Are You On The Verge Of Burnout? Prevent It By Recognizing Its Causes And Symptoms | Emotional & Stress Management slideshows | Emotional & Mental Health center

What Is Burnout?

When you fight stress long enough, your adrenal glands eventually literally burn out. The adrenal cortex churns out stress hormones so long that it eventually stops making them, at least in significant quantities. You feel tired. You feel depressed. You don't feel anxious or upset because you reach a point you can't feel bad anymore. Coming back from burnout is incredibly hard, but it can be done. The most difficult task in coming back from burnout is finding a way either to adjust to having less or mustering greater support in the important activities of your life as you deal with exhaustion, without fostering cynicism or bitterness.

Sources & Links

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Photo courtesy of marcos ojeda by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/subliminal/2506086126/
www.helpguide.org/mental/burnout_signs_symptoms.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/burnout/WL00062
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/stress-are-you-burned-out
http://www.rightdiagnosis.com/b/burnout_syndrome/

The Difference Between Stress And Burnout

There actually was a time before the term "stress" was used to describe people. The terminology of stress was popularized by a Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist named Hans Selye in the 1930's (a time when the whole world was going through monumental stress). Selye talked about distress, or bad stress, and eustress, or good stress, both of which can lead to burnout. That is, it's possible to wear out emotionally from both distressing events and from happy events. It's not getting a chance to recover between high-energy moments in your life that leads to burnout. Burning the candle at both ends, whether from fear or joy, just isn't healthy.

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Photo courtesy of Steven Lee by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/steveleenow/387725964/
Welcome to the Canadian Institute of Stress, stresscanada.org.

Warning Signs Of Burnout

How can you tell when stress is leading to exhaustion and exhaustion is leading to burnout? When you are "burning out," you may not be sufficiently in touch with your own feelings to know that you are about to burn out. But if you can't sleep at night, if you have racing and intrusive thoughts, if you develop an attitude that the worst is surely going to happen no matter what, then you may be quickly on your way to a state of profound emotional exhaustion from which it will take a long time to recover. If you can't change your life so you are in charge, not your stressors, take a time out to assess your life direction--even if it is just for one day.

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Photo courtesy of Dave Coustan by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/extraface/1559691203/
Rister, R. S. Healing without Medication (Basic Health Books, 2003).

Common Types Of Burnout

Burnout doesn't consist so much of "types" as phases. First there is excessive ambition--or maybe testing onesself to see what can be achieved. Then there is trying harder, working harder. If that doesn't work, then you might decide that the solution isn't to give up on your original goal, but rather to put all your eggs in one basket, focusing on a single, elusive goal. If success is acheived, that's OK, but if it isn't, then you are left with a dminished support system, fewer satisfying activities, and not a lot going on in your life that isn't going wrong. The fatetful phase of burnout usually is the decision to abandon other interests for a single, unsuccessful activity.

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Photo courtesy of Arun Venkatesan by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/ddrmaxgt37/449853395/
Maslach, C., Jackson, S.E, & Leiter, M.P. MBI: The Maslach Burnout Inventory: Manual. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1996.

Causes Of Burnout

Is burnout really all about focusing on the wrong thing? Well, yes, but how much you suffer when you experience burnout may depend on other factors. The importance you attach to your work is a huge factor in burnout. People can endure more setbacks when they are doing work that they feel is ultimately important. You could be a bagel baker or a brain surgeon, if your work is important to you, you can put up with more setbacks without burning out. It's never too late to choose to invest your time and your life in what's important to you.

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Photo courtesy of reway2007 by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/reway2007/1535857707/
Evanish, J. The Unscientific Causes and Cures of Burnout. jasonevanish.com. Accessed 27 September 2013.

Most Common Symptoms Of Burnout

How can you recognize burnout in the people you work with or the people you love? One sure sign of burnout is a cynical attitude. When your coworker or your family member or your spouse is always sure that policies will work out wrong, it's a good sign they need to find work somewhere else. Another sign of burnout is fighting, whether verbal or literal fisticuffs-style fighting. In the USA, physical assault will almost always result in severe legal penalties--and either great relief or utter exhaustion is imminent. When someone talks about how he or she needs to move, chances are that he or she really does. Your task, if you choose to accept it, is to help them do just that.

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Photo courtesy of Lara604 by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/lara604/2369412952/
James, L. Top Ten Causes of Burnout. Coachville. 2003.

Coping With Burnout

What can yod do if you are in a dead-end job you can't leave or a dead-end relationship you choose not to end? There are some things you can do to make burnout more bearable. One is travel. Change of scenery leads to changes in emotion. You don't have to charter a yacht to sail around Tahiti. Even a trip to a park can break the cycle at least temporarily, if you choose the right company. Another thing you can do to deal with burnout is turning off technology. Social media accounts can drain you of the energy you need to deal with more pressing life issues. If you have to check your Facebook status 20 times a day, you need to avoid Facebook entirely at least once in a while. And if there is something you just can't talk about, you probably need to talk about. Confronting the realities of your life is the first step to changing them.

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Photo courtesy of samwebster by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/samwebster/8688743649/
Scott E. Stress and Burnout Symptoms and Causes. stress.ehow.com. Accessed 27 September 2013.

Burnout Isn't All In Your Mind

One of the reasons it is so hard to get over burnout is that it's not all in your mind, it's in your body, too. Your body makes stress hormones to help it fight or take flight from stresses. The problem is that our bodies are better adapated to fleeing saber-toothed tigers or chasing mastadons than they are to dealing with screaming bosses or screaming babies or bill collectors. Our adrenal glands keep us all pumped up with no place to go, until eventually they stop making the cortisol stress hormone virtually at all. When that happens, our energy levels plummet, we develop a certain amount of "dumbth," we gain weight, we don't want to fight anymore. We fulfill our own prophecies of failure. If you don't step back and get enough rest during trying times, your body eventually forces you to.

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You may also be interested in http://www.adrenalfatigue.org/what-is-adrenal-fatigue.

Preventing Burnout

So, now that you know what causes burnout and what burnout can do in your life, what can you do to prevent it? First of all, write down the things that matter to you. Focus on them, not on someone else's list of things that matter to them. Be honest with yourself, but don't be afraid to ask for an objective opinion from a trusted friend to make sure your assessment of your situation makes sense. Confront your problems. You don't have to be rude, or defiant, but you do have to be sure about what you want. You just might get it.

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Photo courtesy of Susan WD by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/smutheology/4975941608/
You may also be interested in http://andrewdumont.me/avoiding-burnout.

Burnout Recovery

Only humility will get you out of what pride got you into, the old saying goes. Finding a trusted confidante to discuss your emotional issues can be the first step to recovery from burnout. It's also important to find something to divert your attention away from your frustrations. This will keep you from doing something stupid, something you will regret later, so you can do what you can to turn your situation around, however slowly or quickly it can be turned around. Ultimately, the only person who can get you out of a bad situation is you. It's normal to go through "mini-burnout" along the way to recovery. Don't let setbacks get you down.

Sources & Links

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Photo courtesy of Victor1558 by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/76029035@N02/6829351053/
Nieuwhof C. How I Recovered From Burn Out: 12 Keys to Getting Back - See more at: http://careynieuwhof.com/2013/07/how-i-recovered-from-burn-out-12-keys-to-getting-back/#sthash.2VupK7UD.dpuf. Accessed 27 September 2013.