Burnout syndrome, which manifests as loss of energy, lack of motivation, negative attitude towards others and withdrawal, can often be confused with depression. Stating that the most important feature that distinguishes burnout syndrome from depression is related to working life, experts say, "Depression is not a concept related to working life and can be caused by all kinds of life events. However, it is only work life that causes burnout."
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva said that burnout syndrome and depression are often confused with each other.
Loss of energy and lack of motivation
Gülçin Şenyuva stated that burnout syndrome is defined as "the detachment of a professional person from the meaning and purpose of his/her profession and the fact that he/she is no longer really interested in the people he/she serves" and added: "The main features of burnout include loss of energy, lack of motivation, negative attitude towards others and active withdrawal from others. Burnout has three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a sense of personal failure."
Burnout syndrome has three dimensions
Gülçin Şenyuva explained the three dimensions as follows:
"Emotional exhaustion is the feeling of being emotionally overburdened and exhausted by one's work and is the most important determinant of burnout.
Depersonalization is when a person exhibits attitudes and behaviors that are devoid of emotion towards those he/she serves, without taking into account that these people are individuals.
A sense of personal failure is defined as not being able to overcome the problem successfully and seeing oneself as inadequate."
Pay attention to 6 symptoms of burnout syndrome!
Specialist Clinical Psychologist Gülçin Şenyuva listed the symptoms of burnout syndrome as follows:
Fatigue: While it may seem like ordinary fatigue in the initial stages, as burnout progresses, impairment in functionality can be seen, which can go up to maintaining daily tasks and even providing personal care.
Insomnia: A person experiencing burnout due to increased stress may have difficulty falling asleep despite feeling tired, or may not feel rested when they wake up.
Forgetfulness, distraction: It is a symptom that occurs in the early stages of burnout with stress. As burnout progresses, forgetfulness and attention problems may prevent the person from doing his/her job.
Physical complaints: Physical stress symptoms such as a feeling of tightness in the chest, palpitations, constriction in the throat, easy startling, head, shoulder, tingling and gastrointestinal problems may be observed.
Frequent illness: Chronic stress predisposes to immune system problems or diseases.
Mental reactions: Irritability, depressive mood, inability to enjoy life, feelings of helplessness, pessimism, insensitivity towards patients and decreased self-esteem can be observed.
There are stages of burnout
Gülçin Şenyuva also listed the stages of burnout as follows:
1- The need to prove oneself
2- Work harder
3- Neglecting their own needs
4- Conflict and displacement of needs
5- No time left for non-work needs
6- Increased denial of the problem, decreased flexibility of thought and behavior
7- Withdrawal, aimlessness, apathy
8- Behavioral changes, psychological reactions
9- Depersonalization
10- Feeling of inner emptiness, anxiety
11- Deepening sense of meaninglessness and loss of interest
12-Physical wear and tear at a life-threatening level
Burnout syndrome and depression are different
Gülçin Şenyuva noted that burnout syndrome can be confused with depression,
Stating that although depression and burnout syndrome have similar symptoms, they are different problems, he said the following:
"When the relationship between burnout syndrome and depression was investigated, it was determined that burnout is related to depression, but it has its own characteristics and burnout is not a subtype of depression. The most important feature that distinguishes depression from burnout is that depression is not a concept related to working life and can be caused by all kinds of life events. However, it is only work life that causes burnout. Studies have shown that there is a relationship between emotional exhaustion and depression. It is known that depression in a person can negatively affect the work environment and cause burnout to increase even more."
Symptoms of depression
Noting that depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in all age groups, Gülçin Şenyuva said that depression has cognitive, physiological-behavioral and emotional symptoms. Gülçin Şenyuva listed these symptoms as follows:
Cognitive symptoms: These include symptoms such as concentration problems, indecision, decreased self-esteem, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts.
Physiological and behavioral symptoms: Symptoms such as sleep and appetite problems, psycho-motor problems, fatigue, memory problems.
Emotional symptoms: Symptoms such as sadness, depression, stagnation, reluctance, hopelessness, pessimism and helplessness.
Beware if symptoms last for two weeks!
Gülçin Şenyuva noted that depression can be diagnosed if symptoms are present almost every day for at least two weeks, and said that 80-90% successful results are achieved in people as a result of appropriate treatment of depression. Gülçin Şenyuva said, "The treatment of depression includes pharmacological treatments, electro convulsive treatments and psychotherapies. In the psychotherapy process, cognitive, emotional and behavioral depressive structuring is changed by using various cognitive and behavioral techniques. Evidence-based research shows that CBT is an effective therapy in the treatment of depression."
Depression should be treated
Gülçin Şenyuva noted that if there are symptoms of depression and it significantly affects the life of the person, it must be treated and said, "The aim of the treatment is to ensure well-being in the acute period, to maintain the state of well-being in the maintenance period, and to prevent re-sickness in the maintenance period."
