Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments of Burnout

Since the 1990s, the psychological health problems at work are on the rise: burnout, depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety disorders, etc. Focus on the burn-out or burnout syndrome.

What is burnout?

“State of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion linked to long exposure to situations requiring significant emotional involvement”¹the burn-out ou syndrome burnout has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a work-related phenomenon is not recognized as a mental illness. In a reference book²the social psychologist Christina Maslach and MP Leiter distinguish 3 successive events in the process of degradation of the subjective relationship to work:

• l’emotional exhaustionpsychic and physical (one feels chronically exhausted);
• the cynicism vis-à-vis work (one becomes cynical and detaches oneself from one’s work);
• the decrease in personal accomplishment at work (we feel more and more ineffective in our work).

The burnout would result in a state of professional exhaustion (at the same time emotional, physical and psychic) ​​felt in the face of “emotionally” demanding work situations.

Why is burnout dangerous?

If the burnout syndrome is linked to the professional sphere, the repercussions can affect all spheres of life… dragging the patient from burn-out towards depression. The stress felt can have serious consequences (addiction problems, suicidal thoughts, etc.) even leading to death (in Japan, cases of sudden death from nervous exhaustion at work have been observed).

What are the symptoms of a burnout?

L’burnout not being recognized as a mental illness, it is particularly difficult to establish a diagnosis. Doctors can refer to a shrink to better establish a diagnosis. There is not an exhaustive list of the symptoms of burnout and it is quite possible not to have all the symptoms, but here are the ones that we observe most often:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Demotivation at work
• Frustrations
• Cynicism
• Irritability
• Decline in self-confidence
• Anxiety
• Withdrawal
• Indecision, confusion
• Difficulty disconnecting from work
• Memory loss
• Suicidal thoughts – in the most extreme cases.

To these psychological symptoms can be added physical symptoms such as persistent fatigue, pain, problems with the digestive system, weight variation, disturbed sleep, etc.

What are the causes of professional burnout?

Researchers are still struggling to clearly determine the causes of burnout, but several factors contribute to this situation:

• The lack of confidence, the fact of not participating in any or few decisions related to one’s task,
• lack of recognition,
• Lack of support from peers or superiors,
• Lack of communication from management to employees,
• low self-esteem,
• The stress.

Certain attitudes, certain contexts can also be called into question, but the origin of the burnout must be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Rather than treating, it is better prevent burnout. Surrounding yourself well and talking easily about the difficulties encountered at work is an effective way to fight against stress. And this is also true in the professional circle: talking with your collaborators and your employer can help to resolve a tense situation. Learn to say no, to delegate and to arrange times when we get off work but also from technology (which makes us available 24 hours a day). Finally, taking care of your self-confidence and mental health is essential.

Treating burnout comes down to reestablishing a healthy relationship with your work, finding a satisfying way to accomplish your work without exhausting yourself. The first remedy is rest, but alone it is not enough. Psychotherapy should help identify the causes of burnout in order to identify the changes to be produced. In some cases, medication may be prescribed. Often, a work stoppage is prescribed; there duration of a work stoppage for burn-out varies depending on the individual, the severity of the exhaustion … Sick leave can last a few days or a little longer but it is never too long to avoid making recovery even more difficult. On the other hand, sick leave for burn-out can be extended / renewed.

What is the difference between depression and burn-out ?

Yes burn-out is essentially work-related and accompanied by a situation of chronic stress, this is not the case for depression – even if work can play a role -. In most cases, a person who suffers from burn-out wants to work but does not have enough energy while a person in depression does not want to work. There are also physiological differences, thus in people suffering from depression, there is an increase in the secretion of cortisol³ while in people in. burn-out there is a decrease in cortisol secretion³especially in the most severe cases.

Burnout must also be distinguished from bore-out a you brown-outtwo other phenomena related to work, respectively feeling of uselessness because of the lack of occupation and the fact of carrying out a work in opposition to its personal ethics.

1. Professional exhaustion syndrome or burnoutMinistry of Labour.

2. Maslach Ch. and Leiter MP, Burnout. The burnout syndrome, Les Arènes, 2011, 270 p.

3. Vreeburg SA, Zitman FG, van Pelt J, . Salivary cortisol levels in persons with and without different anxiety disorders. Psychosom Med 2010;72:340–7. Danhof-Pont MB, van Veen T, Zitman FG. Biomarkers in burnout : A systematic review. J Psychosom Res 2011;70:505–24.