§four. Mental-emotional fatigue and stress. Emotional Overwork: What is it?

SEB - emotional burnout syndrome

Burnout syndrome is a psychological reaction of a person to long-term emotional overwork, manifested in a loss of interest in life. Such a reaction can "ripen" for months and even years. American psychologist Herbert Fryudenberger in 1974defined CMEA (in English "burnout") as a problem "born of society and the time in which we live, a constant struggle to fill our lives with meaning. This condition does not go away if ignored.

SEV can occur in almost any person, and it develops according to the following scenario (although a person does not always go through all the steps):

The desire to assert itself;

The decision to work harder;

Neglect of one's own needs;

Misunderstanding of the conflict (a person does not understand the root of the problem of his poor health);

Changing values ​​(losing friends, family, leaving hobbies, etc.);

Denial of impending problems (cynicism, aggression and frustration become apparent);

Social isolation (in this case, the ground for alcoholism, drug addiction, etc. appears);

Noticeable changes in behavior;

Inner emptiness;

Depression;

SEV (thoughts of suicide, complete mental and physical exhaustion).

Causes of SEV:

The cause of SEV is stress, usually caused by a too busy life: a large number of meetings, meetings, projects, unrealistic deadlines for fulfilling obligations, secondary and unnecessary things that distract from the main work, as well as many other factors that affect human life in our world oversaturated with information and technology. Stress in itself usually does not cause much problems, but in relation to prolonged and numerous stresses, each of us has his own limits of stability, and when we go beyond them, we find ourselves on the verge of overworking.

How to deal with CMEA or prevent it:

1. Analyze your motives in life. Usually teachers, doctors, managers and representatives of other professions, who often and a lot communicate with people (patients, students, clients, etc., who do not always behave “well”), are forced to behave courteously and politely on duty, not feeling true love for people. Over time, the incentive (salary, career, etc.) to “love” people weakens or disappears, and a person gives free rein to his real feelings. If this attitude does not change, a person is forced to change jobs, hoping that one day he will find himself in a place where it will not be necessary to “love” others so often, or such people will come across who will be easy to love. How do you learn to truly love people?

2. Simplify your life. Television, the Internet, mobile phones and other media help us in our work, but at the same time they receive a lot of information that is useless to us. This distracts us from our direct duties, takes time and mind, and, ultimately, it seems that we are very overloaded.

3. Take time to relax. Give preference to useful physical labor in which the mind rests: working in the garden or garden, growing flowers, crafts, walking in the park or forest, etc. Rest in the bosom of nature has a restorative effect. Avoid prolonged TV viewing or Internet surfing.

4. Stick to healthy eating habits. Eat mostly plant foods, avoid stimulants like coffee, tea, alcohol and hot spices. It is important to drink 6-8 glasses of water daily.

5. Develop habits of regularity in your life in regards to sleeping and eating.

6. Don't limit yourself to sleep. On average, a person needs to sleep 7-8 hours a day.

7. Rest at least once a week. A person needs time to restore the spirit, soul and body.

8. Don't make promises you can't keep. Overloading ourselves, we become irritable and aggressive because we feel the pressure of unfulfilled obligations. Be realistic about your strengths

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The condition that in everyday life we ​​call "emotional fatigue", psychologists call "emotional burnout". What is it and how to deal with it, the editors of the Sekretik magazine found out.

It is impossible to meet a person who would not be emotionally tired. Every day we spend an excessive amount of internal forces and do not always have time to restore them, emotional fatigue occurs. There is nothing unusual in the fact that by the evening a person feels tired, provided that during the night he has time to restore strength and is ready to meet new challenges. If the state of fatigue manifests itself daily and becomes chronic, serious attention should be focused on this.

Manifestations of emotional burnout

Irritation

Irritation is the surest sign of a state of emotional burnout. The queue at the supermarket, the harmless jokes of colleagues, the “too” hot coffee, and a huge variety of other trifles generate incredible annoyance. It feels like everything is against you.

Desire to be alone

The main source of negative outbursts inside a person are people: in the office and the park, in the subway car, and in the beauty salon. Too many of them. Ordinary business and personal meetings, but at the same time a person wants to build a huge wall around himself so that no one can approach him.

inattention

In a state of emotional burnout, it is very difficult for a person to focus on performing simple tasks - compiling a typical report on time, sending a letter to a partner, cooking dinner, walking the dog. A lot of people simply forget - visit the store, call someone back, turn off the work computer. It is especially difficult to make decisions, as if consciousness is clouded.

Psychophysiological symptoms

Against the background of emotional fatigue, symptoms such as sleep disturbance, a state of constant agitation, lack of appetite and physical fatigue appear.

Anguish and disappointment

A person loses interest in everything in life. We begin to think about the “eternal”: whether we chose the right profession and place of work, whether we married the right person, the failures are colossal, and the successes are insignificant.

Stages of emotional fatigue

People whose activity consists mainly of communicating with people - students, clients, customers, are more prone to emotional exhaustion syndrome than others.

At the first stage, a person experiences a feeling that daily activities begin to depress him greatly. The accountant is disgusted by the data recording program, the salon administrator wants to hide in the back room, the basketball coach hardly waits for the end of the workout. To avoid a painful state, a person tries to emotionally protect himself from people, performs official duties formally, trying not to establish contacts. At the next stage, such a removal of a person is gradually replaced by hatred for the people around him. At the last stage, emotional fatigue manifests itself at the physiological level - insomnia, heart and toothaches. The onset of the third stage says that it is time to take measures that contribute to the restoration of mental strength.

How to overcome emotional fatigue?

In a state of severe emotional burnout, it is urgent to organize a respite, rest. You can scold yourself endlessly, try to tune in to the tasks, but until we allow ourselves to rest, fatigue will not disappear. Listen to yourself, and you will understand what kind of rest you need right now. Many people choose solitude. A few days will be enough to "come to your senses". A trip to another city or a short vacation spent at home with a cup of your favorite tea and a fascinating book will do you good.

In order to continue to prevent the last stages of emotional exhaustion, it is necessary to follow a few simple rules:

• Listen to yourself more often. If you identify signs of emotional fatigue at the initial stage, it is quite likely to stop the process, to reorganize in such a way as to stop its development.
• Learn to say "No": to clients, partners, colleagues. Try to spare yourself as often as possible, and not burden yourself with unnecessary worries.
• Do not forget to periodically devote time to rest. Don't be afraid to tell your family that you need some time alone.
• Do not disregard the question: “Do you like the work you are doing? Do you like the life you are living?
• Think about what you can change in your life to make your results more successful. Emotional fatigue does not occur where the return from one's own actions is realized and felt.
• Emotional exhaustion is easy to overcome with physical activity: swimming, morning jogging, cycling and walking will help relieve stress and nervous excitement. Indeed, often one of the causes of emotional fatigue is a sedentary lifestyle and lack of physical activity.

More than 50 years ago, in America, for the first time, they began to study a variety, in the event of which conventional therapy did not bring results.

Patients complained of an emotional crisis, disgust for their work, a sense of fading professional skills. At the same time, various psychosomatic disorders and loss of social contacts were observed.

The American Freidenberger, who singled out this phenomenon as an independent form of stress, gave it the name "burnout".

Burn at work, like a match - roots in the USSR

The Soviet people, no worse than the Americans, understood what kind of misfortune it was. At least everyone knew how it ended. “Another one burned out at work” - this fatal diagnosis was honorable.

Within the framework of militant collectivism, this had some value for society, although for a single individual who died with such romanticism, it was probably still tragic. Everyone knew 3 stages of the phenomenon of workaholism:

• "burn at work";
• "burn out to something";
• burn down.

Burning - it was our way! But it was possible to burn honorably - at work and ingloriously - from vodka. Workaholism and alcoholism seem to have nothing in common. But, looking closely, you can recognize in these "excesses" similar features and symptoms. And the last general stage: the sliding of the personality into degradation.

The Americans have nothing to brag about: we, too, have been on fire for a long time, burned out and burned out. And even it was believed that this is how one should live. Remember the fiery Sergei Yesenin: “And for me, rather than rot on a branch, it’s better to burn in the wind.” Poets, writers, actors, doctors, social activists burned before the earthly deadline.

And long before Frenderberger, his famous compatriot Jack London gave an exhaustive description of the burnout syndrome using the example of his industrious genius Martin Eden in the work of the same name.

Martin, who worked 15-20 hours a day, striving for his goal, eventually achieved it. But, alas, by that time he no longer needed either fame, or money, or a beloved. He burned out. A painful state in which he no longer felt anything, did not want and could not. Having achieved everything he dreamed of, he banally committed suicide. Well, another one burned down at work ... More precisely, from work.

Dangers and the mechanism of development of burnout

Burnout syndrome is a form in which the body is depleted at all three levels: emotional, physical and mental.

In short, burnout is a desperate attempt by the body to protect itself from excessive stress. A person acquires an impenetrable shell. Not a single emotion, not a single feeling can break through this shell to him. In response to any stimulus, the "security system" automatically works and blocks the response.

For the survival of the individual, this is useful: he plunges into the "energy saving" mode. But for the people around him, partners, patients, relatives, this is bad. Who needs a bioorganism “turned off” from everyday life, which mechanically “pulls the strap” at work, seeks to get away from any form of communication and gradually loses professional and communication skills. People begin to doubt their competence and professionalism.

The syndrome is dangerous both for the individual and for others. Imagine that the pilot of the plane on which you were going to fly somewhere suddenly doubted that he would lift the car into the air and take you to your destination.

And the surgeon with whom you are lying on the table is not sure whether he will be able to perform the operation without errors. The teacher suddenly realizes that he is no longer capable of teaching anyone anything.

And why did the Russian people always treat law enforcement officers with hatred? What seemed to the citizens as rudeness, cynicism, heartlessness in the despicable "cops", in fact, was all the same "burnout".

The Three Sides of Exhaustion and Emotional Lability

Emotional burnout (burn-out) develops gradually, gradually, can be greatly extended in time, and therefore it is problematic to notice it in the initial stages. In its development, the following 3 factors are conditionally distinguished:

1. personal. Researchers note a whole range of mutually exclusive personality traits prone to "burnout".
   On the one hand, humanists and idealists are quickly "burning out", always ready to come to the rescue, lend a hand, lend a shoulder. Fanatics - people obsessed with super-ideas, super-goals, super-ideals - are also good fuel for the syndrome. These are people of the “warm pole”. At the other extreme are people who are emotionally cold, both in communication and in work. They get very upset only because of their own failures: the intensity of experiences and negativity just go off scale.
2. role-playing. Incorrect distribution of roles. For example, it is assumed that the team works in one team, and the result will depend on the well-organized teamwork of employees. But no one clearly prescribed the distribution of the load and the level of responsibility of each. As a result, one “plows for three”, and the other “plays the fool”. But both the one who “plows” and the one who “pigs” have the same salary. A hard worker who does not get what he deserves gradually loses motivation, develops the so-called burnout syndrome at work.
3. Organizational. On the one hand, the existence of a powerful psycho-emotional tension in a well-coordinated team. Against its background, there is a working process: communication, receiving and processing information, solving problems. And all this is aggravated by the fact that employees are charged and infected from each other by excessive emotions. On the other hand, there is a psychotraumatic atmosphere at work. Conflict situations within the team, bad relations with superiors. Poor organization, poor planning of the work process, irregular working hours and meager pay for impressive overtime.

Causes and gradual development of the syndrome

The reasons for the appearance of emotional burnout usually arise from the fact that either we ourselves or something from the outside psychologically puts pressure on us and does not give time for a “timeout”:

1. pressure from within. A strong emotional load, whether it is with a “plus” or “minus” sign, which is greatly extended in time, leads to the depletion of emotional resources. This is an area of ​​personal space, and the causes of exhaustion can be individual.
2. Pressure from outside, or the demands of social norms. Overload at work, demands to comply with social norms. The desire to comply with fashion trends: style and standard of living, the habit of relaxing in expensive resorts, dressing "haute couture".

The syndrome develops gradually:

1. Warning and Caution: immersion in work with the head, neglect of one's own needs and refusal to communicate. The consequences of this are fatigue, insomnia, absent-mindedness.
2. Partial self-elimination: unwillingness to do one's job, negative or indifferent attitude towards people, loss of life orientations.
3. An increase in negative emotions: apathy, depression, aggressiveness, conflict.
4. Destruction: decrease in intelligence, loss of motivation, indifference to everything
5. Violations in the psychosomatic sphere: insomnia, hypertension, palpitations, osteochondrosis, malfunctions in the digestive system.
6. Loss of the meaning of existence and irrational feelings.

Who risks more than others?

Nowadays, everyone burns, regardless of belonging to the profession. Emotional burnout is typical for such professions and groups of citizens:

Doctors at Risk

Not so long ago, it was believed that burnout syndrome is an exclusive privilege of medical professionals. It was explained like this:

• the profession of a doctor requires from a person constant spiritual participation and warmth, empathy, compassion, sympathy for patients;
• along with this - the consciousness of a huge responsibility for the health and life of patients;
• the likelihood of making a tragic mistake during the operation, or making a diagnosis;
• chronic;
• difficult choices that have to be made (separate or not Siamese twins, take risks by performing a complex operation on the patient, or let him die peacefully on the table);
• exorbitant loads during epidemics and mass disasters.

Easy burnout

The most harmless is the burnout at the level of reactions, the so-called "light burnout". It is characterized by the fact that it has a short exposure time and disappears as the causes that caused it disappear.

According to the “easy” burnout, probably everyone at least once in their life. Such emotional exhaustion can be caused by such reasons:

• mental or material crisis;
• sudden "time trouble" at work, which required the return of all emotional and physical resources;
• caring for an infant who screams for 10 hours a day;
• preparing for an exam, a life-changing interview, or working on a challenging project.

Nature has calculated so that we are ready for such tests, while there should not be a breakdown in the body. But it happens if what a person is doing leads to.

It would seem that it would be time to have a rest, but the situation that requires our intervention is not resolved, leaving us in constant expectation, high readiness and tension.

Then all the symptoms of "burnout" collapse, or, simply put -. But finally the problem is solved. Now you can remember to yourself: sleep well, go to the pool, get out into nature, or even take a vacation. The body rested, recovered - the symptoms of "burnout" disappeared without a trace.

Down the steps of burnout

According to Freindeberger, there is a scale of burnout, to which a person is successively led by 12 steps:

We burn at sunset, we burn at dawn ...

Burning out at the stage of frustration is already earning a chronic state of emotional burnout. The combination of all three symptoms makes us talk about the "burnout" syndrome. The links that make up the syndrome:

1. emotional exhaustion: a painful condition, somewhat reminiscent of the symptoms of schizophrenia. The person suffers from emotional insensitivity. All experiences lose their strength, color and meaning. If he is also capable of some emotions, then only those that have a negative balance.
2. Cynicism towards people. Negative feelings and rejection of those to whom only yesterday the attitude had a loving and caring coloring. In place of a living person, now one sees just an annoying object that requires attention.
3. Confidence in one's own incompetence, in the fading of professional skills, the feeling that he is no longer capable of anything, and "there is no light at the end of the tunnel."

Diagnostics of CMEA

When diagnosing burnout syndrome, the following methods and tests are traditionally used:

• biographical: with its help, you can trace the whole path through life, moments of crisis, the main factors in the formation of personality;
• method of tests and surveys: a small exam to determine the presence or absence of the syndrome;
• observation method: the subject does not suspect that he is being watched, therefore he maintains the usual rhythm of life, based on the observation, a conclusion is made about certain symptoms of stress;
• experimental method: a situation is artificially created that can provoke the patient's symptoms of "burnout";
• Maslach-Jackson method: American system for determining the degree of burnout in professional terms, conducted using a questionnaire.

Boyko method

Boyko's technique is a questionnaire of 84 statements, to which the test person can only answer "yes" or "no", from this it can be concluded at what phase of emotional burnout the person is. There are 3 phases, for each of which the main signs of emotional exhaustion are identified.

Phase "Voltage"

For her, the leading symptoms of burnout are:

• repeated scrolling of negative thoughts in the head;
• dissatisfaction with oneself and one's achievements;
• the feeling that you ran into a dead end, driven into a trap;
• anxiety, panic and depression.

Phase "Resistance"

Its main symptoms are:

• strong reaction to a weak stimulus;
• loss of moral guidelines;
• stinginess in expressing emotions;
• attempts to reduce the range of their professional duties.

Phase "Exhaustion"

Characteristic manifestations:

• unemotionality;
• attempts to withdraw from any manifestations of emotions;
• detachment from the world;
• disorders of psychosomatics and autonomic nervous regulation.

After passing the test with a specially designed scoring system, you can determine:

• the severity of the symptom in the burnout phase(unfolded, developing, established, dominant);
• the stage of formation of the phase itself(not formed, in the process of formation, formed).

The frivolity of the CMEA is only apparent. In fact, psycho-emotional burnout has formidable complications for physical and mental health. Since we are talking about a breakdown in the system of higher nervous activity, which is “responsible for everything”, the burnout syndrome leads to disturbances in all organs and systems.

An emotional crisis and a nervous breakdown causes disruptions in:

• cardiovascular system;
• endocrine;
• immune;
• vegetative-vascular;
• gastrointestinal tract;
• psycho-emotional sphere.

The saddest cases end in severe depression, fatal diseases. Often attempts to get rid of an unbearable state end in suicide.

Photo: Lev Dolgachov, PantherMedia / Lev Dolgachov

More and more people are suffering from emotional burnout. Is the modern way of life to blame for everything, or is physical and mental exhaustion a much more ancient phenomenon? We deal with the writer Anna Schaffner, writes

A few years ago, Anna Katharina Schaffner became another victim of the burnout epidemic.

It all started with mental and physical fatigue, a feeling of heaviness. Even the simplest things took away all the energy, and focusing on the task was incredibly difficult. Trying to relax, Anna could spend hours doing repetitive and useless activities, such as checking e-mail.

With fatigue came desperation. “I was broken, disappointed and hopeless,” she recalls.

According to the media, overwork is a modern problem. On television, people often talk about the tension that we experience due to the excess of information, the constant involvement in the flow of news and notifications. Many believe that our century is a real apocalypse for energy reserves.

But is it true? Or are periods of exhaustion and energy declines an integral part of our lives, like a runny nose? Schaffner decided to find out. Her book Exhaustion: A History was an exploration of how doctors and philosophers of the past defined the limits of the human body and mind.

Emotional burnout or depression

The most striking examples of burnout can be observed where high emotional stress reigns, for example, in healthcare. German scientists have found that about 50% of doctors in Germany suffer from burnout. They feel tired throughout the day, and in the morning the thought of work spoils their mood.

Interestingly, different genders struggle with burnout in different ways. Finnish researchers found that men are more likely to take long sick leave than women.

Since depression is often accompanied by lethargy and withdrawal, some believe that burnout is just another name for the disorder.

In his book, Schaffner cites an article in a German newspaper in which burnout is called the “elite version of depression” among high-class specialists. “Only losers get depressed. The fate of the winners, or rather, the former winners, is emotional burnout, ”the author of the article claims.

And yet these two states are usually separated.

Do not confuse burnout with another disorder - chronic fatigue syndrome. A person suffering from it experiences long periods of decrease in physical and mental strength - for at least 6 months. In addition, many patients complain of pain at the slightest activity.

Our brain is not ready for the modern lifestyle

There is an opinion that our brain is not adapted to the long periods of tension, so natural for the modern world. We are constantly striving to increase productivity, do more and better, prove our worth and meet expectations.

We constantly face pressure from bosses, clients, and our thoughts about career and money. The pressure does not ease up day by day, and the level of stress hormones gradually increases. It turns out that our body is constantly in a struggle mode.

Cities are filled with technology, life in them never stops. During the day we are busy with work, at night we watch movies, chat on social networks, read the news, receive notifications endlessly. And, not being able to fully relax, we lose energy.

Everything seems to be logical: the modern way of life is too harsh for our unprepared brain. But it turns out that cases of emotional burnout have occurred before, long before the advent of gadgets, offices and notifications.

History of emotional burnout

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When Schaffner researched historical documents, she found that people suffered from severe fatigue long before modern megacities emerged with a hectic pace of life.

One of the earliest writings on overwork was by the Roman physician Galen. Like Hippocrates, he believed that all physical and mental disorders were due to an imbalance in the four body fluids: blood, mucus, yellow and black bile. So, the predominance of black bile slows down blood circulation and clogs the pathways in the brain, causing lethargy, weakness, fatigue and melancholy.

Yes, this theory has no scientific basis. But the idea that the brain is filled with a black viscous liquid is quite consistent with the sensations of tired people.

When Christianity became part of Western culture, overwork began to be seen as a sign of spiritual weakness. Schaffner cites the work of Evagrius of Pontus, written in the 4th century, as an example. The theologian describes the “midday demon”, which makes the monk look languidly out the window and do nothing. This disorder was considered a lack of faith and willpower.

Religious and astrological explanations prevailed until the birth of modern medicine, when physicians began to identify the symptoms of fatigue as neurasthenia.

At that time, doctors already knew that nerve cells conduct electrical impulses, and they assumed that in people with weak nerves, the signals could scatter.

Many prominent personalities - Oscar Wilde, Charles Darwin, Thomas Mann and Virginia Woolf - were diagnosed with neurasthenia. Doctors blamed the social changes associated with the industrial revolution. But a weak nervous system was considered a sign of sophistication and a developed intellect, and therefore many patients were even proud of their illness.

In some countries, neurasthenia is still diagnosed. This term is used in China and Japan, and again, it is often recognized as a milder name for depression.

But if the problem isn't new, maybe overwork and burnout are just part of human nature?

In the Middle Ages, the “midday demon” was considered the cause, in the 19th century - the education of women, in the 1970s - capitalism and the ruthless exploitation of employees.
Physical or mental disorder

We still do not understand what provides a surge of energy and how you can quickly spend it without physical exertion. We do not know what the nature of the symptoms of overwork is (physical or mental), whether they are the result of environmental influences or a consequence of our behavior.

Probably the truth is somewhere in the middle. The body and mind are inextricably linked, which means that our feelings and beliefs affect the state of the body. We know that emotional problems can increase inflammation and pain, and in some cases even cause seizures or blindness.

It cannot be said that overwork is only a physical or only a mental disorder. Circumstances can cloud our minds and make our bodies tired. And these are not imaginary symptoms, they can be as real as a fever with a cold.

Competent time management as a cure for burnout

Schaffner does not deny that there is too much stress in modern life. But she believes that our freedom and flexible schedules are partly to blame. Today, many professions can work when it suits them best and manage their time.

Without a clear framework, many people overestimate their strength. Basically, they are afraid that they will not live up to expectations, will not get what they want, will not satisfy their ambitions. And that makes them work hard.

Schaffner also believes that email and social networks can undermine our strength.

If history has taught us anything, it's that there is no universal cure for overwork. In the past, patients with neurasthenia were prescribed prolonged bed rest, but boredom only made things worse.

Today, people suffering from overwork and burnout are offered cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps to manage their emotional state and find ways to replenish their strength.

Some people need extreme sports, others recover through reading. The main thing is to establish boundaries between work and leisure.

Schaffner herself found that the study of overwork, paradoxically, energized her. “It was interesting for me to do this, and the fact that many people in different periods of history experienced something similar calmed me,” she says.