What is Burnout?
Burnout is currently not recognized as a diagnostic category within the existing classification system for mental disorders, making it challenging to precisely define the nature of burnout.
According to the World Health Organization, burnout is a syndrome resulting from workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by three dimensions:
- Feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,
- Increased mental distance or cynicism related to one’s job, and
- Reduced professional efficacy.
Someone suffering from burnout increasingly comes up against their stress limits and reaches a state of permanent subjective overload.
On an emotional and cognitive level a fear of failure or overly self-conscious thinking can develop over time. Persistent internal stress can also lead to physical complaints such as muscle tension, digestive problems, and nausea. Other potential consequences include weight fluctuations, sleep disorders, and increased susceptibility to infection.
Over time, physical, emotional, and cognitive resources become depleted until you can no longer perform. The end of this process often results in a temporary inability to work. In some severe cases, burnout can lead to depression.
Symptoms of Stress & Burnout
If you are experiencing burnout, you may notice it is difficult to engage in activities you normally find meaningful. You may no longer care about the things that are important to you or experience an increasing sense of hopelessness. Common symptoms include:
Treatment for Stress and Burnout
Psychotherapy
If your burnout is due to specific short-term work related or life pressures, psychotherapy can help you react more appropriately to current stress factors. Your therapist can teach you strategies for stress reduction and how to apply them effectively in the work context. You will also learn to separate yourself from external requirements and address your own needs more seriously.
Learn more about Psychotherapy
Health Coaching for Lifestyle Factors
Our health coaches at neurocare may be your ideal partner when it comes to maintaining good mental and physical health.
Working from a base of health, your Coach will assess key lifestyle factors (including sleep and exercise) and develop a personalised action plan to help you effectively manage your stress response.
Over time you and your coach will build your mental and emotional capacity to meet the demands of a high-pressure environment.
Our coaches work closely with neurocare neuroscientists and mental health experts to draw on a wide variety of assessment tools and methods as needed.
Learn more about Health Coaching
Neuroeedback to help improve sleep and self-regulation
The stress and burnout symptoms you are experiencing may be caused or exacerbated by a lack of sleep, a poor sleep routine, or general anxiety due to work and performance pressures. All these can result in an overactive brain state.
Our comprehensive assessment at neurocare clinics will assess if these are contributing factors to your burnout symptoms.
In these cases, neurocare will often recommend Neurofeedback: an evidence-based brain training technique that encourages the brain to develop healthier patterns of activity.
Through visual and auditory feedback, you learn to voluntarily regulate positive brain states and reduce counterproductive processes such as distraction, anxiety or drowsiness, that can negatively impact on your sleep.
