A busy everyday life can blur the lines between work, home, and leisure time. For many, work hours are long, while the expectation of availability outside of working hours increases. This can lead to burnout, which is characterized by physical or emotional exhaustion.
The condition is often triggered by prolonged stress or after a physically, emotionally, or mentally demanding role for an extended period. Feeling not rested, overwhelmed, helpless, and lonely are typical signs of burnout. It often manifests physically in the body in the form of dizziness, headaches, muscle pain, nausea, stomach problems, and altered sleep patterns. Burnout can start, for example, as physical complaints, such as experiencing persistent headaches, stomachaches, and back and neck pain. Then it can develop into a lasting experience of exhaustion, lack of work satisfaction and motivation, sleep problems, or similar. In a busy everyday life, it is normal to experience such periods, but if it lasts over time and affects your joy of life and work ability, then it may be burnout.
Burnout is specifically linked to the frameworks within which we work or relate to, and usually does not go away on its own. Something needs to change. It may be tempting to continue as before to meet all demands and obligations, but ignoring the signals from your body over time will often lead to worsening symptoms. Therefore, it can be useful to become familiar with how your body communicates when it's too much. It's possible to prevent burnout by noticing and taking seriously the early signs of too much negative stress in your workday.
A risk factor for burnout can be falling behind on work tasks and handling it by coming in earlier, skipping lunch and social meetings at work, working longer and maybe working during times when you're supposed to be off. This can be related to having high demands for oneself and one's performance. Over time, this pattern can develop and you may experience difficulties concentrating, forget appointments, experience bodily pain and not feel rested after sleeping. This quickly becomes a vicious circle where it becomes harder and harder to feel mastery at work, which negatively affects mood, energy, sleep, and relationships.
Most people will use coping strategies when they begin to feel burnt out. We can distinguish between unhelpful and helpful coping strategies. Typical unhelpful coping strategies may include thinking that the symptoms will go away on their own, or self-criticism where one blames oneself for not being able to handle work tasks. Others turn to avoidance in the form of procrastination, avoiding work, or dampening symptoms with alcohol. These ineffective strategies rarely work in the long run.
Helpful strategies can include talking to one's support network, seeing a doctor or discussing the issue with one's immediate supervisor. By working together and communicating with their supervisor, it may be possible to be relieved of work tasks and responsibilities, allowing time and space for rest and rewarding activities. Awareness of early warning signs in oneself can be preventive. To work on this, it may be helpful to contact a psychologist.
A Dr.Dropin psychologist will help you figure out what's behind your burnout and make changes to your situation. The goal may be to get more energy, positive emotions, zest for life, and motivation. To achieve this, the psychologist will identify possible causes of the condition and suggest helpful strategies tailored to your situation. The psychologist may also help determine if what you are experiencing is more related to anxiety and depression than burnout. It is useful to find out what is what in order to create helpful change. An exploratory approach and open conversation can lead to lifestyle changes or equip you to handle stress and challenges associated with your life situation.
Dr. Dropin has psychologists who have extensive experience with physical and digital talk therapy against burnout. Find your psychologist here and download the app to book an appointment.
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Can one recover from burnout?
One can definitely recover from burnout, but it often takes time and allowing the body to recover. Burnout does not automatically go away on its own, and usually one can take some measures that can lead to improvement.
Can one be on sick leave due to burnout?
In certain cases, sick leave may be the only alternative for treating burnout. In consultation with the general practitioner, one can determine the extent and duration of sick leave so that the body can recover. Some studies indicate that those who are on full-time sick leave for a period have a greater chance of returning to work than those who are on part-time sick leave.
How long does it take to recover from burnout?
This depends on several factors, including the severity of burnout and how long it has been going on. Often it is necessary to have a period of a few months, and in other cases, it may take years.
