Stress and burnout: a common symptom

Author: David Grimes

Do you ever get to the end of the workday and feel mentally exhausted? Does that negatively impact on the rest of your evening, your family and even your mental health?

We are our own worst enemy. We have created a technological world that works against us. Everything is instant, there is no escape from emails, or mobile phones, people work through their lunch break or snack while working.

The home has also become a place of work. You put yourself under pressure by working for long periods without rest at home to catch up. We’ve blurred the lines between home life and work-life, meaning we don’t switch off.

People worry more about losing their jobs than working longer hours. You don’t want to be seen as the person slacking off. We’re stressed by CCTV, trackers, compliance audits and other productivity tools.

Stress

Stress is the body’s reaction to pressure. It can be caused by events, situations or circumstances. Being under stress is a normal part of life in the times we live in. Low-level stress may motivate but high levels of stress, however, are harmful and can cause anxiety or depression, it can make any existing problems you have worse.

Stress affects sleep patterns and diet which in turn will affect your physical health. Stress affects you both emotionally and physically, it affects your moods, relationships and leads to burnout.

The body treats stress as a threat and triggers the ‘fight, flight, freeze’ response. The body in turn releases hormones to equip you to deal with the threat. This increases heart rate, blood pressure, increases glucose and curbs non-essential functions such as the immune, digestive and reproductive systems.

Working for long periods of time with these elevated levels can cause serious ill–health.

Your resilience to stress will also be influenced by external factors outside of work and by your perception of the situation and how your thought processes work depending on how you interpret things positively or negatively.

Other effects of stress are:

• Headaches and tension
• Chest pain and fatigue
• Restlessness
• Lethargy
• Demotivation
• Being less productive
• Using drugs, alcohol and tobacco to cope

Burnout

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.

Burnout reduces productivity and saps your energy, leaving you feeling increasingly helpless, hopeless, cynical, and resentful. Eventually, you may feel like you have nothing more to give.

The negative effects of burnout spill over into every area of life—including your home, work, and social life. Burnout can also cause long-term changes to your body that make you vulnerable to illnesses like colds and flu. Because of its many consequences, it’s important to deal with burnout right away.

Burnout can affect anyone at any time. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained, it can become harder and harder to meet constant demands in your life. Left to its own devices, burnout can creep into your life and wear you down.

Some people find it very difficult to say no to taking on additional work, even when saying yes will cause major inconveniences and hardships in their own lives. Taking on too much increases stress and burnout.

It’s a problem because, when allowed to build up over time, stress can take a long time to recover from. Burnout is a gradual process. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it can creep up on you. The signs and symptoms are subtle at first but become worse as time goes on.

Think of the early symptoms as red flags that something is wrong that needs to be addressed. If you pay attention and actively reduce your stress, you can prevent a major breakdown. If you ignore them, you’ll eventually burn out.

Some effects of burnout are;

• Extreme tiredness or exhaustion
• Feeling frustrated or negative
• Brain fog

Burnout and stress can impact your brain’s ability to concentrate and stay focused. It’s what some people refer to as ‘brain fog’ where you can’t quite bring your thoughts to the surface and make sense of them.

A few simple things to minimise stress

• Ensure your workplace is tidy and organised, plenty of light and a comfortable temperature
• Personalise your work area with things that make you happy. Things like photographs or a cuddly toy or plant or something that will remind you of your life outside of work
• Take regular breaks
• Ensure you’re comfortable, and your chair and any other furnishings are ergonomic. Improve your sitting posture; use backrests or cushions to sit on if need be
• Wear comfortable shoes
• Start and finish work on time
• Limit your time with negative people

Outside of work

• Take relaxation time
• Maintain a healthy diet
• Make time for yourself
• Do things you like doing
• Go out – get some exercise and fresh air
• Establish a good sleep routine
• Avoid doom-scrolling