Sources and Stages of Burnout
Three major sources of burnout as identified by Mark Gorkin in his Burnout Series articles at MentalHelp.net:- The boundary between work and home is eroding; there's less recovery time and space with today's exhausting pace,
- when ideals, high expectations and critical or especially, pride-driven goals prove elusive or are continuously thwarted despite significant investment of time, energy, money and self-identity, and one can't step back or "let go," an employee's motivational fire will likely be extinguished, and finally
- when a once successful person simply rests on his or her laurels, tries to cruise to retirement, resists new learning curves, or just habitually performs a repetitive job or starts sleepwalking through a career path then such a person is susceptible to what can be called as the "Bjorn Bored Syndrome" (BBS). BBS is named for Bjorn Borg, the late '70s-early '80s Swedish tennis great who seemingly burnt out and dropped out suddenly from the tennis circuit. Maybe it was winning four or five back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles. (Was the thrill gone?) Maybe it was the drudgery of the all too familiar mind, body and spirit numbing hours and hours of practice. (Perhaps his inner core had been gradually weakening and suddenly seemed depleted and hollow.) But whatever it was, this kind of deterioration of motivational drives to work and achieve something is likely to produce a less-than-stellar performance, negatively impact mental and emotional stability, and affect one's physical health if no swift intervention is done.
Now watch out for these Four Stages of Burnout. See if you recognize these signs with your personal experience.
- Physical, Mental and Emotional Exhaustion. Do you recognize this sequence? Maybe you're holding it together at work, but as soon as you get home, you head right for the fridge, get out the chocolate ice cream or the lite-beer, put on the tube, hit the sofa…and you are comatose for the rest of the evening. (Of course, you might say, "Doc, you mean there's something wrong with that!") Consistently doing more with less not only can induce a case of the brain strain but people often start becoming "lean-and-MEAN."
- Shame and Doubt. When someone asks you to take on a new project, despite wanting to help does a voice inside insist, "Who are you kidding!" Will colleagues, friends and family members sense there's something wrong? Uncontrollable sighing may punctuate your day. A dark cloud of uncertainty and vulnerability may be following you.
- Cynicism and Callousness. Eventually, some folks have enough of feeling anxious and vulnerable. They start putting on the heavy armor: "Look out for #1," "Cover your derriere," "Get out of my way," or "I could care less." In the short run there may be some payoff - you become abrasive enough and people start avoiding you. In the long term, not only are you projecting a dysfunctional image, but you are bottling up or covering up all this fear, frustration and sense of failure. And the risk is not only a hardening of the psyche; you may be encouraging a hardening of the arteries - high blood pressure and premature heart attacks or brain attacks - as well.
- Failure, Helplessness and Crisis. In the final stage one may feel, "Damned if I do, damned if I don't; damned if I stay, damned if I leave." Your coping strategy is coming unglued. In this vulnerable state, you may be especially sensitive to criticism and feel paralyzed. In fact, prolonged stress can inhibit the functioning of such brain neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, biochemicals instrumental in mood state. And when a person has genetic predisposition or family history, early childhood loss (e.g., the death of a parent) or unresolved trauma then such biochemical disruption combined with prolonged stress may even foster clinical depression.
posted by diversityworking @ 8:39 AM
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