{"id":57678,"date":"2021-06-10T15:41:06","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T19:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=57678"},"modified":"2021-06-11T04:12:52","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T08:12:52","slug":"burnout-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-treated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/burnout-what-is-it-and-how-is-it-treated\/","title":{"rendered":"Burnout \u2013 What is it and how is it treated?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whether you are a teacher or a tradesman, stress is a big problem across the developed world. The pace of life doesn\u2019t seem to be showing any signs of slowing down as we move into the second half of 2021. According to the Harvard Business Review, stress at work costs the US healthcare system between $125 and $190 billion each year.<\/p>\n

The irony is that being busy has become a form of social currency. People feel proud that they are busy, and people who don\u2019t get much done each day can often be judged as being lazy. It wasn\u2019t until 1974 that German\/American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger coined the term \u201cburnout\u201d in the context of mental health. He described burnout as gradual emotional depletion, loss of motivation, and reduced commitment at work.<\/p>\n

Stress is not something that has always been taken seriously. It is not until the 2000s that stress was really acknowledged in terms of the damage that it can do physically and mentally. High stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline can keep us safe in the short term, but when they are elevated for months or even years, the impact on the mind and body is quite dramatic. Despite this, there is still a stigma attached to burnout. People feel weak for example, if they need time off work due to burnout.<\/p>\n

What is Burnout?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Burnout is now acknowledged by the World Health Organisation. Burnout is a huge problem and is often mentioned within the same conversations and interchangeably with terms such as stress and anxiety. Burnout actually has its own unique definition:
\n\u201ca psychological syndrome occurring from prolonged chronic job stress\u201d \u2013 although students
\ncan also develop burnout.<\/p>\n

Burnout has three components:
\n1. Emotional exhaustion
\n2. Cynicism and depersonalization
\n3. Feeling of ineffectiveness<\/p>\n

It is often also described as a \u201cmismatch in the workplace between desired state and reality.\u201d Depression is not the same as burnout either, although the two conditions often overlap to a certain extent. People who are depressed are slightly more likely to become burnt-out, but burnt-out people aren\u2019t necessarily depressed and vice versa.<\/p>\n

Burnout primarily impacts work life but can cross over to personal life.<\/p>\n