, with friends. He steps back. We see something like a flower that is fading more and more.
4. In the future, feelings about oneself are lost. People no longer feel themselves. They are just machines, machines and can no longer stop.
5. After a while, they feel an inner emptiness and, if this continues, they often become depressed.

At the last, twelfth stage, the person is completely broken. He falls ill - physically and mentally, experiences despair, suicidal thoughts are often present.
One day a burnout patient came to me. Came, sat down in a chair, exhaled and said: "I'm glad I'm here." He looked emaciated. It turned out that he could not even call me to make an appointment - his wife dialed a phone number. I asked him then on the phone how urgent it was. He replied that it was urgent. And then I agreed with him about the first meeting on Monday. On the day of the meeting, he admitted: “All two days off, I could not guarantee that I would not jump out of the window. My condition was so unbearable. "

He was a very successful businessman. His employees did not know anything about this - he managed to hide his condition from them. And for a very long time he hid it from his wife. At the eleventh stage, his wife noticed this. He still continued to deny his problem. And only when he could no longer live, already under pressure from outside, he was ready to do something. This is how far burnout can take. Of course, this is an extreme example.

From enthusiasm to disgust

To describe in simpler terms how emotional burnout manifests itself, one can resort to the description of the German psychologist Matthias Burisch. He described four stages.

First step looks completely harmless: it's really not quite burnout yet. This is the stage where you need to be careful. It was then that a person is driven by idealism, some ideas, some enthusiasm. But the demands that he constantly makes in relation to himself are excessive. He demands too much of himself for weeks and months.

Second phase - this is exhaustion: physical, emotional, bodily weakness.

In the third stageusually the first defensive reactions begin to take effect. What does a person do if the demands are constantly excessive? He leaves the relationship, dehumanization occurs. It is a reaction of counteraction as a defense, so that exhaustion does not get stronger. Intuitively, a person feels that he needs peace, and to a lesser extent maintains social relations. Those relationships that must be lived, because one cannot do without them, are burdened by rejection, repulsion.
That is, in principle, this is the correct reaction. But just the area where this reaction starts to work is not suitable for this. Rather, a person needs to be calmer about the requirements that are presented to him. But this is precisely what he fails - to get away from requests and claims.

Fourth stage is an intensification of what happens in the third stage, the terminal stage of burnout. Burish calls this "disgust syndrome." This is a concept that means that a person no longer carries any joy in himself. Disgust arises in relation to everything. For example, if I ate rotten fish, I vomit, and the next day I hear the smell of fish, I get disgusted. That is, it is a protective feeling after poisoning.

Burnout reasons

When it comes to causes, there are generally three areas. This is an individual psychological area, when a person has a strong desire to surrender to this stress. The second sphere - socio-psychological or social - is pressure from the outside: various fashion trends, some social norms, demands at work, the spirit of the times. For example, it is believed that every year you need to go on a journey and if I cannot, then I do not correspond to the people living at this time, their way of life. This pressure can be latent and can result in burnout.



More dramatic requirements are, for example, extended working hours. Today, a person overworkes and does not receive payment for it, and if he does not do it, he is fired. Constant overwork is a cost inherent in the capitalist era, within which Austria, Germany and probably also Russia live.

So, we have identified two groups of reasons. With the first, we can work in the psychological aspect, within the framework of consulting, and in the second case, something needs to be changed at the political level, at the level of trade unions.
But there is also a third reason, which is related to the organization of systems. If the system gives an individual too little freedom, too little responsibility, if mobbing (bullying) occurs, then people are exposed to a lot of stress. And then, of course, the system needs to be restructured. It is necessary to develop the organization in a different way, to introduce coaching.

The meaning cannot be bought

We will restrict ourselves to considering a group of psychological causes. In existential analysis, we have empirically established that burnout is caused by an existential vacuum. Burnout can be understood as a special form of existential vacuum. Viktor Frankl described the existential vacuum as suffering from a feeling of emptiness and lack of meaning.

A study conducted in Austria, during which 271 doctors were tested, showed the following results. It was found that those doctors who led a meaningful life and did not suffer from an existential vacuum almost did not experience burnout, even if they worked for many hours. The same doctors who showed relatively high levels of existential vacuum in their work showed high rates of burnout, even if they worked fewer hours.

From this we can conclude: meaning cannot be bought. Making money does nothing if I suffer from emptiness and lack of meaning in my work. We cannot compensate for this.

Burnout syndrome poses the question: Do I really experience meaning in what I do? The meaning depends on whether we feel personal value in what we do or not. If we follow the apparent meaning: career, social recognition, the love of others, then this is a false or apparent meaning. It costs us a lot and is stressful. And, as a result, we have a deficit of fulfillment. Then we experience devastation - even when we relax.

At the other extreme is the way of life where we experience fulfillment - even when we get tired. Fatality, despite fatigue, does not lead to burnout.

To summarize, we can say the following: burnout is a final state that occurs as a result of continuing to create something without an experience in the aspect of fulfillment. That is, if I experience meaning in what I do, if I feel that what I am doing is good, interesting and important, if I am happy about it and want to do it, then burnout does not happen. But these feelings should not be confused with enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is not necessarily associated with fulfillment - it is more hidden from others, more modest thing.

What i give myself to

Another aspect that burnout brings us to is motivation. Why am I doing something? And to what extent am I drawn to this? If I cannot give my heart to what I am doing, if I am not interested in it, I do it for some other reason, then we are lying in a sense.
It is as if I was listening to someone but thinking about something else. That is, then I am not present. But if I am not present at work, in my life, then I cannot receive remuneration there. It's not about money. Yes, I, of course, can make money, but I personally do not receive remuneration. If I am not present with my heart in some business, but use what I am doing as a means to achieve goals, then I am abusing the situation.

For example, I can start a project because it promises me a lot of money. And I almost cannot refuse and somehow resist it. Thus, we can be tempted by some choices, which then lead us to burnout. If it only happens once, then maybe it's not so bad. But if this continues for many years, then I just pass my life. What am I giving myself to?
And here, by the way, it can be extremely important for me to develop burnout syndrome. Because, probably, I myself cannot stop the direction of my movement. I need the wall that I will collide with, some kind of push from the inside, so that I just cannot continue to move and reconsider my actions.

The example with money is probably the most superficial. The motives can go much deeper. For example, I may want recognition. I need praise from another. If these narcissistic needs are not met, then I become restless. From the outside, it is not at all visible - only people who are close to this person can feel it. But I probably won't even talk about it with them. Or I myself am not aware that I have such needs.

Or, for example, I definitely need confidence. I learned about poverty as a child, I had to wear old clothes. For this I was ridiculed, and I was ashamed. Maybe even my family was starving. I would never want to go through this again.

I have known people who have become very rich. Many of them have reached burnout syndrome. Because for them it was the primary motive - in any case, to prevent the state of poverty, so as not to become poor again. Humanly, this is understandable. But this can lead to excessive demands that never run out.
In order for people to be ready for a long time to follow such seeming, false motivation, there must be a lack of something behind their behavior, a mentally felt deficit, some kind of misfortune. This deficiency leads a person to self-exploitation.

The value of life

This deficiency can be not only a subjectively felt need, but also an attitude towards life, which can ultimately lead to burnout.

How do I understand my life? Based on this, I can develop my goals according to which I live. These attitudes can be from parents, or a person develops them in himself. For example: I want to achieve something. Or: I want to have three children. Become a psychologist, doctor or politician. Thus, a person for himself outlines goals that he wants to follow.

This is completely normal. Which one of us has no goals in life? But if goals become the content of life, if they become too great values, then they lead to rigid, frozen behavior. Then we put all our efforts to achieve the set goal. And everything we do becomes a means to an end. And this does not carry its own value, but only represents a useful value.

"It's so good that I will play the violin!" is the living of its own worth. But if I want to be the first violin in a concert, then, while playing a piece, I will constantly compare myself with others. I know I still need to practice, play and play to get things done. That is, I have a predominantly goal orientation due to the value orientation. Thus, there is a deficit of internal attitude. I am doing something, but there is no inner life in what I am doing. And then my life loses its vital value. I myself destroy internal contents for the sake of achieving goals.

And when a person thus neglects the intrinsic value of things, pays insufficient attention to this, an underestimation of the value of his own life arises. That is, it turns out that I use the time of my life for the goal that I have set for myself. This leads to a loss of relationship and to a mismatch with oneself. And with such an inattentive attitude to inner values ​​and the value of one's own life, stress arises.

Everything that we have just talked about can be summarized as follows. The stress that leads to burnout is associated with the fact that we do something for too long without a sense of inner harmony, without a sense of the value of things and ourselves. Thus, we come to a state of pre-depression.

It also happens when we do too much and just for the sake of doing. For example, I cook dinner just to get it ready as soon as possible. And then I am glad when it is already over, done. But if we are happy that something has already passed, it is an indicator that we did not see value in what we do. And if it has no value, then I cannot say that I like doing it, that it is important to me.

If we have too many of these elements in our lives, then we are, in fact, happy that life is passing by. In this way we like death, annihilation. If I am just doing something, it’s not life — it’s functioning. And we must not, we have no right to function too much - we must make sure that in everything we do, we live, feel life. So that she does not pass us by.
Burnout is the kind of mental bill we get for a long, alienated relationship with life. This is a life that is not truly mine.

Anyone who is more than half of the time busy with things that he is reluctant to do, does not give his heart to this, does not feel joy at the same time, he must sooner or later expect to survive the burnout syndrome. Then I am in danger. Wherever in my heart I feel an inner agreement about what I am doing, and I feel myself, there I am protected from burnout.

Burnout prevention

How can you deal with burnout and how can you prevent it? A lot is decided by itself if a person understands what the burnout syndrome is associated with. If you understand this about yourself or your friends, then you can start solving this problem, talk to yourself or your friends about it. Should I continue to live this way?

I felt this way myself two years ago. I had set out to write a book during the summer. With all the papers I went to my dacha. I came, looked around, went for a walk, talked with neighbors. The next day I did the same: I called my friends, we met. On the third day again. I thought that, generally speaking, I should already start. But I did not feel a special desire in myself. I tried to remind you what is needed, what awaits the publishing house - that was already pressure.

Then I remembered about the burnout syndrome. And I said to myself: I probably need more time, and my desire will surely return. And I allowed myself to watch. After all, the desire came every year. But that year it didn’t come, and until the end of the summer I didn’t even open this folder. I haven't written a single line. Instead, I was resting and doing wonderful things. Then I began to hesitate, how should I treat this - how bad or how good? It turns out that I could not, it was a failure. Then I told myself that it was reasonable and good that I did so. The fact is that I was a little exhausted, because there were a lot of things to do before the summer, the whole academic year was very busy.

Here, of course, I had an internal struggle. I really thought and reflected on what is important in my life. As a result, I doubted that the book I wrote was such an important thing in my life. It is much more important to live something, to be here, to live a valuable relationship - if possible, to experience joy and not to postpone it all the time. We don't know how much time we have left.

In general, work with burnout syndrome begins with unloading. You can reduce time pressure, delegate something, share responsibility, set realistic goals, and critically consider the expectations you have. This is a big topic for discussion. Here we really run into very deep structures of existence. Here we are talking about our position in relation to life, so that our attitudes are authentic, correspond to us.

If the burnout syndrome is already much more pronounced, you need to get sick leave, physically rest, consult a doctor, for milder disorders, treatment in a sanatorium is useful. Or just make a good time for yourself, live in a state of unloading.

But the problem is that many people with burnout cannot deal with it. Or a person goes on sick leave, but continues to make excessive demands on himself - thus he cannot get out of stress. People suffer from remorse. And in a state of illness, burnout increases.
Medications can help for a short time, but they are not a solution to the problem. Bodily health is the foundation. But you also need to work on your own needs, an internal deficit of something, on attitudes and expectations in relation to life. You need to think about how to reduce the pressure of society, how you can protect yourself. Sometimes even think about changing jobs. In the most difficult case that I have seen in my practice, it took a person 4-5 months to be released from work. And after going to work - a new style of work, otherwise after a couple of months people will burn out again. Of course, if a person has been working hard for 30 years, then it is difficult for him to readjust, but it is necessary.

You can prevent burnout by asking yourself two simple questions:

1. Why am I doing this? Why am I studying at the institute, why am I writing a book? What's the point of this? Is it a value to me?
2. Do I like doing what I am doing? Do I love doing this? Do I feel like it's good? Is it so good that I do it willingly? Does what I do bring me joy? Maybe this will not always be the case, but the feeling of joy and satisfaction should prevail.

Ultimately I may ask a different, broader question: Do I want to live for this? If I lie on my deathbed and look back, do I want it to be that I lived for this?