Post co-vid there has been a lot of talk about burnout and how the altered working and social life has caused more of it. Even before co-vid, in 2019, the World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised occupational burnout as a phenomenon resulting from chronic (long term) work-related stress, with symptoms such as “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy” (Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International Classification of Diseases”. WHO. 28 May 2019).
Burnout is a gradual process, it doesn’t happen overnight and it can creep up on you. It’s 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.
Burnout may be the result of constant stress, but it isn’t the same as stress. Stress usually involves too much – too many demands, too much to cope with physically or mentally. However, stressed people usually feel that if they can just get on top things, get everything under control, they’ll feel better. Burnout, on the other hand, is characterised by not enough. Burned out people feel empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation and beyond caring. People with burnout usually don’t see any hope of an improvement to their situation.
Although the WHO have characterised the burnout as work related, I disagree. A parent who is not employed but stays at home and are caregivers can experience burnout. Also, not all of contributing factors were work-related. Common contributing factors include
- Excessive workload and unrealistic demands – Work, caring for others.
- Concerns about money
- Social isolation or lack of a support network
- Lack of job security
- Relationship issues
- Sleep problems
- Poor diet
The pandemic and subsequent changes to working life has caused some people additional problems. For some the socialising at work is an important part of their life – working from home might mean you don’t speak to anyone. Working from home can also be stressful if it is not a suitable environment for work – many distractions such as children, pets or others in the household. Finally, without structure and routine that the workplace can bring there is a risk of over working. Jason Fried (American Businessman) put it very well when he said, “That’s the great irony of allowing passionate people to work from home. A manager’s natural instinct is to worry that her workers aren’t getting enough work done. But the real threat is that they will wind up working too hard. And because the manager isn’t sitting across from her worker anymore, she can’t look in the person’s eyes and see burnout”.
Hypnotherapy can help relieved a wide range of symptoms of burnout and help you to make the changes to avoid it in the future. These include relaxation, boosting confidence / positive affirmation, meditation, progression muscle relaxation and stress reduction. Also it can help you to deal with sleeplessness, smoking, alcohol use or weight gain, Furthermore it can help with better diet – eating disorders, sugar addiction, comfort eating and any other unwanted or problematic habits. So if you think I can help then contact me.