You don’t have to look far to find someone who is experiencing work-related stress. There are many potential causes for the combination of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion also known as burnout.
Burnout is a reaction to prolonged or chronic job stress and is characterized by three main dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism (less identification with the job), and feelings of reduced professional ability.
Types of Burnouts
The symptoms of burnout can include physical and mental exhaustion, depression, cynicism and professional inefficacy, yet the root causes vary for each person. For example, burnout can happen if you’re working too hard in the pursuit of good results or not receiving enough challenge and stimulation. A work-life imbalance or a missing social support network can also increase the risk.
Juggling a multitude of tasks in multiple jobs, volunteering included, can also become a risk for burnout. People who juggle weekend jobs, on top of their own regular weekday ones, find themselves without a day of break in between, which can take out the joy out of the most enjoyable job.
Poor leadership is another reason for burnout down the road. When there is a power differential in a workplace and people have no voice, or their concerns aren’t being heard, the stress of not being able to change the situation you’re in, coupled with the inability to speak up and a lack of accountability can lead to burnout.
Helper or caregiver burnout can affect professionals such as doctors, nurses, social workers and mental health practitioners, but it can also affect teachers and stay-at-home and homeschooling parents. A parent working full time and coming home to a load of chores is also at risk.
Health Effects
Burnout symptoms can often resemble those found in people with depression, which include extreme fatigue, negativity and a loss of joy in everyday life and can affect each person differently. Coupled with stress they will accentuate health conditions we are predisposed too, whatever they may be.
Burnout can drastically alter neural circuits, causing neurological dysfunction and cognitive problems. Over time chronic stress may translate into a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
People who suffer from high stress and prevalent burnout syndrome are thought to have an increased risk of insulin resistance due to high triglyceride levels, which persist even after improving exercise and diet. Insulin resistance can stress the cardiovascular system and increase the risk of heart disease.
Prolonged stress also increases the cortisol concentration in the body, which can cause the body to secrete less over time to compensate. One possible consequence is body wide inflammation and buildup of plaque in the arteries, which ultimately can cause heart attacks.
Food
Stress makes us reach for treats. It turns out we are wired for it. When we experience stress, our brains need more glucose. Fight back against stress by eating every three to four hours to keep blood sugar levels balanced.
Choose complex carbs, healthy fats and proteins and avoid highly processed foods, which are low in fiber and high in simple sugars and can cause a serious blood sugar rollercoaster.
Read more about healthy foods.
Vitamins and Micronutrients to Banish Burnout
- Prolonged stress depletes B vitamin levels. Eat foods rich in B vitamins such as whole grains, beans and bananas or use a supplement after consulting your health care practitioner.
- Consume antioxidant-rich foods daily such as berries and colorful vegetables to reduce stress and improve brain function.
Screens
Checking your emails after hours and on weekends can be a work continuum that replaces your very much needed free time. Then there’s social media that keeps you glued to your screen for possibly a few hours a day.
Having screen time is not necessarily a really bad thing, it depends on how we use that time and for how long. Nothing beats a real, in-person friend but if that is not possible, and social media provides you with an outlet to de-stress, then go for it.
Mind and Body
You can reduce burnout risk by eating healthy foods, getting enough sleep and decompressing through daily meditation. Anything that relaxes your brain is a good choice, listen to music, watch a movie, do some gardening or go on a hike.
Daily mindfulness exercises and slowing down your breathing can keep you aware of your body’s sensations and reduce stress.
Aerobic exercise, even low intensity, can reduce symptoms of burnout, and so can yoga and stretching. Frequency rather than intensity is what matters, so make physical activity and mindfulness part of your routine.
How to Achieve and Maintain Balance
- Make time for life’s small pleasures.
- Sleep for better mental health (most adults need between seven to nine hours nightly)
- Build a support community.
- Go outdoors to keep your mind healthy.
- Learn to say NO!
