EPISODE 32 - BURNOUT

EPISODE 32 – ‘’BURNOUT’’

We have ALL heard about the term ‘burnout’, but what exactly is it and what is the difference to depression or mood related disorders?

If we stop and think of our modern way of living;

+ looking after children

+ possibly broken sleep with children waking up throughout the night

+ getting everyone ready

+ cooking

+ cleaning

+ going to work, managing businesses/careers,

+ school life, homework, extracurricular activities,

+ nurturing your relationship, family and friends,

+ exercise, weekend sporting commitments etc. etc. etc…

This stop/start, constant movement and ‘busy-ness’, coupled with investigating nutrition and lifestyle choices, coupled with perhaps a lack of ‘tribe’ where everyone is on this ‘rat-race’, to me, intuitively, there is no wonder we as a collective experience burnout.

City living has a frenetic energy that is palpably noticeable for me, after living in quieter areas of Perth, Cairns and the Gold Coast. It almost feels like a vortex that we have become sucked into, and we have to move fast, or else it feels like people are pushing to make their way through past you.

Does any of that sound familiar?

The Black Dog Institute states that the financial impact of burnout with ‘stress-related absenteeism and presenteeism costing Australia $14.81 billion per year’

In an article, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279286/, ‘’a stressful lifestyle can put people under extreme pressure, to the point that they feel exhausted, empty, burned out, and unable to cope. Stress at work can also cause physical and mental symptoms.’

Factors at play can be;

• Put under time pressures
• Conflict with colleagues
• Neglecting own needs

What does the WHO define BURNOUT as?

It is not classified as a medical condition, but rather an occupational phenomenon in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11).

‘’Burn-out is defined in ICD-11 as follows: a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

• feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
• increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job; and
• reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.”

This then pertains to an occupational standpoint, but I then wonder where the shades of grey come in, when we speak of stay at home mothers, feeling this way about home life when we have occupations outside of the home also, or caring for an ill family member?

A study by the UNSW of 1019 people, a statement by Professor Parker was “Interestingly, our findings also show that burnout doesn’t exclusively affect those in paid employment,” “By broadening the study’s scope to include those with unpaid home or care duties, we were able to note that burnout is not limited to those exposed to work-related stressors, which suggests burnout may be ‘context free’.”

WHAT ARE THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BURNOUT?

The 3 main areas include;

• Exhaustion: feeling drained, physically and emotionally exhausted and unable to cope.
• Alienation from (work-related) activities: can find their work stressful, frustrating and cynical. Sense of dread having to go to work.
• Reduced performance: makes it difficult to perform, lack of motivation and energy, as well as feeling you can no longer do your job.

However, in one of UNSW’s new studies, the responses from 1,019 people who completed a questionnaire indicated nine other factors commonly affecting people experiencing burnout. These included:

• Anxiety/stress
• Depression and low mood
• Irritability and anger
• Sleep disturbances
• Lack of motivation or passion
• Lack of concentration, memory loss or brain fog
• Withdrawal from others
• Physical symptoms such as aches, headaches, nausea and low libido
• Emotional fragility

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF IT IS DEPRESSION OR BURNOUT?

The most important thing is to NEVER self-diagnose! There can be parallels between them, but treating someone who actually has depression with rest and strategies for burnout, may in fact delay their correct treatment.

Similarities between the two can include;

• Lack of motivation
• Exhaustion, low energy and fatigue
• Reduced performance and ability to focus or concentrate, as well as reduced empathy which is quite evident in health related jobs such as being a doctor or nurse

However, depres