Burnout is one of the main symptoms of our time. It sometimes overtakes a person who is constantly in contact with society, and is expressed in the appearance of a state of exhaustion in him. In this case, we are talking about the loss of not only physical strength, but also psychological potential. People suffer from paralysis of the senses, becoming apathetic and withdrawn. At the same time, they stop enjoying life.
Today, doctors state the fact that cases of burnout syndrome in people happen more and more often. And this applies not only to representatives of social professions, in whom a similar condition has often occurred before. Emotional burnout is also observed among workers in completely different areas. Sometimes such a state of a person overtakes in his personal life.
Our turbulent times are contributing to the increasing spread of psychological exhaustion, forwhich is characterized by the growth of consumption and enjoyment in the form of entertainment, the acceleration of scientific and technological progress and the emergence of a new materialism. The era has come when man exploits himself and allows himself to be exploited. This is why burnout can affect all of us.
Stages of psychological exhaustion
How does burnout occur? In psychology, there are various descriptions for considering this process. Let's consider one of them. German psychologist Matthias Burisch proposed a description of four stages that gradually lead a person to moral exhaustion.
- In the first stage, people have a certain enthusiasm. They are driven by idealism and certain ideas. A person makes demands on himself that turn out to be simply exorbitant, outlining unrealistic plans for the week, month, etc.
- The second stage is exhaustion. It manifests itself in the physical and emotional plane, and is also expressed in bodily weakness.
- At the third stage, the body begins to show defensive reactions. What happens to a person whose demands are constantly great? He begins to move away from the relationship, which becomes the cause of dehumanization. Such a reaction is a reaction. It protects the person and does not allow exhaustion to become even stronger. Intuitively, the individual begins to understand that his body needs rest. That is why such a person does not seek to maintain social relations. Those of them that are mandatory begin to cause him negativeemotions. On the one hand, psychologists consider such a reaction as correct. However, the area in which it acts is not at all suitable for healing the body. A person needs to calmly accept the requirements that are presented to him. However, it is very difficult to get away from claims and requests at this stage.
- At the fourth stage, there is an increase in those reactions that arose at the previous stage of exhaustion. The terminal stage begins, which is called by Matthias Burisch the “disgust syndrome”. Such a concept means the fact that a person no longer has any joy in life.
Levels of psychological exhaustion
Almost every person has experienced the symptoms of burnout. Signs of exhaustion manifest themselves as a result of great stress. For example, after preparing for exams, working on a large-scale project, writing a dissertation, etc., if all this required a lot of effort or crisis situations arose.
For example, burnout will need to be treated for medical workers who had to see a large number of patients during the flu epidemic. The main signs of this condition are sleep disturbance, irritability, lack of desire, decreased motivation, discomfort.
This level of exhaustion is the easiest. Indeed, in this case, only psychological and physiological exhaustion occurs. After the end of the situation, the symptoms of emotional burnout disappear on their own, and treatment in such cases will beconsist only in the allocation of time for sleep, sports and vacation design. The body of the person who will not replenish energy reserves through rest will switch to a mode that allows you to save energy.
The methods used to diagnose emotional burnout are based on determining the levels or phases of this state. After all, it is not so easy to determine the beginning of exhaustion, which will have further development. That is why psychologists conduct testing to diagnose symptoms, and burnout treatment can be started as quickly as possible.
The stages of psychological exhaustion have their own dynamics. At the initial stage of the pathological state, there is only a muting of emotions. This is manifested by the indifference of a person to everything around him. Some people are dissatisfied with themselves and their lives. At the physical level, the manifestation of the syndrome is accompanied by headaches. There are also spasms in the back and convulsions. Chronic diseases often worsen.
The second stage is characterized by a more active development of the disorder from the emotional side. That internal discomfort and discontent that a person has, he begins to reflect in external manifestations. They are, as a rule, anger and irritation. These negative emotions affect most often those people and colleagues with whom communication takes place during the day.
Of course, many patients do their best to avoid the manifestation of aggression. To do this, they close in on themselves and stopbe active. However, this state of affairs cannot last long. As a result, it moves to its third stage, when a person experiences physical and emotional exhaustion. He no longer has the strength to work, to perform his daily duties, as well as to communicate with people. Such a person becomes detached, touchy and rude. Sometimes he has a fear of communication.
With constant stress, the third level of emotional burnout will go into the stage of frustration and turn into something more than exhaustion.
Reasons
What causes burnout? The reason for this condition lies in various areas, namely:
- In the individual psychological. In this case, a person has a desire to completely succumb to the state of stress.
- In socio-psychological or social. This is where outside pressure comes in. Job requirements, social norms, fashion trends, the zeitgeist, etc., begin to influence him. Such pressure sometimes has a latent form.
In addition, there are also subjective and objective reasons. The first of them include:
- workaholism;
- professional experience;
- desire total control;
- result-oriented;
- idealized human expectations of work and life;
- character traits (neuroticism, rigidity and anxiety), etc.
Among the objective factors are:
- great informationload;
- presence of irregular schedule;
- lack of necessary rest;
- constant criticism;
- high competition;
- monotonous work;
- lack of moral and material reward;
- unsatisfactory position in society and in the workforce, etc.
Clinical picture
Burnout symptoms never come on suddenly. After all, such a disorder is distinguished by a long development, often having a latent course.
What are the signs of the syndrome? All of them are conventionally divided into three categories:
- Psycho-emotional manifestations. These include a bad mood and lack of motivation, self-doubt and apathy. A person's behavior changes. He begins to complain about life, constantly avoids responsibility and makes envious and malicious remarks.
- Somatic manifestations. Back pain and migraine occur, and dizziness often occurs. Problems with appetite and sleep begin to torment, and excessive sweating appears.
In its clinical picture, this condition is similar to depression. That is why the treatment of burnout syndrome should be de alt with only by qualified doctors, prescribing the necessary course after a carefully conducted comprehensive diagnosis.
Risk groups
Most often, psychological exhaustion is observed in people of certain professions. Among them are teachers and doctors, social workers and psychologists, law enforcement officers andcreative people. Relate to the risk group and people employed in the service sector.
At doctors and medical staff
Burnout is most common among he althcare workers. After all, every day they have to deal with patients who require attention and care. To some extent, doctors take on the hopelessness and negativity that patients have. In addition, it is also not easy to bear the burden of responsibility for the he alth and life of patients. This is the reason for the development of emotional burnout.
Teachers
Representatives of this profession also have a high level of emotional exhaustion. Like a doctor, a teacher has a huge responsibility. The teacher needs to be a role model. He should admonish and educate children, giving them knowledge at the same time. The teacher should be able not only to be not only among students, but also to maintain normal relations with their colleagues.
The work of a teacher is very emotional. Children are different, and each of them needs to find its own approach. In addition, the teacher must perform a large amount of work, often taking notebooks home for verification. In addition to overtime hours, teachers are constantly under pressure from superiors. All this becomes the reason for the emotional exhaustion of the representatives of this profession.
Diagnostics
Treatment of burnout syndrome is undertaken only after determining the pathological condition. For this, it is possible to use differenttechniques. For a long period of time, the definition of psycho-emotional exhaustion was carried out using the MBI method. This technique is designed to determine the level of burnout of people in professions such as "man-to-man". It was developed by American psychologists K. Maslach and S. Jackson. When applying this technique, the subject must answer 22 questions. Analysis of the data obtained allows the specialist to find out which phase of emotional burnout his patient is in. All answers are given as numbers. So "0" would mean "never" and "6" would mean "every day".
In domestic practice, the diagnosis of emotional burnout is carried out, as a rule, according to the methodology developed by V. V. Boyko. With its help, the leading symptoms of psychological exhaustion are determined, and to which phase of its development they belong. The results of the ongoing research allow us to give a fairly complete characterization of the personality, as well as to assess the level of adequacy of the emotional state in emerging conflict situations. After that, it becomes possible to prescribe the most effective treatment for burnout.
There are 84 judgments in Boyko's method. With their help, it becomes possible to diagnose emotional burnout according to its three main symptoms, namely, tension, resistance and exhaustion. At the same time, it becomes clear to the specialist:
- dominant symptoms;
- what causes emotional exhaustion;
- what symptoms most aggravate a person's condition;
- howyou can influence the existing situation to eliminate nervous tension;
- what is subject to correction in the behavior of the person himself.
Treatment
Most often, a person does not pay attention to the state in which psychological exhaustion takes place. That is why emotional burnout is not treated. The main mistake of a person in this case is his desire to get together, find strength in himself and continue the work assigned for a while. Many of us simply do not think about the need for rest.
What will need to be done so that the syndrome does not get its further development? To do this, you need to look fear in the eye and start treating burnout, recognizing the fact of its existence. And above all, you need to start with yourself, giving up the endless pursuit of sometimes useless things. After all, it leads to psychological and physical exhaustion.
It is impossible to treat burnout syndrome without a fairly simple measure. It consists in doing half the work that a person assigns himself daily. At the same time, every hour you need to rest, arranging a ten-minute break for yourself. It is also worth taking the time to calmly contemplate the results that have already been achieved.
To get rid of emotional exhaustion, you need to increase your self-esteem. To do this, a person needs to note those positive character traits that he has. You need to praise yourself even for the smallest feats,constantly expressing gratitude for diligence and diligence. Psychologists also recommend introducing a rule into your life to encourage yourself every time you get even a small result on the way to your goal.
Sometimes it is easier to cure burnout syndrome in the most radical way. For example, quitting an organization that has become hated, finding a job in a new, albeit not so “warm” place.
A good way to overcome the negative state is to gain new knowledge. For example, a person can start attending foreign language courses, start studying the most complex computer programs, or discover his vocal gift. In other words, it is recommended to try yourself in completely new directions and discover new talents in yourself. Do not be afraid to experiment, fixing your eyes on previously unknown areas.
An obligatory component of therapy is the help of people around. On the topic of his stressful state, a person should talk as much as possible with friends, with family members, as well as with a psychotherapist. Such tactics will allow you to identify new professional and life goals, as well as find the strength in yourself to achieve them.
A person suffering from psychological exhaustion should find hobbies and activities outside of work. After all, professional life should not be the only direction in life. You should go in for art, sports or pick up an interesting hobby for yourself. It is also important to allow yourself to dream, listen to music, watch movies, read books.
Besides this appliesto get rid of the syndrome of emotional burnout and drug treatment. So, the state of anxiety and overstrain, insomnia and sleep disturbance are eliminated by drugs created on the basis of valerian. Medicinal plants with adaptive properties are also recommended for admission. Their list includes: ginseng and lemongrass, aralia and zamaniha, pink rhodiola, eleutherococcus and some others.
In the most difficult situations, to get rid of psychological exhaustion, you will need the use of psychotherapy methods. The patient, communicating in comfortable conditions for him with a specialist, will determine the cause of his condition. This will allow him to develop the right motivation to prevent the development of prolonged depression.
When the patient's condition worsens, when the pathology begins to become life-threatening, it is necessary to use medication for emotional burnout. It involves the appointment of anxiolytics, beta-blockers, antidepressants, nootropics, hypnotics by a doctor. The treatment regimen is selected by specialists on an individual basis, taking into account clinical symptoms and taking into account the characteristics of the patient's condition.
Measures to prevent psychological exhaustion
Requires more than just burnout treatment. Prevention to prevent this condition and its aggravation is extremely important for any person.
And for this you need to carry out activities that are aimed atstrengthening he alth and resolving difficult situations, which will prevent stressful situations and nervous breakdowns. Among them:
- balanced diet, including foods with plenty of proteins, minerals and vitamins;
- regular exercise;
- daily walks in fresh air;
- enough rest;
- performing all their official duties only during working hours;
- organization of a day off with a radical change in activities;
- being on vacation for at least two weeks during the year;
- conducting daily meditations and auto-trainings;
- prioritization in their affairs and their strict observance;
- various quality leisure activities with entertainment, travel, social gatherings, etc.
When a burnout syndrome occurs, treatment and prevention of such a condition should be started by a person independently already at the first stages of the development of a pathological condition. This will allow you not to wait for a complete decline in physical and moral strength, and also to boldly continue to walk through life, achieving your goals.
