Burnout syndrome is a psychological disorder that can be encountered in all areas of life. Occupational burnout syndrome and burnout syndrome in women who are mothers are among the most common conditions. The symptoms of burnout syndrome are generally similar in individuals. Exhaustion, fatigue and weakness are very common symptoms of burnout syndrome. In individuals diagnosed with burnout syndrome, burnout syndrome treatment should be done in accordance with the person's life and standards.
What is Burnout Syndrome?
Burnout syndrome is a psychological disorder that affects a person's mood and puts a strain on their social life. Burnout syndrome is generally more common in business life. Some responsibilities brought by business life may be more than the burden that the person can handle. In social life, burnout syndrome is also seen in people who are generally oppressed in the family and have too much responsibility in the family.
Types of Burnout Syndrome
Emotional Burnout
If you are experiencing emotional burnout, you may find yourself feeling burned out even when you are not working (in the morning, before you start working).
In normal times, when a person is overwhelmed by busyness, he or she can feel good by spending time with friends and family or going on a small vacation, while individuals experiencing emotional burnout cannot get the same efficiency from these activities. This can lead to symptoms such as irritability, low mood and somatization disorder. A sense of emptiness may occur. Burnout due to emotional exhaustion can also cause sleep disorders.
Depersonalization
People who feel burned out show less emotion in their interactions with other people (patients, clients, customers, friends, etc.) and are more cold. It becomes pointless to spend their free time and maintain social relationships. The person loses value over time and his/her work and friendships may suffer. People who feel burnout experience feelings of guilt due to their negative thoughts. Alienation or alienation from oneself (depersonalization) is also among the moods observed.
Low Productivity and Sense of Inadequacy
Productivity decreases. When individuals experiencing burnout realize this, they fear that they will not be able to fulfill their daily and professional responsibilities. The person who is afraid of failure usually tries to compensate for this by working more than necessary or tries to increase their productivity by using drugs, alcohol and narcotics.
Research on the frequency of burnout syndrome gives different results. Estimates of the frequency of burnout syndrome are not necessarily accurate.
If we come to the question of how burnout syndrome occurs in a person, it is possible to say that it is caused by a number of risk factors affecting the burnout syndrome process, personality traits or situations that create stress in a person's life, such as working conditions.
What Causes Burnout Syndrome?
Burnout syndrome is usually seen in people with stressful and intense work lives. An individual who is out of sorts at work may be pleasant when not at work. But the negative emotions they feel affect their whole life. The risk of burnout syndrome is higher in individuals who need to make important decisions by taking responsibility, who are under pressure to deliver work, who compete against time, who need to be too sensitive for their work, compared to other people. However, burnout syndrome can also occur in people without these conditions. Personal factors can also lead to burnout syndrome. People who are perfectionism-oriented, who have difficulty saying no and who take on more responsibility than they should in business life may be at increased risk of developing this syndrome.
Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome
The first of the symptoms and signs of burnout syndrome will be exhaustion. The individual experiencing burnout will feel both physically and emotionally exhausted. Physical symptoms can manifest themselves as changes in sleep and eating patterns, abdominal pain, headaches, sleep problems and irregular changes in appetite.
People who are overwhelmed by their workload may dream of vacationing and escaping. Symptoms of burnout syndrome can also include alcohol, drugs and excessive food consumption in order to suppress their emotions.
People suffering from burnout syndrome may lose their composure towards friends and family members and become easily angered. It becomes difficult to cope with stress factors in daily life. Especially situations that do not go according to plan appear to people as obstacles that are difficult to overcome.
Burnout syndrome can also be the basis for health problems such as anxiety and depression. Forgetfulness, pessimism, feeling worthless, fatigue and digestive system disorders are also among the symptoms.
Burnout Syndrome Treatment
Although it has great negative effects on the person's life, it can be treated with very easy and effective methods. The treatment process is shaped according to the level of progression of the disease. In cases where the syndrome is not severe, self-treatment measures and changes in work and social life may be sufficient to cope with the syndrome. However, this stage requires the person to be examined first. The mental health specialist will identify the main factors that contribute to the development of the syndrome and will tailor the measures to be taken in the treatment process according to these factors. Psychotherapy is mainly used for the treatment of burnout syndrome. However, in cases where the syndrome is severe and the person is unable to continue his/her daily life, medication is administered as directed by a doctor if necessary.
In order for the syndrome to completely disappear and the patient to regain his/her normal life, the person must also make an effort. The patient should make changes in their lifestyle, take time for themselves and try to avoid stressful situations. It will not take a long time to see positive effects of treatment in patients who do not interrupt psychotherapy and follow the directions made by the physician.
How Long Does Burnout Syndrome Last?
The recovery period in burnout syndrome varies according to the treatment methods applied and the rate of improvement seen in the symptoms of people. In addition to these, the reduction of responsibilities in the person's work life and daily life can also accelerate the process. The treatment of people with burnout syndrome is carried out by specialist doctors with certain methods. The source that causes burnout syndrome in the person is determined by a specialist and therapy or medication is applied to the person by choosing the appropriate treatment method.
Stages of Burnout Syndrome
Burnout syndrome consists of 4 stages.
First Phase
It is also called the idealistic stage. The individual in the first stage is under too much responsibility and may push himself/herself to the limits both psychologically and physically in order to fulfill his/her responsibilities. Individuals are very optimistic at this stage. They make a lot of effort for their responsibilities. The person's life begins to be shaped by their responsibilities. However, at this stage, the person starts to feel low energy and fatigue. These symptoms indicate the beginning of the second stage.
Stage 2
At this stage, the individual is not satisfied with the results of his/her work. The actions he/she has performed by spending effort and time do not meet his/her expectations. People in this stage of the syndrome may go into an emotional depression. Then the third stage is observed.
Stage 3
The individual in the third stage of the syndrome thinks that the negative situations experienced in the other stages will always continue and cannot get out of the feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness and exhaustion that have accumulated until this time. Individuals who become withdrawn in this stage feel very hopeless and try to keep themselves away from everything. At the same time, the person begins to experience symptoms such as tantrums, anger problems, unresponsiveness and sleep disturbances due to the increased emotional burden.
Final Stage
The so-called apathy stage is the last stage in burnout syndrome. It is observed that the person in the last stage is unresponsive to the events happening around him/her. The person who has lost faith in past events has no hopeful expectations for the future. The person at this stage has problems in their work life and social relationships. He/she thinks that everything is getting worse and will never get better. The person who has difficulty coping with events may have difficulty in fulfilling his/her responsibilities, may remain passive in business life and may even resign.
