Causes: What is a burnout and who is affected?
With a burnout you feel deeply exhausted and burned out (see also: Depression Depression). In theory, everyone can be affected by this total exhaustion, but it often affects people who expect a lot from themselves, are under professional pressure or have to take care of a relative at home. The symptoms of burnout syndrome can be both physical and psychological. It is interesting that the "disease" burnout has not yet been recognized as a real occupational disease.
What are the burnout symptoms?
A burnout does not usually occur overnight – he comes slowly, but announces himself by several early signs. Above all, this includes the inability to really switch off and recover from everyday life. The following early burnout symptoms are:
- Your own needs are put on hold
- You have the feeling that you always have too little time
- You feel indispensable
- Negative experiences such as disappointments are suppressed
- You withdraw from social contacts
It is also striking that some people affected work even harder at the first signs of burnout than before – some out of personal ambition, others because they simply feel that there is no other way to accomplish the task at hand.
Although burnout is not a disease, there are further symptoms of illness that already indicate exhaustion. These include:
As a result of these complaints, patients increasingly feel that their great commitment is not recognized with enough recognition, which creates frustration. There is a great reluctance for the task that triggered the burnout in the first place – often people quit internally and only do what cannot be avoided. At the same time, the demands on the personal environment are growing – For example, you place unrealistic demands on your partner, but at the same time you are no longer willing to invest something yourself. The following psychological burnout symptoms appear at this time:
- Empathy is declining
- You develop emotional coldness and negative feelings towards your personal environment
- Feeling that you are being exploited and not valued
- Engagement decreases, additional burdens are rejected
- Complex tasks become a problem
- Decision problems arise
- An inner defensive attitude and indifference arise towards other people and hobbies
Also physically, the burnout is now becoming more noticeable – often with the following complaints:
- Still poor sleep, often with nightmares
- Back pain
- a headache
- Muscle tension
- Gastrointestinal complaints
- High blood pressure
- Heart racing up to chest tightness
- Sexual difficulties
- Eating behavior changes – as a result of weight gain or weight loss
- Drugs such as cigarettes or alcohol are increasingly used
Complete hopelessness due to burnout
Finally, the burnout often causes great despair and hopelessness, which usually results in depression. In the worst case, suicidal thoughts develop. That is why it is so important that an impending burnout is recognized and treated in good time by a diagnosis. Psychotherapy and often medication are used.
Reading tip: Here you will also learn everything about depressive mood, depression symptoms and how to treat depression. You can find out how resilience can help you prevent burnout here.