While burnout patients collapse and take sick leave from work, those suffering from burnout continue to work.
You should have stopped a long time ago, but you’re still at your desk in the office on a Friday night. You have emails to write on Saturday, and on Sunday you’ll get Monday’s work done. If you regularly take on a workload like this, you may be very enthusiastic about your job. However, you may also suffer from “burnon.”
The term was coined by Germans Timo Schiele, a psychotherapist, and Bert te Wildt, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. The two are co-authors of a book whose title can be translated as “Burn-on: Always on the Edge of Burnout.” According to them, burnout is an acute depressive exhaustion, while burnon is chronic. They say they thought it would be constructive to describe it [a exaustão depressiva crônica] and express it with a different term to classify patients more accurately.
It is worth remembering that the eleventh – and most recent – revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), published by the World Health Organization (WHO), includes burnout as an occupational phenomenon and not – unlike depression – as a medical condition, although the symptoms may be similar.
Masked Depression
Burnout is a syndrome “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” in the words of the ICD-11. Burnon syndrome can also be described as a masked depression, Wildt concludes. That’s because patients are always on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but they keep going and cultivate, behind a smile, a different kind of tiredness and depression. This is what distinguishes burnon from burnout, he explains.
While burnout patients collapse and take sick leave from work, those with burnout continue to work. Wildt does not see burnout as something positive, but as a condition “accompanied by considerable suffering that tends to remain hidden.” The person continues to do their job, but their social and private life is greatly affected and no longer offers pleasure or enjoyment. Many of those affected do not see the connection between their symptoms and their love of work. It can take years before they realize that something is wrong.
What causes burnout?
In many societies, performance and success are a measure of a person’s social status. Burnon and burnout are particularly prevalent in jobs that reward or require a large investment of time, often exceeding normal working hours.
“After a certain amount of work and self-alienation, no job is any good,” Wildt notes. Signs of burnout are also common in people with jobs that have no fixed work schedule and/or are focused on and accountable to other people, such as nursing, medicine, therapy, and teaching.
Florian Becker, a professor of business psychology, points out what he sees as a weakness in people who suffer from burnout: “In my opinion, it has a lot to do with setting boundaries, especially with others.” People who define themselves primarily by their achievements are also susceptible to burnout. “They are gifted and insecure,” says Wildt.
What are the symptoms of burnout?
While burnout is characterized by exhaustion and a strong aversion to work, people affected by burnout are cognitively confined to their work. This manifests itself in a focus on effectiveness and performance, which also occurs in private life. On an emotional level, depression dominates.
Although people who suffer from burnout are successful and performance-oriented, they are not proud of their achievements and see themselves as inadequate. And they experience feelings of shame and guilt, even though they are always there for the job and for others. Despite their immense achievements, they suffer from the feeling of never doing enough. The result is an inner emptiness, despair, lack of joy, and a feeling of meaninglessness.
Many of them are no longer aware of their limits, their passions, their interests. They are also no longer able to enjoy their successes, they feel tired and apathetic, but at the same time they cannot relax. Even when they are on vacation, work is on their mind. Physical symptoms range from high blood pressure, back pain and headaches to tinnitus and insomnia. Their body is in a constant state of stress.
Is there a solution?
Many people who suffer from burnout must first recognize that they have a problem and then decide to seek help. It’s important, Wildt says, that they find times and places that aren’t seen as functional, but that resonate with them emotionally and physically. “I like to use the term ‘sanctuaries,’ which you create for your own humanity and are outside the confines of your way of working.”
It can help to ask yourself what really suits you, what you would like to do, what you have always wanted to do and what you are passionate about. It can also be useful to alternate relaxation exercises with demanding and of course tiring sports activities. There is something more important: clearly saying “no” is a very important skill that many people do not have.
Wildt has this advice: “You have to ask yourself what you are willing to give, what you are willing to do, and what is clearly beyond your limits, and then draw the line.” In many cases, outpatient or inpatient therapy is needed to provide support, where the therapist helps the patient develop strategies and ways to implement them. For lasting relief from boron symptoms, it is necessary to examine the patient’s medical history to determine the source of the feeling of inadequacy and pressure.
Source: The Star
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
