Burnout
Burnout situations can lead you to a critical situation, in which you can't get organized, with a complete absence of pleasure towards your personal and professional life, and feeling a complete lack of control in tasks that were previously quite easy to handle
In order to understand the burnout symptoms, it is important to know that we are talking about a state of physical and psychological exhaustion, which goes through a set of stages before reaching its most serious one.
It may begin with an enhancement of your commitment to work, you may feel you are no longer capable of dealing with all the work requirements and thus compromising your physical condition, causing you to take less time to rest properly. In a particularly insidious fashion, you may begin to feel that everything is complicated, difficult and draining. Finally, you end up reaching a critical situation, in which you can't get organized, with a complete absence of pleasure towards your personal and professional life, and feeling a complete lack of control in tasks that were previously quite easy to handle.
Why is it serious?
Your work functioning becomes deeply affected. The levels of exhaustion experienced completely modify your basic brain functions and the connections to processes like attention, memory and control skills become affected.
In terms of motivation, you start losing the urge to perform your duties, putting everything at risk.
Therefore, the increase of solitude, lack of control, and irritation are all feelings that may become present on a regular basis. It is likely to begin to shut down emotionally from your family and friends, avoiding contact and the company of your peers.
The seriousness of this syndrome can extended to an increase of conflict-laden discussions, persistent distractions and presence of boredom.
The fact that you take less satisfaction from many activities also leads you to take less care of yourself, which can make you increase the consumption of alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, medication (or drugs), and food.
Finally, your body suffers profoundly and may start to give signs of chronic fatigue, exhaustion, sleep disorders and muscular strain. During the aggravation of this situation, an increase of heart problems (arrhythmia, tachycardia, stroke), respiratory or gastrointestinal problems (acid reflux, gastritis, ulcer) may occur.
What should I do?
If you are experiencing any of the identified complaints, the ideal is to receive treatment as soon as possible. Postponing treatment only makes matters worst. Your organizational skills may reach a limit where you will eventually have to stop working.
In these situations, intensive specialized treatment is crucial and, in some cases, it may be combined with drug therapy.
The treatment for Burnout lies on four crucial axes:
- Regaining confidence, quickly regulating the impact of stress over your body and revitalizing its basic functions
- Training to alter your brain wave patterns, regulating the functioning of your brain and regaining stability in complex executive tasks (planning, organization, attention)
- Identification of organic-like blockades affecting their own recovery and modification to introduce behaviours that enable a more fitted response to work demands
- Implementation of pleasurable activities through valued actions and follow up of the evolution in order to experience more positive emotions
If you believe you possess Burnout symptoms, don't hesitate to contact us by email, by calling our phone numbers +351 220 973 751, +351 211 379 718, +351 911 046 197 or using our contact form. You can also contact us through our free call service to your right.
Doctors who perform this medical procedure
Dr. Nuno Mendes Duarte
Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist | Owner and Clinical Director of Oficina de Psicologia
University graduation in Psychology, Lisbon Psychology University, Portugal
Several international clinical trainings in renowned clinical approaches
Post-graduation in Cognitive-behavioral and Integrative therapy
Sound experience in several areas: clinical psychology, supervision, clinical training, multidisciplinary hospital team development and top management.
Drª. Madalena Lobo
Clinical Psychologist | Owner and CEO of Oficina de Psicologia
University graduation in Psychology, Lisbon Psychology University, Portugal
Several clinical trainings in Portugal, France and England
MBA, Marketing, Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Post-graduation in Financial Institutions Management, INDEG/ISCTE, Portugal
Over 35 years experience in several areas: clinical psychology, teaching, professional training, human resources management, contact centers management and top management.
