Most of us have had that feeling of illusion when starting a new project. You make many sacrifices, you do not mind working until dawn or sleeping less, it is your dream and you go for it. And suddenly, one day, the alarm goes off and you are not able to get up.
You look at the mobile, you see the e-mails and messages that you have to answer and you leave it again. You think about all the work you did yesterday and all the work you have to do today and you get overwhelmed. You are looking for motivation somewhere but you are unable to find it, not a drop. If while reading these words your interior says that this is happening to you, I feel bad to tell you that you probably suffer from burn-out syndrome .
To understand this syndrome you must first be clear about what a stress response is. Our body reacts through physiological responses, which accompany negative emotions, situations that require fighting or escaping. Generally, once the threat has been overcome, our physiological state returns to normal. Although it is true, threatening situations are sometimes more continuous than episodic and a continuous stress response occurs.
Continually feeling stressed in your workplace will lead to chronic stress that, over time, will lead you directly to the well-known “burn-out” or burnout syndrome. This is made up of three dimensions:
- Exhaustion thrills l. The worker feels that his affective resources have been outweighed by the stress produced by day to day with his colleagues.
- Depersonalization . It is based on the development of negative feelings towards the people with whom you work, which in turn translates into negative behaviors and attitudes.
- Low personal fulfillment . The worker evaluates his work negatively, either due to the difficulties of putting his knowledge into practice or due to the low availability of resources that he possesses or believes he possesses.
The existence of emotional tension is aggravated by feelings of powerlessness of the same worker when he feels that the expectations he had regarding his work have been disappointed, in being unable to modify or control the work situation, or not being able to decide how to carry out the job.
Symptoms develop progressively starting with psychosomatics such as headaches or insomnia, behavioral symptoms such as irritability or agitation, followed by emotional symptoms such as anxiety or affective distancing, and finally, defensive symptoms that involve the displacement of feelings towards other areas and denial of the above symptoms.
Fortunately, it is in our hands to change the chip and regain our motivation.
What is it and how to combat it?
You must be aware of the situation you are experiencing: if we are able to understand that we have been under a lot of pressure, it will be easier for us to change our daily habits and seek a balance between work and personal life. Here are some tips to recover from professional wear:
Work better, not more.
Quality is not always determined by the time we invest in work, in fact, it is recommended that we take a short pause every 40 minutes or so to disconnect our minds and gather energy to continue working.
Disconnect.
In most cases we end up taking work home, a fact that also ends up influencing the relationship we have with those we live with. We have to learn to disconnect from email, social networks and messages. Try going out to eat with someone close to you without your mobile, you do not want to be one of those people who suffer anxiety just thinking that they have to separate themselves from their electronic device.
Also, if you have trouble falling asleep or constantly wake up in the middle of the night, it is advisable not to look at any electronic device during the previous hour before going to bed.
just relax
Give yourself time, pamper yourself, take care of yourself and love yourself. It seems stupid but we are so focused on our work that we forget to spend a few hours for ourselves.
If you have a busy day try to relax earlier, you don't have to do it all at the same time. If one day you don't feel like answering the messages, don't do it. No one ever died from waiting one day for an email to be answered.
The best way to relax is to focus on yourself. Find something that is satisfying for you and do it, add it to your routine: read every hour for 1 hour if you are passionate about it, go for a walk, listen to the silence or you can even do meditation. No matter what action you take, the important thing is that it helps you relax and not think about your duties and obligations.
In the end, professional burnout only negatively influences your ability to focus and pay attention, it can cause health problems and interfere with your interpersonal relationships. Disconnect from virtual reality and pay attention to your surroundings, always remember to leave yourself free time and do not deal with work chores. And, above all, if you are unable to manage stress and see that you cannot cope with the situation, ask for help, which is the healthiest thing in the world.
We must learn to manage our time and invest it in what really makes us happy, without forgetting our goals and enjoying the path that will lead us to achieve our goals. And if at some point along the way you think you can no longer ask for help, that last push will probably be the one that will help you achieve success.
Carmina Llongueras Espí – @caarmiina
