Emotional burnout of psychologists. Emotional burnout, what is it and how to deal with it? Meditation is an eternal or endless source of strength and health

More than 50 years ago, in America, for the first time, they began to study a variety, in the event of which conventional therapy did not bring results.

Patients complained of an emotional crisis, disgust for their work, a sense of fading professional skills. At the same time, various psychosomatic disorders and loss of social contacts were observed.

The American Freidenberger, who singled out this phenomenon as an independent form of stress, gave it the name "burnout".

Burn at work, like a match - roots in the USSR

The Soviet people, no worse than the Americans, understood what kind of misfortune it was. At least everyone knew how it ended. “Another one burned out at work” - this fatal diagnosis was honorable.

Within the framework of militant collectivism, this had some value for society, although for a single individual who died with such romanticism, it was probably still tragic. Everyone knew 3 stages of the phenomenon of workaholism:

"burn at work";
"burn out to something";
burn down.

Burning - it was our way! But it was possible to burn honorably - at work and ingloriously - from vodka. Workaholism and alcoholism seem to have nothing in common. But, looking closely, you can recognize in these "excesses" similar features and symptoms. And the last general stage: the sliding of the personality into degradation.

The Americans have nothing to brag about: we, too, have been on fire for a long time, burned out and burned out. And even it was believed that this is how one should live. Remember the fiery Sergei Yesenin: “And for me, rather than rot on a branch, it’s better to burn in the wind.” Poets, writers, actors, doctors, social activists burned before the earthly deadline.

And long before Frenderberger, his famous compatriot Jack London gave an exhaustive description of the burnout syndrome using the example of his industrious genius Martin Eden in the work of the same name.

Martin, who worked 15-20 hours a day, striving for his goal, eventually achieved it. But, alas, by that time he no longer needed either fame, or money, or a beloved. He burned out. A painful state in which he no longer felt anything, did not want and could not. Having achieved everything he dreamed of, he banally committed suicide. Well, another one burned down at work ... More precisely, from work.

Dangers and the mechanism of development of burnout

Burnout syndrome is a form in which the body is depleted at all three levels: emotional, physical and mental.

In short, burnout is a desperate attempt by the body to protect itself from excessive stress. A person acquires an impenetrable shell. Not a single emotion, not a single feeling can break through this shell to him. In response to any stimulus, the "security system" automatically works and blocks the response.

For the survival of the individual, this is useful: he plunges into the "energy saving" mode. But for the people around him, partners, patients, relatives, this is bad. Who needs a bioorganism “turned off” from everyday life, which mechanically “pulls the strap” at work, seeks to get away from any form of communication and gradually loses professional and communication skills. People begin to doubt their competence and professionalism.

The syndrome is dangerous both for the individual and for others. Imagine that the pilot of the plane on which you were going to fly somewhere suddenly doubted that he would lift the car into the air and take you to your destination.

And the surgeon with whom you are lying on the table is not sure whether he will be able to perform the operation without errors. The teacher suddenly realizes that he is no longer capable of teaching anyone anything.

And why did the Russian people always treat law enforcement officers with hatred? What seemed to the citizens as rudeness, cynicism, heartlessness in the despicable "cops", in fact, was all the same "burnout".

The Three Sides of Exhaustion and Emotional Lability

Emotional burnout (burn-out) develops gradually, gradually, can be greatly extended in time, and therefore it is problematic to notice it in the initial stages. In its development, the following 3 factors are conditionally distinguished:

personal. Researchers note a whole range of mutually exclusive personality traits prone to "burnout".
On the one hand, humanists and idealists are quickly "burning out", always ready to come to the rescue, lend a hand, lend a shoulder. Fanatics - people obsessed with super-ideas, super-goals, super-ideals - are also good fuel for the syndrome. These are people of the “warm pole”. At the other extreme are people who are emotionally cold, both in communication and in work. They get very upset only because of their own failures: the intensity of experiences and negativity just go off scale.
role-playing. Incorrect distribution of roles. For example, it is assumed that the team works in one team, and the result will depend on the well-organized teamwork of employees. But no one clearly prescribed the distribution of the load and the level of responsibility of each. As a result, one “plows for three”, and the other “plays the fool”. But both the one who “plows” and the one who “pigs” have the same salary. A hard worker who does not get what he deserves gradually loses motivation, develops the so-called burnout syndrome at work.
Organizational. On the one hand, the existence of a powerful psycho-emotional tension in a well-coordinated team. Against its background, there is a working process: communication, receiving and processing information, solving problems. And all this is aggravated by the fact that employees are charged and infected from each other by excessive emotions. On the other hand, there is a psychotraumatic atmosphere at work. Conflict situations within the team, bad relations with superiors. Poor organization, poor planning of the work process, irregular working hours and meager pay for impressive overtime.

Causes and gradual development of the syndrome

The reasons for the appearance of emotional burnout usually arise from the fact that either we ourselves or something from the outside psychologically puts pressure on us and does not give time for a “timeout”:

pressure from within. A strong emotional load, whether it is with a “plus” or “minus” sign, which is greatly extended in time, leads to the depletion of emotional resources. This is an area of personal space, and the causes of exhaustion can be individual.
Pressure from outside, or the demands of social norms. Overload at work, demands to comply with social norms. The desire to comply with fashion trends: style and standard of living, the habit of relaxing in expensive resorts, dressing "haute couture".

The syndrome develops gradually:

Warning and Caution: immersion in work with the head, neglect of one's own needs and refusal to communicate. The consequences of this are fatigue, insomnia, absent-mindedness.
Partial self-elimination: unwillingness to do one's job, negative or indifferent attitude towards people, loss of life orientations.
An increase in negative emotions: apathy, depression, aggressiveness, conflict.
Destruction: decrease in intelligence, loss of motivation, indifference to everything
Violations in the psychosomatic sphere: insomnia, hypertension, palpitations, osteochondrosis, malfunctions in the digestive system.
Loss of the meaning of existence and irrational feelings.

Who risks more than others?

Nowadays, everyone burns, regardless of belonging to the profession. Emotional burnout is typical for such professions and groups of citizens:

Doctors at Risk

Not so long ago, it was believed that burnout syndrome is an exclusive privilege of medical professionals. It was explained like this:

the profession of a doctor requires from a person constant spiritual participation and warmth, empathy, compassion, sympathy for patients;
along with this - the consciousness of a huge responsibility for the health and life of patients;
the likelihood of making a tragic mistake during the operation, or making a diagnosis;
chronic;
difficult choices that have to be made (separate or not Siamese twins, take risks by performing a complex operation on the patient, or let him die peacefully on the table);
exorbitant loads during epidemics and mass disasters.

Easy burnout

The most harmless is the burnout at the level of reactions, the so-called "light burnout". It is characterized by the fact that it has a short exposure time and disappears as the causes that caused it disappear.

According to the “easy” burnout, probably everyone at least once in their life. Such emotional exhaustion can be caused by such reasons:

mental or material crisis;
sudden "time trouble" at work, which required the return of all emotional and physical resources;
caring for an infant who screams for 10 hours a day;
preparing for an exam, a life-changing interview, or working on a challenging project.

Nature has calculated so that we are ready for such tests, while there should not be a breakdown in the body. But it happens if what a person is doing leads to.

It would seem that it would be time to have a rest, but the situation that requires our intervention is not resolved, leaving us in constant expectation, high readiness and tension.

Then all the symptoms of "burnout" collapse, or, simply put -. But finally the problem is solved. Now you can remember to yourself: sleep well, go to the pool, get out into nature, or even take a vacation. The body rested, recovered - the symptoms of "burnout" disappeared without a trace.

Down the steps of burnout

According to Freindeberger, there is a scale of burnout, to which a person is successively led by 12 steps:

We burn at sunset, we burn at dawn ...

Burning out at the stage of frustration is already earning a chronic state of emotional burnout. The combination of all three symptoms makes us talk about the "burnout" syndrome. The links that make up the syndrome:

emotional exhaustion: a painful condition, somewhat reminiscent of the symptoms of schizophrenia. The person suffers from emotional insensitivity. All experiences lose their strength, color and meaning. If he is also capable of some emotions, then only those that have a negative balance.
Cynicism towards people. Negative feelings and rejection of those to whom only yesterday the attitude had a loving and caring coloring. In place of a living person, now one sees just an annoying object that requires attention.
Confidence in one's own incompetence, in the fading of professional skills, the feeling that he is no longer capable of anything, and "there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Diagnostics of CMEA

When diagnosing burnout syndrome, the following methods and tests are traditionally used:

biographical: with its help, you can trace the whole path through life, moments of crisis, the main factors in the formation of personality;
method of tests and surveys: a small exam to determine the presence or absence of the syndrome;
observation method: the subject does not suspect that he is being watched, therefore he maintains the usual rhythm of life, based on the observation, a conclusion is made about certain symptoms of stress;
experimental method: a situation is artificially created that can provoke the patient's symptoms of "burnout";
Maslach-Jackson method: American system for determining the degree of burnout in professional terms, conducted using a questionnaire.

Boyko method

Boyko's technique is a questionnaire of 84 statements, to which the test person can only answer "yes" or "no", from this it can be concluded at what phase of emotional burnout the person is. There are 3 phases, for each of which the main signs of emotional exhaustion are identified.

Phase "Voltage"

For her, the leading symptoms of burnout are:

repeated scrolling of negative thoughts in the head;
dissatisfaction with oneself and one's achievements;
the feeling that you ran into a dead end, driven into a trap;
anxiety, panic and depression.

Phase "Resistance"

Its main symptoms are:

strong reaction to a weak stimulus;
loss of moral guidelines;
stinginess in expressing emotions;
attempts to reduce the range of their professional duties.

Phase "Exhaustion"

Characteristic manifestations:

unemotionality;
attempts to withdraw from any manifestations of emotions;
detachment from the world;
disorders of psychosomatics and autonomic nervous regulation.

After passing the test with a specially designed scoring system, you can determine:

the severity of the symptom in the burnout phase(unfolded, developing, established, dominant);
the stage of formation of the phase itself(not formed, in the process of formation, formed).

The frivolity of the CMEA is only apparent. In fact, psycho-emotional burnout has formidable complications for physical and mental health. Since we are talking about a breakdown in the system of higher nervous activity, which is “responsible for everything”, the burnout syndrome leads to disturbances in all organs and systems.

An emotional crisis and a nervous breakdown causes disruptions in:

cardiovascular system;
endocrine;
immune;
vegetative-vascular;
gastrointestinal tract;
psycho-emotional sphere.

The saddest cases end in severe depression, fatal diseases. Often attempts to get rid of an unbearable state end in suicide.

Burnout syndrome is a state of exhaustion of a person at various levels: mental, psycho-emotional, physical. Burnout syndrome can develop as a result of chronic stress, which occurs mainly in the workplace.

A person wakes up broken in the morning, forcibly forces himself to go to work. During the working day, its performance, productivity decreases. Especially when the working day was loaded to the limit and it seems that you won’t be able to do anything. As a result, some kind of hopelessness is felt, resentment and unwillingness to work appear, interest in everything around is lost. Claims are made to the load, insufficient remuneration for the work done.

The syndrome of emotional burnout is experienced by people associated with functional responsibilities for servicing people and frequent contact with them. These are such professions as teachers, doctors, educators of children's institutions, social workers, managers and others.

Causes

There are several reasons for burnout. The main one is connected primarily with labor activity, where a person is overloaded and does not feel sufficient appreciation of his work, in the full sense of the word “burns out” at the workplace, forgetting about personal needs.

Burnout syndrome often affects medical workers: doctors and nurses. Constantly communicating with patients, the doctor takes on the complaints, irritability, and sometimes aggressiveness of patients. Many of the health workers try to build a psychological barrier between themselves and the visitor in order to abstract from negative emotions, avoiding the syndrome of emotional burnout.

Much also depends on the character of a person, his attitude to functional duties, including whether he is obligated or not. Sometimes we ourselves impose an exorbitant range of duties that are not provided for by the job description, distrust of the surrounding employees, the desire to keep everything under our control. Untimely vacation or lack of days off also causes irreparable damage to the psycho-emotional state of a person.

The syndrome of emotional burnout and its causes are lack of sleep, lack of support from loved ones, inability to rest, relax. Often the cause of this condition can be trauma, both physical and psychological.

Symptoms

Symptoms of the disease do not appear immediately, but gradually. It is worth immediately paying attention to the warning signals corresponding to the burnout syndrome. It is necessary to revise your psycho-emotional behavior as early as possible, correct it in time, so as not to bring yourself to a nervous breakdown.

The first symptoms of burnout syndrome can be frequent headaches, general fatigue, physical exhaustion, and insomnia. Attention and memory are impaired. There are problems with the cardiovascular system (tachycardia, arterial hypertension). Self-doubt, dissatisfaction with others, hysteria are manifested during a period of depression, indifference to relatives and friends, life is filled with continuous negativity.

Burnout syndrome makes the human body vulnerable to many diseases, especially chronic ones, such as bronchial asthma, psoriasis and others.

To cope with problems, allegedly to alleviate their emotional state, some begin to abuse alcohol, get used to drugs, increase the number of cigarettes smoked per day.

Emotional symptoms are of great importance. Sometimes it is a lack or excessive containment of emotions, withdrawal into oneself, pessimism, a feeling of abandonment and loneliness. Or vice versa, irritability and aggressiveness, tantrums, hysterical sobs, inability to concentrate. There is a feeling that the work is impossible, useless. An employee may not show up for work without justified reasons, and over time may not correspond to his position.

There are also social symptoms of burnout syndrome. There is not enough time and desire to do interesting things after work. Limitation of contacts, a feeling of misunderstanding by others, a feeling of lack of attention from loved ones.

Stages of burnout syndrome

You should pay attention to the theory of J. Greenberg about emotional burnout, the development of which he divides into five stages:

The first is employee satisfaction with their work activity, but with repetitive work stresses that reduce physical energy.

The second - sleep disturbances, fatigue appear, interest in work decreases.

The third is work without days off and holidays, experience, susceptibility to disease.

Fourth - increased dissatisfaction with oneself and work, the development of chronic diseases.

Fifth - psycho-emotional and physical problems provoke the development of diseases that can threaten a person's life.

Teachers, as well as doctors, are at risk of emotional burnout in the forefront. Therefore, it is very important to identify the symptoms of burnout syndrome in the early stages of development. Teachers, as a result of daily communication with students and their parents, have a feeling of constant fatigue even in the morning, physical, emotional exhaustion caused by hard work. Labor activity, limited by the lesson, pedagogical load, due to the schedule, as well as responsibility to the leadership, are provocateurs of the occurrence of nervous stress. Frequent headaches, insomnia, a sharp increase or decrease in weight, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, drowsiness throughout the day - this is a small list of inconveniences that accompany emotional burnout of a teacher.

The next component of the burnout syndrome is depersonalization, that is, an insensitive attitude towards students, sometimes bordering on aggressiveness, indifference, formality, unwillingness to be imbued with the problems of children. As a result, first hidden irritation appears, then explicit, reaching conflict situations. Sometimes there is withdrawal into oneself, limiting contacts with friends and colleagues.

With the development of the syndrome of emotional burnout of teachers, both external and internal factors play an important role. External factors are high responsibility for the educational process and the effectiveness of the work done, lack of equipment, psychological atmosphere, especially if there are children with a difficult character or mental retardation in the class. Internal factors - emotional return, disorientation of the individual.

Teachers also have increased aggressiveness, hostility towards close people, colleagues. There are examples of physical aggression towards a specific person. With indirect aggression (evil conversations, gossip), explosions of rage, screams, beating on the table, which are not directed specifically at anyone, can be observed.

With a pronounced syndrome of emotional burnout, a negative demeanor can be traced, mainly towards the leadership of the educational institution. Suspicion and distrust of others, anger and resentment for the whole world.

Diagnostics

When determining the stage of development of the burnout syndrome, the following factors are taken into account: the presence of burnout symptoms, somatic complaints; existing chronic diseases, mental disorders, sleep disorders, the use of tranquilizers and alcohol. Indicators of dissatisfaction with oneself, one's duties, and position are also important. The state of emotional impasse is clearly expressed, as if the person were driven into a corner. His energy is directed more towards himself, showing a state of anxiety, disappointment in himself and in his chosen profession. The person becomes touchy, rude, capricious. If at work you have to restrain yourself, then at home attacks of anger, rage, inappropriate behavior splash out on family members.

Treatment of burnout syndrome

Problems that arise in the process of emotional burnout jeopardize a person’s health, his relationships with others, and work. And this must be cured, restoring the balance of power, finding the support of loved ones and, of course, pay attention to yourself, your psycho-emotional state.

First of all, “stop”, calm down and reconsider your life, your emotions, behavior. Perhaps, to refuse that routine work which does not bring satisfaction, pleasure, productivity. Or change your place of residence so that new tasks distract a person from previous experiences.

If this is not possible, it is necessary to actively solve urgent problems. Be active and persevere in the workplace, preferably eliminating stressful situations. Feel free to express your needs. To refuse to the authorities to perform the work that is not in the job description, and which they entrust, knowing that a person cannot refuse, showing weakness.

If this does not help, you must definitely take a break from work. Go on vacation or take unpaid days. Take a break from work completely by not answering the phone calls of colleagues at work.

Be sure to do, at least for a while, physical exercises, visit the pool, massage room, perform strengthening exercises, put your thoughts in order.

Prevention

To avoid the syndrome of emotional burnout, you must follow some rules: go to bed on time, get enough sleep, set feasible tasks for yourself, maintain friendly relations with colleagues, listen only to positive discussions. Mandatory rest after a hard day, preferably in nature, the presence of a favorite pastime or hobby. Fresh air and good mood always have a positive effect on the emotional state of any person.

Of no small importance for the prevention of burnout is auto-training, self-hypnosis, and a positive attitude. In the morning you can turn on your favorite music, read something uplifting. Eat healthy and favorite foods that have increased energy.

You don’t need to follow anyone’s lead, but try to learn how to say “no” in difficult situations, trying not to overexert yourself. You should also learn to take a break for yourself by turning off your phone, computer, TV.

It is advisable to analyze the past day, finding in it as many positive moments as possible.

In the modern world, with its speed and demand for each individual, emotional burnout is a syndrome that is becoming more common. Moral and mental exhaustion reaches such a point that it is difficult to calmly continue to engage in one's activities, communicate with people around, and even adequately assess the surrounding reality.

Many people notice signs of this problem in themselves, trying to understand what it is and how to deal with emotional burnout in order to improve the quality of their lives. To do this, you need to understand the features of a mental disorder, be able to detect the stage of development of the syndrome and contact a specialist in time if your own actions and work on yourself do not give the desired result. Although it is better to prevent the development of the problem by taking preventive measures.

What is burnout syndrome

The concept of "emotional burnout" was proposed and described more than 40 years ago by the American psychiatrist Herbert Freidenberg. Initially, the term described the state of people who, in their professional activities, are forced to constantly communicate with others, wasting all their energy for this. Emotional burnout of the personality was associated with constant stress at work, a sense of inner tension and an inability to properly perform one's duties.

However, today this term from psychology includes a wider range of definitions. For example, emotional burnout in the family is considered separately, especially in relation to women after childbirth who run the household and take care of children. The daily routine of repetitive affairs, the lack of free time for oneself and the complete concentration on the interests of the family leads to the fact that a woman ceases to feel joy from her family status, from communicating with relatives, from any actions taken.

Thus, burnout syndrome (BS) is a state of apathy and depression associated with an overload of the brain and nervous system, which leads to personal exhaustion. Some people live like this for years, without changing anything, and not paying attention to the fact that their efficiency is much lower than it could be. Although the problem can and should be dealt with.

Causes and provoking factors of CMEA

To understand how to deal with emotional burnout and improve the quality of your life, it is worth understanding what factors provoke this condition. The reasons for it lie not only in the increased workload or constant stress. There are other prerequisites that can provoke complete emotional burnout. Among them:

monotonous work, repeated from day to day;
insufficient encouragement for work, both moral and material;
constant criticism and disapproval from colleagues or supervisor;
inability to see the results of their work;
lack of clarity of work performed, constantly changing requirements and conditions.

By themselves, these factors can negatively affect the mood and self-perception of any person. But they have an even greater influence if his character is prone to maximalism, if he is a person with an increased sense of responsibility and a willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of the interests of other people. Then he will be in a state of constant stress and overstrain.

When a person takes on a lot of responsibilities, is too pedantic in work and personal life, he is subjected to frequent stress, his energy is quickly depleted. As a result, interest in the world around us disappears, the feeling of fatigue does not leave, one does not want to get up in the morning, and thoughts about work bring sadness and irritation. Often there are thoughts of quitting. Psychologists have called this condition the syndrome of emotional or professional burnout.

Burnout Syndrome (BS) is a special condition with characteristic emotional and intellectual exhaustion, general physical fatigue, caused as a result of constant stress at work. In addition to this definition, it is also called "professional burnout" or "emotional burnout".

Basically, the syndrome is inherent in employees of social professions, as well as positions related to the provision of assistance to people. First of all, teachers, social and medical workers, rescuers, policemen, etc. are exposed to burnout.

Symptoms

Consider 5 groups of symptoms that characterize the syndrome of emotional burnout:

Physical:

weakness;
change in body weight;
sleep disorder;
deterioration in general health;
feeling of lack of oxygen, shortness of breath;
headaches, nausea, tremor of the limbs;
pressure surges;
heart diseases.

Emotional:

lack of emotions, nervous exhaustion;
a pessimistic view of what is happening, cynicism and insensitivity;
indifference and constant feeling of fatigue;
feeling of hopelessness and frustration;
irascibility;
state of anxiety, impaired ability to concentrate;
depression, the idea of guilt, depression;
non-stop sobbing, hysteria;
depersonalization (disorder of self-perception of personality);
desire for loneliness;
loss of hopes, life ideals, professional prospects.

Behavioral:

increase in working hours, problems with the implementation of current affairs;
during the working day there is a feeling of fatigue, a desire to take a break for rest;
neglect of the performance of their duties;
lack of appetite or overeating;
reduction of any physical activity;
justification for smoking, drinking alcoholic beverages, drugs;
manifestation of aggression;
industrial injuries.

Social:

lack of desire for social activities;
limiting communication with colleagues outside of working hours;
deterioration of relations with both employees and households;
feeling of rejection, misunderstanding on the part of others;
a feeling of lack of support and help from relatives and friends, colleagues.

Intelligent:

lack of interest in new things at work, the search for alternative options in solving problematic issues;
unwillingness to participate in seminars;
performance of work according to standard schemes and patterns, unwillingness to apply creativity, invent something new.

Important! Symptoms of emotional burnout are often similar to depression. And, as you know, depression is a very insidious disease that requires immediate medical intervention.

Causes

Occupational burnout is caused by a combination of the following factors:

Personal:

Empathy. The frequent display of empathy for others leads to the risk of burnout. Lack or low empathy can result in personal insecurity, low self-esteem.
Excessive pursuit of the ideal. The desire for perfectionism even in the smallest details, dissatisfaction with the work done, minor errors lead to emotional emptiness.
Emotions. Strong emotional experiences about and without lead to burnout.
Opinions of others. Dependence on other people's opinions gives rise to uncertainty and fear to put forward one's proposal, to speak out.

Status-role:

Role conflict is the uncertainty between two roles. For example, family or work, several positions, etc.
Job uncertainty. Without knowing their duties, an employee can unreasonably overestimate his responsibility. Ignorance of management expectations.
Career dissatisfaction. The employee may believe that he could achieve great success, because the efforts made do not bring proper expectations.
Team incompatibility. An employee rejected by colleagues loses its significance and underestimates self-esteem.
Low social status. In professional terms, a person can be a good specialist, and society can rate this specialty low. The consequence of this is the appearance of burnout.

Professional and organizational reasons:

Workplace. It should meet the standards, be comfortable. Fatigue sets in faster if the room temperature is raised or lowered, noisy, etc.;
Recycling. Frequent detentions at work, doing tasks at home lead to a lack of personal time and severe fatigue;
Inequality in the team;
Lack of professional and social support;
Leadership style. An authoritarian style leads to feelings of insecurity; fear. A soft leader breeds chaos;
Lack of voting rights. The inability to take part in the discussion of the problems of the organization, to offer their own ideas, the lack of feedback from the management turn for the employee into a doubt in professional value and self-confidence.

Stages of development

To date, scientists have identified several theories that describe the course of the stages of professional burnout. The most common was the theory of J. Greenberg, who presented this process in the form of five steps:

The initial state is called "honeymoon". Initially, the employee is satisfied with the conditions and responsibilities, he performs all assignments in the best possible way and with great desire. Encountering conflicts at work, labor activity begins to cease to satisfy him more and more, energy continues to fall.
The stage of "lack of fuel" manifests itself in the presence of fatigue, apathy, poor sleep. If motivation and incentives are not carried out by the authorities, the employee completely loses interest in work activity, or interest in the campaign and the results of his work is lost. Employees may begin to behave unprofessionally, evade direct duties, i.e. violate labor discipline. With good motivation from the management, a person can continue to burn out, using internal reserves, which is harmful to health.
Then comes the stage of "chronic symptoms". Long-term professional activity without breaks for rest, vacation brings the human body to exhaustion and susceptibility to diseases. There are also such psychological states as constantly haunting irritability, a feeling of anger, moral depression, and an acute lack of time.
"A crisis". In the penultimate stage, a person develops chronic diseases. The result of this is a partial or complete loss of performance. Experiences in their work inefficiency are multiplied many times over.
"Wall Living". Psychological experiences, physical exhaustion develop into an acute form and can lead to dangerous diseases that threaten life. Problems pile up and careers can collapse.

How to deal with the problem?

People tend to ignore the symptoms of burnout. This attitude can turn into a chronic condition much like depression. To overcome combustion, it is important to adhere to the following recommendations:

Advice! Take a piece of paper, a pen and write on one part of the sheet the cons of the work, on the other - the pros. If there are more shortcomings, perhaps you should change your job.

Prevention

Preventing burnout is easier than treating it. To prevent it, it is important to know and follow the recommendations for prevention. These tips will help you avoid this condition:

Time distribution. Work must be alternated with rest. It is important to distribute the load adequately and not to take on too many obligations.
Restrict home and work. Work tasks must be solved on the spot, and not take part of the tasks at home.
Physical activity several times a week. Sports activities increase the production of hormones of joy.
Well deserved rest. It is advisable to travel twice a year. It is important to change the environment from time to time.
Dream. Regular lack of sleep causes discontent and constant weakness. Therefore, healthy, sound sleep is the key to high productivity.
Rejection of bad habits. It is better to stop or minimize the use of coffee, cigarettes and alcohol.
Take responsibility only for your own activities. You need to be able to refuse employees who constantly ask for help and throw off their duties on others.
Hobby. Passion helps to fill life with colors, discharge and change the environment.
Know how to stop. If the job definitely does not suit and does not suit, it is worth weighing everything and finding the confidence to find another one.

How to avoid burnout (video)

In this video you will learn how not to lose interest in your work and life.

Emotional burnout affects all working people. Monotonous work, stress, lack of free time and other factors can trigger emotional burnout. To avoid or exclude such a condition, the above recommendations should be followed.

Usually people feel tired at the end of their work shift, towards the end of the working week, or just before a vacation. Unfortunately, there are times when you feel overwhelmed all the time. At the same time, you notice a lack of enthusiasm for work. Along with fatigue, its faithful companions settle in your mind: detachment, cynicism and indifference. There is emotional burnout.

The scourge of modern people

Burnout symptoms are becoming more and more common these days. This is due to modern labor realities and a busy rhythm of life. Employers are becoming more demanding and working conditions are becoming more stressful. The situation is often supplemented by a restless atmosphere in the team, intrigues and gossip. Let's talk about what causes emotional burnout and how you can overcome this condition.

The scorched house analogy

The term "burnout" itself was coined in the 70s of the 20th century by the psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. There is a clear relationship with the concepts of "scorched earth" or "scorched house". If you've ever walked past a burned-out building, you know how sad and depressing it is. Wooden buildings burn out almost to the ground, leaving only part of the walls. Concrete structures are more lucky. But if outwardly the brick houses affected by the fire almost do not change their appearance, then inside the eyes of the observer a sad sight appears. You will be amazed at how fierce the fire can be, and what the extent of the disaster can be. Dr. Freudenberger drew an analogy with a scorched concrete structure and emotional burnout in people. Outwardly, a person practically does not change, but his internal resources are completely devastated.

Three levels of burnout

Modern researchers distinguish three degrees of burnout: exhaustion, cynicism and inefficiency. Let's take a closer look at what all these stages lead to. Burnout exhaustion causes feelings of anxiety, difficulty sleeping, lack of focus, and even physical illness. Cynicism is sometimes referred to as depersonalization or self-perception disorder. At the same time, one's own actions are perceived by a person not from the inside, but from the outside. There is a strong feeling that control over oneself has been lost, there is a feeling of alienation from the people with whom a person works, a lack of interest in work. And finally, the third factor robs you of the confidence that you are doing a good job or doing your job well. This feeling does not grow in a vacuum.

No one wants to fall into the trap of emotional burnout. On the one hand, everything is simple: you need not overload yourself with work. But, on the other hand, everything is much more complicated, and trouble can sneak up suddenly. To know how to cope with this condition, it is necessary to be able to determine the causes of its occurrence.

What causes burnout?

In fact, the opinion that burnout comes due to the lack of days off and holidays is a fairly common misconception. Alexandra Michel, science writer at the Association for Psychological Science, says: “Burnout occurs when there are more negative work-related factors than positive ones. When a project is under deadline, there are too high demands from the boss, there is a lack of working hours and other stressors are present. At the same time, rewards for work, recognition of colleagues and recreation take up much less space.”

Conditions

UC Berkeley professor Christina Maslach has been studying this problem since the 1970s. The expert and colleagues suggested six workplace environmental factors that are responsible for burnout. These include load, control, reward, value, community, and fairness. A person feels emotional emptiness when two or more of the factors listed above do not meet his needs. For example, an employee has a small salary with overly high requirements and hard work. Unfortunately, many workplaces cannot meet the basic needs of the staff. One large study conducted in Germany by Gallop found that 2.7 million workers report symptoms of burnout. In 2013, a survey was conducted among directors of enterprises in the UK, during which it turned out the following: 30 percent of managers believe that the personnel of their firms are prone to mass burnout.

Risks and consequences

The consequences of this phenomenon are comparable only with a catastrophe of a universal scale. According to Dr. Michel, burnout is not just a state of mind. This condition leaves an indelible mark on the minds and bodies of people. Fatigue and loss of interest in work are just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the risks of burnout are more serious. Individuals suffering from burnout experience chronic psychosocial stress that is detrimental to personal and social functioning. This suppresses cognitive skills and adversely affects the neuroendocrine system. Over time, the effects of burnout lead to problems with memory functions and reduced concentration. There are also great risks of causing damage to the psyche, in particular, the occurrence of a depressive disorder.

Burnout affects brain function

This problem has been studied by scientists repeatedly. So, one of the later scientific studies showed that in people suffering from emotional burnout, the prefrontal cortex of the brain becomes thinner. This important department is responsible for cognitive functions. Normally, the prefrontal cortex becomes thinner with age, as the body naturally ages. But, as we see, this process under certain conditions can start much earlier.

Risks of coronary heart disease

Stress and other negative emotions cannot but affect the work of the heart. Another study of nearly 9,000 burnout workers found that this category has a significantly increased risk of coronary heart disease. These and other consequences sound pretty bleak, so let's turn the topic in a more positive direction. Fortunately, burnout can be overcome.

How to overcome the problem?

When a person feels the effect of burnout on himself, he shows concern about his condition. The first thing that can alleviate panic is to reduce the amount of work done. Psychologists suggest looking for ways to manage workload in the following tricks: delegation of orders, the ability to refuse help, and keeping a diary. There you can write down the conditions that make you feel stressed in the workplace. However, burnout is associated not only with professional workload. Learn to look at the world wide open again, try to enjoy leisure, hobbies and any sweet moments that are not related to work. In order to balance the negative and the positive, you need to learn to enjoy life again.

Do what you like

It's easy to forget about yourself when you're going through a burnout period. You live under the yoke of constant stress, so the only outlet is to increase the number of delicious dishes in your diet. However, sweets will not save you from the problem itself. But a healthy diet, enough water and exercise can quickly bring you back to normal. Try to do what you like, find time to meet with friends. To conclude, in the words of software engineer Kent Nguyen: “Burnout comes from not being able to do what you love or what is important to you on a regular basis.”