Psychology Online

Symptoms of Burnout Syndrome

Note

You are here in the subtopic Symptoms and signs of burnout. General information on the subject can be found at burnout .

Symptoms

The symptoms of the Burnouts are very diverse and often vary greatly from person to person.

Physical symptoms include fluctuation in blood pressure, impotence, Sleep disorder, Loss of appetite, Racing heart, Tinnitus, Headache, frequent flu infections, indigestion and Back pain.

The psychological symptoms of burnout can be divided into three categories:

Emotional exhaustion (fatigue):
Those affected suffer from a lack of drive, weakness, Tiredness, senselessness, resignation, fear and displeasure. They lose the ability to relax and identify with their job. These symptoms extend to cognitive limitations such as poor concentration, forgetfulness and loss of performance.
Experiencing failure:
Despite excessive exertion, those affected perceive their achievements as poor or bad. The resulting difference between the requirement and the service provided is due to the personal uselessness returned. So the feeling of success is missing and leads to the second symptom.
Depersonalization:
That's the Loss of personality. Those affected perceive themselves or people or objects in their environment as changed, strange and unreal. This leads to increasing indifference and the work becomes a pure impersonal routine.

Further symptoms are on the psychological level Feelings of guilt, Mistrust, Mood swings, nervous tics and Tension. Patients isolate themselves more and more socially, lose interest in hobbies and leisure activities and tend to be hyperactive.
In some cases is a increased consumption of alcohol, Tobacco, coffee or drugs can be detected. The risk of addiction increases massively.

All of these symptoms may or may not appear.

The Burnout syndrome often shows parallels to Boreout Syndrome. "Bore" means "to be bored" in English. As a result, the syndrome describes the underload and dissatisfaction in the workplace. This condition also shows symptoms such as emotional exhaustion and reduced performance.

course

In general, a developing burn-out syndrome can be divided into different development phases, which are associated with different symptoms.

Initial phase:

In the initial phase, people with burnout show a high level of commitment, great ambition, often unrealistic high expectations of themselves and the situation to be dealt with, and a great deal of enthusiasm. "To burn out" means "to burn out" and a saying goes: "Only someone who has burned once can burn out!". It really does seem like that. People who are unmotivated and listless from the start or who show disinterest are never at risk of burnout.

The first signs of fatigue such as exhaustion, increasing headaches, irritability and fatigue are ignored or played down, and recovery phases are not allowed. It is the same with frustration and increasing disappointment when it gradually becomes clear that the high expectations cannot be met. These facts are also suppressed or ignored. Private needs are pushed more and more into the background until the neglect is hardly noticeable to the person concerned.

Reduced engagement, emotional withdrawal:

This phase is characterized by an increasingly negative attitude towards the workplace or employer and colleagues. A newly developed cynicism is often observed. The person concerned no longer identifies himself with his work and withdraws more and more. Often only "duty according to regulations" is performed and the sick person hardly brings in their own ideas and suggestions.

Advanced phase, social withdrawal:

The aforementioned physical symptoms peak in this phase. Affected suffer from Apathy, loss of concentration, feelings of fear and helplessness, massive disinterest. There is a strong defensive attitude towards criticism and the person concerned can only cope with his work, if at all, with the greatest effort.

The avoidance of social contact, often in combination with excessive attachment to a certain person, is referred to here as social withdrawal. The emotional, mental and physical life flattens out more and more. The person usually loses performance and commitment / interest in all areas of life.

In the end stage of the burnout syndrome, the sick person experiences massive feelings of despair and helplessness, which can intensify up to depression. Often a dominant feeling of senselessness arises, which can sometimes even lead to self-destructive behavior or even suicide.

Read more about this at: Depression or Burnout - What Do I Have?

12-phase course

Different authors have that Burnout syndrome in twelve phases which, however, do not have to take place in exactly this order.

Of the Urge for recognition is very big. The resulting excessive ambition leads to excessive demands, as goals are set too high.
It expresses itself through a excessive motivation, which is why hardly any tasks are given to others. So there is no work relief, but a workload.
The own basic needs are hidden. Sleep, rest and regeneration hardly take place. In its place comes the increased consumption of coffee, alcohol and nicotine.
Warning signs of excessive demands are faded out and sneaking out more and more mistakes in the tasks.
The own Environment is perceived as distorted. Contact with family and friends is reduced as it is increasingly perceived as stressful. Often the partners of those affected suffer.
Here physical symptoms appear like fear, Headache, fatigue. However, these signs are skillfully ignored.
she is the one Phase of withdrawal. The positive feelings are largely suppressed by excessive demands and hopelessness. Alcohol and medication are being consumed more and more. The social environment is almost completely hidden.
Inability to criticize is the main feature at this stage. It is completely rejected and perceived as an attack on oneself. As a result, the person concerned withdraws further and further.
The Phase of alienation begins when you perceive yourself to be different, automated, and have the feeling that you no longer have your own free will.
They determine the everyday life of the person concerned exhaustion and the Discouragement. There are also frequent panic attacks. Food orgies or increased alcohol and the like are supposed to suppress the problems.
Gloomy mood, Listlessness, Uninterestedness are the main signs of one depression and appear in this section.
The total exhaustion shows up. The immune system is reduced from the risk of prolonged stress Cardiovascular disease and Gastrointestinal diseases rises. In addition, the risk of suicide increases and is highest in this phase.

diagnosis

Often the preliminary diagnosis is suspected "Burnout" provided by the treating family doctor, who in many cases is first consulted on the basis of physical symptoms, such as headache and back pain or increasing tiredness. After excluding an organic cause and a corresponding social history (collection of information regarding the economic, social, family, psychological and work situation of the patient), a referral to a specialist in psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine or a psychologist takes place, who ultimately through discussions and possible further physical examinations is able to diagnose “burn out syndrome”.

Because the symptoms are so diverse and often very different from patient to patient, it can in some cases take a long time to make a final diagnosis.

It should be noted, however, that the term “burn out” is often used by those affected as a glossing over description of other psychiatric illnesses. The fad “burn out” appears to be more socially accepted than, for example, a depression.