Someone who has a burnout feels completely burned out and is exhausted both physically and mentally. When someone is exposed to stress for a long time due to, for example, excessive work pressure, major events or tensions in a relationship, they run the risk of getting burned out. Someone suffering from stress may feel compelled to keep going. Do not ignore the symptoms of stress, recognize the signs of burnout so that you can intervene in time.
What a burnout is
When someone is exposed to stress for too long, all kinds of complaints can arise. These can be both physical and mental. At some point someone feels completely burned out. A burnout is a stress-related condition in which someone loses control over their abilities. Someone has been suffering from stress for more than six months. When there has been stress for less than six months, it is usually referred to as stress. Environmental factors and character also play a role.
Causes
It is normal to sometimes suffer from stress. This often allows you to perform better and be more alert. After the stressful situation, the stress should pass automatically. But when the stress persists, it can lead to overload and total exhaustion. Burnout can occur due to a long-term high workload, a major event such as the loss of a loved one or problems in a relationship. Someone has continuous or many consecutive periods of stress, without any chance to recover. Signs of stress are often ignored.
The symptoms
When someone suffers from persistent stress, there is often a feeling that someone is losing control over everything. A person may start to feel powerless, inadequate and burned out. An important characteristic of a burnout is that someone feels extremely tired. All kinds of physical and mental complaints can arise whereby someone is no longer themselves, sometimes creating distance from others or from themselves. If you ignore the symptoms and just carry on, you run the risk of becoming completely burned out and needing much longer to recover. The symptoms of a burnout are:
- Sleep problems
- Being extremely tired
- Concentration problems
- Being irritable
- Be less productive
- Being able to perform less well
- Feeling helpless
- Become cynical
- Motivation problems
- Feelings of anxiety
- Depression
- Feeling rushed
- Physical complaints
Sleep problems
Worrying can keep you awake at night. By worrying about your problems and taking them to bed, you lie awake for hours and therefore you can no longer perform during the day. You are extremely tired during the day, but it is difficult to sleep. You enter a vicious circle and the problems often only get worse. Eventually it is no longer possible to function.
Extremely tired
You don’t feel like doing anything anymore and your energy is gone, both at home and at work. You have difficulty getting out of bed and do little. You may no longer feel like playing with your children or having sex with your partner.
Irritable
You may be more irritated and oversensitive to certain sounds, such as your children playing. You want to be left alone, but that won’t always work. This makes you more likely to snap at someone and can lead to friction at home or at work.
Motivation problems
You often fail to perform as well and you lose motivation. You become less involved with other people and behave indifferently. You are distant from colleagues, friends and family. Furthermore, insecurity can make you feel worthless and develop negative thoughts.
Physical complaints
A burnout is often accompanied by physical complaints, such as headaches, muscle pain or stomach pain. High blood pressure can also develop as a result of prolonged stress. People often lead an unhealthier lifestyle, which can cause even more complaints, such as weight gain due to unhealthy food.
Combat burnout
A burnout has a major impact on your life, both at work and at home. The sooner you intervene if you have complaints, the faster you can recover. If you suffer from the above symptoms, do not wait too long and do something about it. For example, you may need to learn to say no better, stop multitasking, seek more relaxation, exercise more, eat healthier or be less of a perfectionist. Learn to listen better to your body’s signals. If you cannot resolve it yourself or have serious complaints, it is advisable to seek help from your doctor or company doctor. During treatment, the complaints are often treated in phases, starting with relieving the complaints. Later, new skills are learned so that you do not suffer from the same symptoms again.
read more
- Feeling depressed: how to get rid of it
- Self-care for sadness and lethargy
- Worrying: what can you best do about it?
- Insomnia due to depression: how to tackle it?
- Burnout: what you can do to get rid of it yourself
