Syndrome emotional burnout- scourge modern man. So many things and responsibilities fall on us that need to be done right now or even yesterday, that sooner or later we cannot stand it. The result is stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, apathy, and even serious physical discomfort.

The phrase "burned out at work" does not seem like someone's joke: many of us know very well how it is. Fortunately, burnout syndrome can be noticed in time and prevent it from seizing power. How? We tell.

The frantic rhythm of life is the cause of troubles

Humans were not created to immediately live in the conditions of the 21st century. However, we adapted perfectly, but it came at a high price. In the past, people lived in small villages and knew each other well - even the appearance of a casual traveler or a fair was a big event. Any person knew who he would become when he grew up, since, as a rule, everyone continued the work of their fathers and mothers. They went to bed at nightfall and got up at dawn. Life was predictable.

Now humanity is in a state of permanent stress due to fundamental changes.

  • Too much stimulation. We are under attack by a flood of information: from television, the internet, our mobile phones, magazines and newspapers. We constantly make choices and decisions that drain our willpower.
  • Insufficient security. Life is completely unpredictable. Work, home, family, intimate relationships, patriotism, freedom - over the past decades, these concepts have changed radically.
  • The crisis of the meaning of life. Previously, we knew where to draw the meaning of life. We believed that if a person lives a righteous life, then God will reward him and send him to heaven. Now we really don't know why to live a righteous life, if we can't even understand what it means.

Thousands of years of living like this have shaped our brains, our beliefs and our response to stress. As long as we are young, everything is fine. But as we get older, things get worse. We are facing burnout syndrome.

Where is the energy going?

If you release energy only to keep yourself safe at work and manage things at home, there will be an imbalance. This, in turn, leads to burnout. Burnout occurs when we do the same thing day after day and do not feel progress.

Health deteriorates due to stress. We make impulse purchases to please ourselves a little. Or we lose income, because due to lack of ambition we work worse. We break relationships with people. We fixate on what prevents us from relaxing, and, of course, we always find many such obstacles. Mind control in moments of stress is a paradoxical process: when we try too hard to relax, or be happy, or not think about something, we inevitably fail.

And the more consciousness tries to control what should be involuntary, the worse it gets for us (the next time you are going for a walk, try to think about how you rearrange your legs): “This usually happens - the one who craved happiness more falls into into depression, and the one who most wanted to calm down becomes anxious.”

The answer to the question of how not to completely stall is to let success into your life. Striving for success will get rid of the feeling of running in place. There will be balance and everything will be alright.

Is there a balance?

The problem of balance is not far-fetched. Steve McCletchy in his book From Urgent to Important cites a study according to which 88% of people find it difficult to choose between work and personal life, 57% consider this a serious problem, and 64% state that they feel physically exhausted after work.

At the same time, we are forced to appreciate the work. The phrases “record unemployment rate” and “how to survive the crisis” are heard around. We have to take on more responsibilities just to stay in the same position. Weekdays turned into a race: to have time to delete things from the daily list in order to justify other people's expectations. But this is not a search for balance. It's a search for a way to survive.

Dividing a certain number of hours between work and personal life will also not bring balance. The stress that has accumulated during working hours will not disappear if you spend half a day in the office and the second half of the day at home. Balance is an immeasurable quantity.

Those who work 60 hours a week in highly paid positions confess their love for work. So because they are chasing success every day. The drive to succeed helps them survive grueling work hours and increased demands.

Success is not necessarily better or more. Meaning in moving towards the goal. An effective way to beat burnout is not to stop looking for the development of life aspects.

Getting out of the paws of fatigue, or Prevention of burnout

The main thing in the fight against stress, chronic fatigue and disappointment is to pull yourself together and give life a new meaning. Let's say you set unattainable goals for yourself or were in too much of a hurry. The circle is closed. But no matter what way we choose to deal with the vicious cycle of stress, there is always a chance to break it. By acknowledging the problems, we are already winning half the battle.

1. Be prepared for stress
Learn relaxation exercises, meditation, breathing practices. And try to become aware of your emotions. As soon as you realize that everything is about to go to hell, turn to the life-saving techniques that you have learned.

2. Do not give in to momentary desires
Some of our most regrettable actions are dictated by the desire to get rid of difficult experiences. However, these actions still did not help solve the problem or alleviate stress. The temptation is great to take medicine or look into a bar around the corner, break into a scream and say hurtful words when the mood is at zero. Take your time! Analyze your judgments and desires. If the situation requires your intervention, wait until you can control yourself.

3. Don't Forget the Essentials
Remember fundamental values ​​and act accordingly. What is more important - blow off steam or maintain a relationship with a loved one? Keep your core values ​​in mind and act accordingly.

4. Get a pet
The presence of a pet in the house will help you better deal with stress, and walking with a dog will open up new opportunities for communicating with people. When faced with difficult psychological decisions, pets can help lower high blood pressure better than any beta-blocker.

5. Pay attention to the state of your body
If you are overly anxious, angry, or frightened, first calm down, and to do this, do relaxation exercises. Go to the gym and do aerobics - this will help relieve stress. Do physical labor, it helps to get out of the situation. Long walks are also great therapy.

6. Tell yourself "Stop"
STOP is an acronym coined by Alcoholics Anonymous: Never make decisions when you are Angry, Anxious, Lonely or Depressed. Take care of your own needs first.

7. Make up your mind
If you have a really serious problem, you need to do something about it. Hard work? Look for a new one. Relationship with a partner reached an impasse? Maybe you should break up (but just think it over carefully). Sometimes we need an escape plan.

For example, the most common problem: if the work is too laborious (long hours, no help, a lot of pressure), start developing an escape plan. Don't waste your money, don't buy a new house or a new car, don't make any expensive investment that might tie you to this job for a long time. Save your money. Think about a job that suits you better and look for options.

Even if you can't change things right away, the mere fact that you have a plan can ease the stress.

"I'm not in control of my life!"

You probably know people (or relate to them yourself) who managed so badly own life What is it that everyone hates about themselves now? They feel trapped in a never ending cycle of unpleasant work situations, heavy debts, responsibilities, broken relationships, and even health issues due to stress and fatigue.

People feel that everything around them is a duty, and they themselves have no control. Burnout and stress rule their lives and they are at the lowest point of motivation and productivity.

Control over your responsibilities, time and results… How does that sound? Appeasement? Calm? Productivity? Maybe even a triumph?

We will not be able to experience all the amazing opportunities that life has to offer if we are constantly busy with business and are in a state of stress. But you don't deserve more. Is not it? Learn to recognize signs of emotional burnout in time and take action. Then every day will be filled with happiness and joy.

We all have certain obligations in life - both at work and in our personal lives. But by taking on too much, you can be prone to emotional burnout. About the symptoms of emotional burnout, as well as how to avoid it, read our translation. articles from the Help Scout blog.

When we have to choose what to spend our time and effort on, we all have the right to decide what is best for us and defend our position. And you don't have to be afraid of it.

On the one hand, it's nice to be the person who always says yes. You can experience the craziest and most wonderful adventures. There are many such reliable people among the support staff - we like to participate in everything, solve problems, learn new things.Can we help? Can we take it on? Of course we can!

But the more we grow professionally, the more and more often new opportunities open up before us. And in order to make room in life for the things that matter to us, we need to find a balance between when to say “yes” and when it is better to overpower ourselves and say “No”, “I refuse” or “I need to think about it” .

If you want to be the master of your life and career, you need to stop always agreeing with everything and find a balance.

Why shouldn't you agree with everything?

Why shouldn't the answer be "yes" to everything? Why do we need to be careful when making decisions?

Rejection helps us avoid burnout.

Social psychologist Christina Maslach, creator of "Maslach burnout questionnaire(Maslach Burnout Inventory), describes burnout as "a psychological syndrome that includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and underestimation of one's own achievements." She identifies six main causes of burnout:

  1. Lack of control (feeling like someone else is always at the helm)
  2. Insufficient reward (feeling like you are giving more than you are receiving)
  3. Lack of fairness (unbalanced or unclear system of conflict resolution or decision making)
  4. Conflict of values ​​(lack of unanimity with management)
  5. Overload (too many tasks hanging on you)
  6. Lack of communication (feeling isolated from the team)

If you notice something from the list behind you, it may be time to think about giving up some things.

Burnout Prevention

Saying "no" can be difficult. In addition, there are many practical and emotional aspects associated with this. So how do we prevent situations that can lead to burnout? To do this, it is worth evaluating new opportunities (or reevaluating old ones) by paying attention to four key aspects: time, growth, safety and pleasure.

1. Consider your time

Before you do something new, calculate what you are spending your time on right now. To do this, you can take a sheet of paper and divide it into three parts. In the first column, write your commitment. In the second column, answer the question "How long does this last?", and in the third, "Do I want to do this?".

Such records can be kept for everything - family, work, self-care. This gives you the opportunity to evaluate all your commitments, as well as a better understanding of what you have achieved, what you are spending time on now, and what you would like to spend time on in the future.

Keeping track of time will help you avoid value conflicts and work overload, two items on Maslach's list. Before you make a new commitment, it's worth considering how much time it will take, whether you have time for it, and whether it's something you want to spend your time on.

2. Identify opportunities for growth

It's nice to be approached because of your knowledge and skills: "Hello, you are a very smart and incredibly gifted person, would you like to join the club of other very smart and incredibly gifted people and be very smart and incredibly gifted together? Of course yes!

But wait... what happens after you give your consent? What is your reason for wanting to do this? It's good to feel appreciated, but is it worth it to sit at the next board meeting, or to leave your family behind and travel across the country to another conference? The author of the original article found herself in this situation: she came home from work, cooked dinner, put the children to bed, and then worked all night for the benefit of the team, from which she did not receive much return.

Before agreeing, ask yourself how you can apply your knowledge and how you can learn something for yourself. It's good when you can say, "I'm here because I can put my unique knowledge and skills to good use, and also because I want to develop in this area of ​​my life or career."

What do you want to achieve in life or in your career, and will this opportunity help you achieve this? Having dealt with this issue, you can avoid the second reason for burnout from Maslach's list - the feeling that you are not getting enough reward for your efforts. The time and effort you put into making a commitment should be rewarded in the form of growth and development in your key area.

3. Assess your safety

For a productive team, the most important thing is psychological safety. Harvard researcher Amy Edmonson defines psychological security as "the feeling that you won't be judged, rejected, or punished for speaking up." You should learn how the decision-making in the team (and how things are with psychological safety) before joining this team.

How is work organized in a team, how does communication take place, how do colleagues cope with disagreements, conflicts, insults and threats? If it is customary for the team to hold conferences, are there accepted norms of behavior? If issues are resolved in an advisory board, is there a procedure for filing and resolving complaints? Who has worked on this project before? Where are these specialists now? What do they think of the project?

It's worth doing a little research here. It's better to ask people in advance and avoid feeling a lack of control and lack of fairness, two other causes of burnout.

4. Have fun!

If it doesn't make you happy, don't do it.

Here the statement speaks for itself.

Find your tribe.

Find people who understand and support you, in whose behavior you can see a reflection of yourself.

When evaluating a new opportunity, ask yourself if it will help you find your people, "your tribe"? If you can give a positive answer to this, then you will avoid the last cause of burnout - lack of communication in the team.

Take back control of your own time

While the above tips seem to be pretty simple, why do we all too often feel like we're losing control of our own work and our own time anyway? There may be several reasons:

  • An exaggerated sense of responsibility/duty. "I really need them" or "I can do it" .
  • Fear of being isolated. "If I refuse them this time, what if they will no longer ask me for anything?
  • Ignorance of alternatives. "Do I have a choice?

What else can you do to get rid of the tendency to say "yes" in situations where it's better to say "no"?

  • Self test. Check back regularly to see how you are doing. Keep track of time, even when nothing new is coming. Is your career progressing the way you want it to? If not, it's probably time to change something or quit. If yes, then it is probably worth looking for new opportunities.
  • Collective verification. Regularly check how things are going in the team. Hold open meetings and honestly talk about the four main things - time, growth, safety, and fun. Give opportunities to colleagues on a regular basis to consider new ideas, discuss problems and make decisions together, and so on.
  • If you are a leader yourselfcreate and encourage an atmosphere of respect in the teamto the time, growth needs, safety and enjoyment of your employees.

The ability to maintain balance is not given to us from birth, and it cannot be received from someone as a gift. It is up to us to maintain balance in our lives. We need to regularly evaluate our commitments on our own or with colleagues - what those commitments are, how long they take, and whether we want to continue doing what we are doing.

There is nothing wrong with being infallible. If that's the kind of person you are, that's great! Just be aware of the symptoms of burnout. And when a new opportunity opens up in front of you, evaluate it on four aspects - time, growth, security and pleasure.


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The state of a zombie is familiar to every person. Usually it occurs at the end of the working week and it is even a natural process. However, if you burn out at the end of each workday or if it lasts recent weeks or even months, several decisions need to be made urgently.

And if this topic seems interesting to you, and you want to develop even more in it, we recommend that you learn real practical techniques for self-motivation, stress management and social adaptation to always control your emotional and mental state.

Emotional burnout is unlikely to go away just like that if you continue to do what you are doing. You must understand that you are doing something wrong. So here are four ideas to help you take control and prevent burnout. There are four of them, let's take a closer look at each of them.

sleep more

Of course, you already understand how important it is for the human nervous system. But you still sacrifice an extra hour of sleep for things that are not so important to your life. Emotional burnout is not a disease, but a symptom that can lead to very serious consequences. The more you rest and get enough sleep, the faster your nervous system. The benefits of even a ten-minute daytime sleep are simply incredible, it allows a person to regain strength and take control of emotions. Almost everyone can find time for this.

If we talk about night sleep, there are also quite simple statistics here. The more you sleep, the more you will be able to. If you think that by sacrificing an hour of sleep you will have more time, you are deeply mistaken. Not only will you do less work, but it will also be of very low quality.

When a person sleeps little, his concentration and cognitive abilities fall. The immune system is subjected to a very serious test and the likelihood of disease increases significantly. In addition, a person becomes more irritable, is in constant stress and enters into. There is no need to talk about self-confidence and clarity of thought. Do not sacrifice sleep, find things that do not benefit you and give them up in favor of rest. When you rest or sleep properly, it is physically impossible to burn out emotionally.

Say no to many things

Analyze your past week and note in it the events that led you to stress and at the same time did not bring any benefit. Surely everyone has dozens of such situations. Sadly, at such moments we do not even realize the absolute futility and, at the same time, the destructiveness of such situations, because we carry them out without thinking.

At the same time, you need to say “no” to many entertainments, because sometimes they can not only spoil our mood, but also take away the very time that can be spent on something more important. Entertainment should not take more than two hours on weekdays and more than five hours on weekends, because this leads to emotional instability. The more you have fun, the less you want to work. This means that when work time comes, you get a huge portion of stress. In addition, pleasure takes time to sleep. And this completely discredits the value of such pleasures and this form of recreation. You should benefit from such events, not circles under the eyes and complete physical and emotional exhaustion.

We are also open to many stimuli. There will be a good couple of dozen of these per day, and at the same time, you may not even react to many of them, because they are not vital for you. Anxiety is a state to which you must also say no. Read Dale Carnegie's book and don't worry about things you can't change.

Schedule time for email and cell phone

These two things are very dangerous because they usually have to do with something negative, call us to actions we don't want to do, and cause unnecessary emotions. It's much more efficient to set aside time, say, twice a day, to look at email and answer emails or complete email-related tasks. You should not go into your email box twenty times a day, this leads to the fact that your unfinished task is superimposed on a new one and you get a strong one.

The same is true with a mobile phone. Determine the time (the same twice a day) when you will go to a social network, viber or other application and respond to people. Warn them ahead of time. If they urgently need to convey some information to you, let them call you directly. But put special emphasis on the fact that the call should be of exceptional value.

Despite the fact that social networks attract hundreds of millions of people, in fact, people experience strong negative emotions while being in them. There is a constant comparison of the picture of the life of another person with his own, an oppressed state is acquired. In addition, social networks form a distorted picture of the world. We know that a photograph is not capable of accurately conveying a person's life, but we are still deceived. Any message in social network is also an irritant. Even if it is positive, it usually refers to some action you should take, even if you don't want to.

Ask for help

Strange, but so ordinary thing rarely comes to mind. Of course, you don’t need to be too imposing and often ask for it, but if you have friends, ask them for help. If they are true friends, they will definitely listen and help you.

There is no weakness in this, although most people believe that they should deal with their problems on their own. Yes, in many cases a person must solve their own problems, but when it comes to emotions, it is very important to recharge the energy of a person close to you.

If a we are talking about co-workers, ask them to do some of your work and promise to help back another day. This is a normal practice and if your employees are reasonable people, they will go for it. But again, when asking for help, you always need to know when to stop. Even if a person has never refused you, maybe he just doesn’t want to tell you directly that he is not at all happy with this situation. Learn to give a person as much strength and energy as he gave you.

These four simple steps help you take control of your emotions and feel alive and real.

If you know any other ways to avoid burnout, write to us in the comments.

Ways to manage stress

If you are constantly stressed and feeling frustrated and exhausted, you are most likely on the path to professional burnout. In a state of burnout, problems seem insoluble, and everything that happens around does not cause any emotional response. Constant discontent and alienation pose a real threat to health, as well as professional and personal life. However, if you manage to recognize the first signs of burnout, you can prevent it. If you have already reached critical point There are many ways to restore balance, believe in yourself again and start enjoying life.

What is burnout?

Burnout is a state of emotional, mental and physical exhaustion caused by intense and prolonged stress. Burnout makes a person feel crushed, emotionally devastated, does not allow him to meet the usual requirements. With prolonged exposure to stress, a person loses the interest and motivation that once prompted him to take up work.

Burnout reduces work productivity, drains energy, increases the feeling of helplessness and hopelessness, provokes indifference and a cynical attitude towards life. In the end, it seems to a person that he is no good for anything.

Consequences of burnout

The negative effects of burnout extend to all areas of life, including work, relationships with family, friends and acquaintances. Burnout can cause long-term changes in the body, such as reducing the ability to resist colds and the flu. That is why it is important to start fighting burnout as early as possible.

How do you diagnose burnout?

You are on the path to professional burnout if:

  • Every working day seems bad to you.
  • You no longer care about what happens at home and at work.
  • You feel that your strength is running out.
  • You spend a lot of time on things that seem incredibly boring to you.
  • You feel like no one cares about your work.

Signs and symptoms of burnout

Many of us have days when we feel helpless and worthless, and have a hard time getting out of bed and going to work. If you feel like these situations happen to you too often, you may be suffering from burnout.

Burnout is a gradual process. At first, the symptoms are almost imperceptible, but over time they worsen. Any, even the earliest symptoms should not be ignored. If you deal with them as soon as possible, you can prevent a catastrophe. If you give up on them, burnout will come very quickly.

Physical signs and symptoms of burnout

  • Constant fatigue and impotence
  • Low immunity, constant cold
  • Frequent headaches or muscle pain
  • Changes in eating and sleeping habits

Emotional signs and symptoms of burnout

  • Constant anticipation of failure and self-doubt
  • Feeling of helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness
  • Feeling lonely
  • Loss of motivation
  • Negative attitude towards the surrounding reality, which intensifies over time
  • Lack of job satisfaction and self-satisfaction

Behavioral signs and symptoms of burnout

  • Dodging duties
  • Reluctance to communicate with others
  • Procrastination, exceeding deadlines for routine tasks
  • The desire to "seize" problems, the use of alcohol or drugs to relieve psychological pressure
  • The desire to unleash evil on others
  • Being late, wanting to leave work early

The difference between stress and burnout

Burnout is a consequence of constant stress, but burnout and stress are not the same thing. Stress means too much pressure - both physical and psychological. People who are under stress often think that the situation will return to normal once they are brought under control.

Burnout, on the contrary, causes the belief that the situation will never return to normal. Burnout is complete emptiness, lack of motivation and desire to do anything. For people who experience burnout, life seems hopeless. Stressed people drown in their duties, people with burnout simply "dry out". People under stress are fully aware of their situation, while burnout often comes unnoticed.

Stress or burnout?

Causes of burnout

Burnout is closely related to professional activity. Everyone who works too hard and does not get the proper return from it is at risk of burnout - whether it be an office employee who has not taken a vacation for several years, or a housewife who is torn between children and elderly parents.

The rate of burnout also depends on the lifestyle and character of the person - in particular, on what he does in free time and how he sees the world.

Causes of burnout related to work

  • Lack of control over the workflow
  • Lack of recognition and rewards for good work
  • Unclear or inflated expectations
  • Monotony, lack of complex but interesting tasks
  • Chaotic or overly stressful work environment

Causes of burnout associated with lifestyle

  • Overtime, lack of time for rest and communication
  • Lack of truly close people who can support
  • The desire to take on as many responsibilities as possible, unwillingness to accept help from outside
  • Lack of sleep

Personality Traits Affecting Burnout

  • Perfectionism, the desire to do the best you can
  • Pessimistic views of oneself and the world around
  • Desire to control everything, distrust of others
  • Ambition, workaholism

Sounds familiar?

If you feel like burnout is coming or has already happened, you need to stop immediately to prevent more physical and emotional damage. Take a break and think about how you can help yourself.

To cope with burnout, turn to other people

People who are faced with professional burnout feel helpless. However, stress can be controlled. There are several steps you can take to bring your life back into balance. One of them is communication.

Social interaction is a natural antidote to stress

Talk to someone who can listen. You will immediately feel how your nervous system calms down, and the level of stress decreases. The interlocutor should not solve your problems at all. It will be enough if he just listens to you, without being distracted and refraining from judgmental statements.

Pouring out your soul, you are unlikely to become a burden for someone. On the contrary, many friends and relatives will certainly be flattered by your trust, and your relationship will only improve.

Tips for Overcoming Burnout Through Positive Interactions

Spend as much time as possible with the people closest to you- spouse, children or friends Try to take your mind off the worries and make your time together as pleasant as possible.

Communicate more with colleagues. Good relationships with colleagues can prevent burnout. For example, during a break, put your smartphone away and try to chat with someone who is nearby, or make an appointment with them after work.

Try not to interact with people you don't like. Communication with negative-minded people who only do what they complain about life pretty spoils the mood. If you have to work with such a person, try to limit the time you spend together.

Join a community that seems important and interesting to you. Religious and social groups allow like-minded people to connect with each other, share ways to deal with stress, and make new friends. If there is a professional association in your industry, you can attend meetings and talk with those who are experiencing the same problems as you.

If you don't have acquaintances to hang out with, it's never too late to make new ones and thereby expand your network of contacts.

The power of donations

Helping others is gratifying, helps reduce stress levels, and expands your social circle.

Of course, if you are on the verge of burnout, you should not take on too much, but sometimes people do not require much. Most often, a kind word and a smile are enough for both sides.

If you are doing monotonous and uninteresting things or are constantly in a hurry somewhere, you may need to change jobs. Of course, for many of us, this is a very responsible and not very realistic step, because we need money to pay our bills, but in any case, something can be changed for the better.

Try to find meaning in what you are doing. Even the most boring tasks tend to benefit other people by providing them with the right products or services. Focus on what you enjoy, even if it's a conversation with colleagues over lunch. Change your attitude towards work, and you will feel how the feeling of control over the situation begins to return to you.

Find balance in life. If you hate your job, look for fulfillment in your family, friends, hobbies, or volunteering. Focus on the moments that bring you true joy.

Make friends at work. A close emotional connection with colleagues helps to overcome monotony and neutralize the effects of burnout. If there are people around you with whom you can exchange a few words, the level of stress from unloved or stressful work will be significantly reduced. Your work efficiency will increase, and the days will not seem so dull.

Take a vacation. If you think burnout is inevitable, take a break. Take paid or unpaid leave or sick leave, in a word - find a way to temporarily not appear at the workplace. Use this time to restore your energy with these tips.

burnout- this is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong in your life. Think about your dreams and goals. Do you have to ignore them? Consider the current situation as an opportunity to analyze your life, relax, reflect and recover.

Set boundaries. Do not seek to embrace the immensity. Learn to let go of things that take up too much of your time. If this is difficult for you, remind yourself that each rejection frees up time for what is really important to you.

Have a tech-free vacation. Turn off your computer and phone for a while every day so that calls and letters do not bother you.

Feed your creativity. Creativity is another antidote to burnout. Try new things, participate in fun projects, make time for your hobby. Choose activities that have nothing to do with your work.

Plan your vacation. Relaxation techniques - yoga, meditation and deep breathing - relax the body, as opposed to stress, which causes tension.

Sleep as much as possible. Feeling tired from burnout can make you think irrationally. Keep your stress under control by getting yourself a good night's sleep.

Learn to focus on tasks

  • Learn to reduce your stress levels in the moment.
  • Manage anxious thoughts and feelings.
  • Motivate yourself to take action to cope with burnout.
  • Improve relationships at work and at home.
  • Remind yourself of the feelings that make work and life meaningful.
  • Improve your health and standard of living.

go in for sports

Even if it seems to you that sports are the last thing to think about in a state of burnout, you need to remember that sports are a powerful tool in the fight against stress. With it, you can improve your mood right now!

  • Exercise for at least half an hour a day. If necessary, you can break this interval into shorter intervals. A ten-minute walk improves mood for two hours.
  • Rhythmic swinging of arms and legs allows you to recharge your batteries, improve concentration and relax the body and mind. Try running, weightlifting, swimming, martial arts, or even dancing.
  • Shift your focus from thoughts to physical sensations (for example, how the wind blows your face), focus on movements (for example, for example, how your feet step on the ground).

Don't forget to eat the right food

What you eat directly affects your mood and energy levels throughout the day.

Minimize your intake of sugar and simple carbohydrates. If you crave familiar snacks like pasta or fried potatoes, remind yourself that high-carb foods lead to mood swings.

Minimize your intake of mood-altering foods.(particularly caffeine, trans fats, chemical preservatives and hormones).

Incorporate omega-3 fatty acids into your diet to boost your mood. The best sources of omega-3s are fish (salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines), seaweed, flaxseed, and walnuts.

Avoid nicotine. Smoking helps some people calm down, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant that increases anxiety levels, not increases it.

Drink alcohol in limited quantities. Alcohol temporarily relieves anxiety, but if consumed in excess, you will feel even worse when the effects of intoxicating substances wear off.

helpguide.org, translation: Airapetova Olga

  • Career and Self-development

Keywords:

1 -1

Burnout Syndrome (BES) is a reaction of the body that occurs as a result of prolonged exposure to occupational stress. At the WHO European Conference (2005), it was noted that such work-related conditions are important issue for about one third of the workers in the European Union. According to statistics, "burnout syndrome" at least once in a lifetime occurs in 25% of people. Moreover, today people of almost all professions are at risk.

There are a lot of definitions of EBS, but the most general one looks something like this: burnout syndrome is a state of emotional and physical exhaustion, a decrease in energy potential, accompanied by disorders of the emotional sphere.

Experts note that the risk of developing burnout syndrome is to a very high degree due to personality traits person. Therefore, SEV can develop under a certain set of circumstances in almost any person. But people most at risk of burnout those who are overwhelmed with responsibilities and day-to-day duties, those who work too hard for an extended period of time with too much intensity. Increase susceptibility to burnout hyperresponsibility, lack of other interests besides work, attitude towards oneself as the only person who is able to cope with the task set for the company.

Rector of the Northern State Medical University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences Pavel Sidorov identifies five key groups of symptoms characteristic of SES:

1. Physical symptoms: fatigue, physical fatigue, exhaustion; weight change; insufficient sleep, insomnia; bad general state health, incl. by feeling; shortness of breath, shortness of breath; nausea, dizziness, excessive sweating, trembling; promotion blood pressure; ulcers and inflammatory skin diseases; diseases of the cardiovascular system.

2. Emotional symptoms: lack of emotions; pessimism, cynicism and callousness in work and personal life; indifference, fatigue; feeling of helplessness and hopelessness; aggressiveness, irritability; anxiety, increased irrational restlessness, inability to concentrate; depression, guilt; tantrums, mental suffering; loss of ideals, hopes or professional prospects; an increase in depersonalization of one's own or others - people become faceless, like mannequins; loneliness prevails.

3. Behavioral symptoms: working time exceeds 45 hours per week; during work, fatigue and a desire to rest appear; indifference to food; low physical activity; justifying the use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs; accidents - falls, injuries, accidents, etc.; impulsive emotional behavior.

4. Intellectual symptoms: a drop in interest in new theories and ideas in work, in alternative approaches to solving problems; boredom, longing, apathy, loss of taste and interest in life; greater preference for standard patterns, routine, rather than a creative approach; cynicism or indifference to innovations; low participation or refusal to participate in developmental experiments - trainings, education; formal work.

5. Social symptoms: low social activity; a drop in interest in leisure, hobbies; social contacts are limited to work; poor relationships at work and at home; feeling isolated, misunderstood by others and by others; feeling of lack of support from family, friends, colleagues.

Of course, all of the above symptoms manifest themselves differently at different stages of CMEA. Emotional burnout syndrome includes three stages, each of which has four main symptoms:

  • 1st stage - "Voltage":
  • self dissatisfaction,
  • "trapped in a cage"
  • experience of traumatic situations,
  • anxiety and depression.
  • 2nd stage - "Resistance":
  • inadequate, selective emotional response,
  • emotional and moral disorientation,
  • expansion of the sphere of economy of emotions,
  • reduction of professional duties.
  • 3rd stage - "Exhaustion":
  • emotional deficit,
  • emotional withdrawal,
  • personal withdrawal,
  • psychosomatic and psychovegetative disorders.

The main reasons for the occurrence of SEV experts include the following::

Environment: noise, stuffy rooms, a monotonous landscape, the inability to hide from the all-seeing eye of the authorities.

Rhythm of work: overload, constant rush, surprises a hundred times a day, or, conversely, dead monotony.

Relationships: conflicts with management or colleagues; an atmosphere of misunderstanding and struggle for a place under the sun.

Outlook: More precisely, their absence.

Burnout also contributes to a whole range of factors, each of which enhances the effect of the other.

A person is at risk if:

lives in a metropolis and forced to contact with a lot of people - in traffic jams, shops, on the streets;

works in a huge corporation, is involved in a daily career race, is afraid of losing his place;

operates in extreme conditions, hurries, takes risks, shows increased attention to detail, makes responsible decisions, receives not a fixed salary, but a percentage of profits;

- on duty dealing with many colleagues, partners, clients, constantly communicates with them, is involved in solving their problems, faces their negative emotions and experiences.

already mentioned by us Academician Pavel Sidorov gives a number of recommendations, observing which it is possible not only to prevent the occurrence of EBS, but also to achieve a decrease in its severity:

define and share short and long term goals;

use"time-outs" that are necessary to ensure mental and physical well-being (rest from work);

master skills and abilities of self-regulation (relaxation, ideomotor acts, goal setting and positive inner speech help reduce the level of stress leading to burnout);

get busy professional development and self-improvement (one of the ways to protect against SEB is the exchange of professional information with representatives of other services, which gives a feeling of more wide world than the one that exists within a separate team, there are various ways for this - advanced training courses, conferences, etc.);

go away from unnecessary competition (there are situations when it cannot be avoided, but an excessive desire to win gives rise to anxiety, makes a person aggressive, which contributes to the emergence of CM);

get involved in emotional communication (when a person analyzes his feelings and shares them with others, the likelihood of burnout is significantly reduced or this process is not so pronounced);

support good physical shape (do not forget that there is a close relationship between the state of the body and the mind: malnutrition, abuse of alcohol, tobacco, weight loss or obesity exacerbate the manifestations of SES).

try to count and deliberately distribute their loads;

learn to switch from one activity to another;

take it easier to conflicts at work;

do not try be the best always and in everything.

And in conclusion, I would like to note: the danger of CMEA lies in the fact that it tends to progress day by day! It is extremely difficult to slow down this process. Against its background, various chronic diseases can worsen, new diseases develop, and even the composition of the blood can change. At this point, attempts to take care of yourself, as a rule, do not give the desired result. And even the professional help of a doctor does not bring quick relief. Therefore, the most reasonable thing is to prevent the appearance of this syndrome, "strangle it in the bud."