The term stress It is generally used to identify, in the psychological and medical field, situations of tension, discomfort and fatigue in the person who, in the workplace, can cause the Burnout syndrome.
This is only one of the meanings that the word stress can assume, a term that a negative connotation can have in the case of exaggerated and unnatural efforts, which generally involve anxietysuffering and sadness (distress) or beneficial if associated with a stimulating, intense and creative activity, which leads the person to have one Good performance in terms of concentration, cognitive performance And Resolution of problems (eustress).
█ This article we will discover what Burnout is, what this phenomenon means for those who live it and how to face symptoms and possible consequences.
Burnout: what it is and how it manifests itself
The meaning of the term burnout (or burn-out), in Italian, is “burned”, “burst”. There is talk of “go to burnout“When The person can no longer deal with constructively all difficulties which daily present themselves at work level.
If we were therefore to give a definition of the burnout, we could describe it as that phenomenon characterized by physical and psychological symptoms deriving from prolonged stress lived in the workplace.
Burnout is characterized by three dimensions:
- Iftexhaustion: the person feels dried up, unable to rest and at the same time to plan and face new projects
- cynicism: The person takes on a cold and detached attitude towards work and colleagues. This behavior can be interpreted as an attitude of defense by the person to protect himself from disappointment or exhaustion, seriously compromising the psycho-physical balance
- inefficiency: a low sense of self -efficacy prevails and everything appears insignificant. The person begins to have thoughts of inadequacy and oppression, aimed above all at the planning of new projects.
Burnout syndrome: a little history
The history of Burnout begins in the United States around the 70s, a period in which the term burnout was used for the first time to identify a typical syndrome in the helping professions (doctors, nurses, etc.).
In 1975 Christina Maslach will use this term to define the Burnout syndromewhose symptoms highlight a behavioral pathology in all professions characterized by ahigh relational implication (workers in contact with an audience, such as employees, service staff, etc.).
In 1981 Maslach built the Maslach Burnout Inventory, A burnout test that investigates, through different degrees of response, the symptoms of work burnout.
Burnout syndrome it was also recognized by the WHO (World Health Organization) as one “of the factors that influence the state of health“. Nonetheless the diagnosis of Burnout is not contemplated in Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5), since Burnout is not inserted among the mental disorders.
How to recognize the burnout: the main symptoms
What are the symptoms of a burnout?
Burnout syndrome manifests itself with recognizable symptoms which can be of different nature:
- symptoms psychological
- symptoms somatic
- symptoms non -specific.
THE Psychological symptoms of the work burnout They include irritability, decrease in motivation, guilt, thoughts of failure, disinterest, reduction of self -esteem and self -confidence, fear of changing jobs. Burnout can also cause depression, ailments and anxiety attacks.
You can attend a real collapse of psychic energiesso much so as to talk about symptoms from “nervous exhaustion” from work: on the one hand the person is struggling to go to work, he feels frustrated, often delay or requires permits and diseases, on the other also private life and relationships are affected by the effect of the burnout.
Physical symptoms They include gastrointestinal disorders (such as gastritis and colitis), headache and migraines, ulcers, skin disorders (such as the appearance of acne and dermatitis). To these are also accompanied symptoms non -specific such as tiredness, apathy, sleep disorders (insomnia) and appetite, decrease in sexual desire. Ift
IftThe 4 phases of the burnout
Let’s deepen now what are the alarm bells of the Burnout.
The syndrome does not manifest itself suddenly, but has symptoms that occur graduallyin a process described in four phases. Thanks to them it is possible to understand how to recognize burnout and act in a timely manner to promote the working wellness.
- enthusiasm: the work is invested with unrealistic expectations. A first alarm bell is that the person seems to have a work addiction, also getting to sacrifice his free time. We expect to be able to make great changes and to achieve success and awards in a short time
- stagnation: It is the phase immediately following the disappointment of expectations. The worker realizes that the efforts made did not give the desired results: disappointed and embittered, he begins to adopt a passive and renunciation attitude
- frustration: At this point you feel useless, unable to do your job. Feelings of anger begin to appear not only towards colleagues and superiors, but also to the users to whom his profession is addressed
- Disengagement: Apatia and cynicism are the master of working days. The person feels completely emptied and starts not wanting to do anything. Often he feels guilt and feelings of uselessness. Everything that before her was enthusiastically seems to have lost meaning now.
Whoever lives with these symptoms could wonder how long the burnout lasts: There is no univocal response, because the syndrome could last from a few weeks up to a few months, depending on the strategies that the person puts in place to face the symptoms. If not resolved, the burnout could last even for longer periods.
Burnout: What are the causes?
The causes of burnout syndrome in psychology can be traced back to both individual and environmental variables. Among the individual factors We find:
- factors socio-demographic Like age, genre and civil status
- factors related to personality and the ability to activate resources to face problems, such as low emotional intelligence
Among the environmental factorson the other hand, can be found:
- bad organization of work and poor support for staff
- expectations Compared to one’s figure, both in terms of values (inconsistency between what you believe in and what you have to do) and excessive workload
- failure to recognize economic and social recognition
- Relational problems with colleagues.
In this perspective, too mobbing and burnout can be connectedbecause the stress caused by the former can lead to a condition of discouragement which leads to one loss of motivation, energy and objectives.
Burnout: how to get out of it
Is there a cure for Burnout? Recognizing the difficulty situation is already the first step to be able to face the problem. Let’s start with some small tips that can act as prevention tools first and from remedies to go out burnout then.
It will be important that the person gets used to Create boundaries between personal and work life. To do this you can start carving out of moments of pause from work To be dedicated to exercise, to the cultivation of a hobby or, possibly, also to intensify the opportunities for social encounter. Other valid solutions for burnout are practicing relaxation techniques or mindfulness for anxiety.
How to overcome the burnout with a professional
If all this is not enough, to know how to prevent burnout or how to get out of the syndrome you can request the support of one of the psychologists Unebravo online.
The care for burnout they can request a path of psychotherapy, which allows:
- encourage greater awareness of the problem
- enhance their personal resources
- Understanding the relationships between manifest behavior, one’s own experience and life context.
To face the burnout it is also possible act at the corporate level. The psychologist in the company can create an in -depth analysis of which are the organizational factors that workers at risk of burnout put and propose interventions for:
- enhance the Management skillsalso for the purpose of raising awareness of the phenomenon
- improve soft skills of employees, such as the ability to work in a group and management of conflicts in the workplace
- Change the general organization of work (division and rotation of the tasks, participation in decisions, etc …).
Burnout can be diagnosed with mental health professionals such as psychiatrists and psisotherapy. In the most serious cases, the professional can advise the patient a period of abstention from work, which will be certified by the general practitioner. However, it is not possible to know how many to priori days of illness For stress and burnout they will be assigned, since each case is in itself.
What is the difference between stress and burnout?
What is meant by Burnout e how it differs from work stress? As we said previously, stress is given by factors that act “pressure” on the individual, testing his skills. Who has not happened to work to have to respond to a new request, towards which he thought he was not ready enough? This element of novelty requires additional efforts to find a solution.
The resources used, however, are not always successful. These are the cases in which stress can extend, transforming itself into distress. What does Burnout syndrome have to do with all this? When extends over time and leads to a real exhaustion of personal resourceswork stress leads to Burnout syndrome.
Fatigue and burnout compassion
Burnout syndrome must also be distinguished from Fatigue compassion, term used to indicate that condition of those who find themselves assisting people in conditions of great suffering, such as traumatic situations or strong stress.
Among the components of compassion are the burnout and the so -called secondary traumatic stress, which implies an exposure to trauma through someone else’s story.
Burnout: the categories at risk
Burnout as “occupational disease” It affects some categories of workers more than others. In the world of work there are in fact professions called “help”, which are particularly exposed to the Burnout syndrome.
So we will have a burnout syndrome in medical health professions, nurses, oss, caregiver and other health workers. Among the categories of work at risk of burnout we can also include i manager they teachers. Even working as a psychologist can expose to the psychologist’s burnout risk.
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Books on Burnout
Burnout syndrome is a very present problem in contemporary society. To deepen some aspects, We suggest some librthe:
- Burn-out syndromeC. Cherniss, Turin scientific center
- Burn-out, mobbing and stress diseases. Psycho-social risk and work-related stressF. Pellegrino, G. Esposito, Positive Press
- Burnout and organization. Change the structural factors of work demotivationC. Maslach, Mp Leiter, Erickson.
