Burned out at work. What is the danger of burnout syndrome

Emotional burnout is a popular phrase. It is believed that you can “burn out” only if you really get carried away with something, “burn out” emotionally. Is it so?

People of creative and technical specialties are interested in the topic of emotional burnout. Is it possible to protect yourself in the modern world, where there are strict management rules and a constant race to realize your dreams? Is it possible to find means of prevention and protect yourself from the state when work ceases to bring real pleasure, and everyday duties seem meaningless and insipid?

Signs of emotional burnout

Back in 1974, social psychologists came to grips with the study of the emotional component of people in "helping" professions. These include missionaries, philanthropists, psychologists, rescuers. It was then, paying close attention to what happens to professionals in noble deeds, that scientists found three signs that indicate that emotional burnout is “in full swing.” These three signs apply to all people without exception: it does not matter whether you are writing an essay or proving a theorem.

Fatigue

Fatigue is different. In one case, it can be pleasant: when you want to take a breath, relax, go on vacation. Such fatigue is accompanied by a victorious feeling that you have done a great job and coped with all the obstacles with a bang.

The second type of fatigue is accompanied by a feeling that you have been “de-energized”: lack of strength and desire, lethargy, depression. The symptoms of emotional burnout include this type of fatigue, which is exacerbated at the moments of approaching work. A call from the office, an extra letter in the mail, the end of the weekend - all this negatively affects the general condition and revives the feeling of fatigue again.

Discontent and irritation

Dissatisfaction in the case of burnout is directly related to any facets of their own work. People with emotional burnout are annoyed by clients, responsibilities, getting up early, processing - in a word, any stress associated with their type of activity.

Guilt

At some point, an employee with emotional burnout becomes devastated and ceases to cope with their duties. He feels that he is not doing his job, does not enjoy work. As a result, a feeling of guilt and dissatisfaction with oneself is formed, which blocks the desire to seek new job: there is simply no strength left for this.

How to deal with emotional burnout?

If you want to protect yourself or reverse the situation that has already developed at your work, listen to the recommendations of professionals. You can deal with emotional burnout in the following way.

Find a job where your efforts get noticed

Getting feedback is the most important human need. If you work in a company where the results of your work are treated exclusively formally, after a while you will feel useless, accompanied by a feeling of emptiness. All people want to be liked, feedback is important to them. Even if it's criticism. The only caveat is that criticism should be objective, constructive and inspiring.

If you have already taken a job where you are not being noticed, ask for feedback, ask how you can improve your results. Silence in response? Then there are two options: change jobs or find an additional area where you will receive constructive feedback and real feedback.

Avoid working with maximum control or connivance

Both strict control and complete disregard for what is happening are two serious mistakes guidelines that lead to burnout. In the first case, you will be a chronically dissatisfied person: it is difficult to work in a situation where you are constantly pointed out and not taken into account with your needs. In the second case, you will start to get bored. This boredom will be caused by a lack of attention to your professionalism.

Make your skill unique

In order not to get tired of yourself and work, learn to do what is not given to others. If you are a doctor, psychologist, marketer, designer, writer, it is not difficult to measure your professionalism. It is determined by the position, the stock of skills, regalia, awards, bonuses, earnings, the number of your clients, your personal inventions in your field (even small ones). In this situation, it is important not to stop: you can always improve what you know: take refresher courses, find new information to do something original.

If you have not decided on a vocation and work in a boring administrative position that does not imply unique knowledge, do not despair: do your job better than others, and you will see the result. Even if you work as an administrator in a sports club, you can treat the job in different ways. In the first case, silently give out the key to the personal dressing room box and check the subscription, and in the second, communicate, wish a successful workout, conduct customer surveys, and offer additional services. It is with this approach to work that a career and the treatment of emotional burnout begin.

Replenish the supply of "childish" emotions

You need to be able to take care of the state of your soul. Emotional burnout occurs if you have zeroed the supply of internal warmth. This reserve is made up of children's emotions: immediate surprise, joy, delight, expectation of something good. How long have you felt these emotions? How long have you been in love with the project you are working on? Remember the impressions of the last week, last month or six months that you had at work. It is not the status of the company and not the salary that matters here. What is important here is what you really like in the process of work. Are you fascinated by the topic or material you are working with? This is the antidote to combustion. Do you have it? Can you fall in love with what you do?

Listen for "like" and "dislike" signals

These signals are silent. The 21st century is the century of exploits and workaholics. In the pursuit of success, we can become cold to our inner voice. We feel discomfort and ignore it, suppress our disagreements, put up with incorrect attitudes. Don't start the situation. Strive to correct the situation immediately. Fill your professional and personal life with warm moments while remaining efficient and hardworking.

Emotional burnout is a negative phenomenon of a mental nature, leading to emotional exhaustion of the human body.

Emotional burnout affects specialists whose professional activity is connected with communication: to help, calm, give people “spiritual” warmth.

The "risk group" includes: teachers, doctors, psychologists, managers, social workers. Specialists are constantly faced with negative emotions, imperceptibly involved in some of them, leading to psychological "overload".

Emotional burnout occurs slowly from: work "to wear", increased activity, labor enthusiasm. There is a symptom of overload of the body, turning into chronic stress, the depletion of the human resource occurs.

Burnout Syndrome

This is the depletion of the human condition: moral, mental, physical.

Let's analyze signs of this condition:

1. moral: evasion of responsibility, duties; desire for loneliness; manifestation of envy and malice; blaming others and loved ones for their troubles.

People try to improve their condition with the help of alcohol or drugs.

2. mental: diffidence; indifferent state: in the family, at work, to events; disgusting mood; loss of professionalism; irascibility; discontent, lack of life goals; anxiety and restlessness; irritability.

Burnout syndrome is very similar to depression. Subjects feel signs of doom to loneliness, so they suffer, worry. When doing work, they cannot concentrate for a long time.

3. physical: frequent headaches; "failure of strength" - fatigue; increased sweating; muscle weakness; reduced immunity; darkening in the eyes; dizziness; insomnia; back pain, heart; "aching" joints, violation of the digestive tract; shortness of breath: nausea.

A person cannot understand what is happening to him: immunity is reduced, he feels disgusting, his appetite is disturbed. Some people have an increase in appetite, respectively, and weight, while others lose their appetite and lose weight.

Emotional burnout is

The response of the whole organism of the subject to prolonged stress from any sphere of communication: home, work, Environment regular conflicts.

Altruistic professions are more prone to burnout.

People who provide professional services (help) lose their emotional and physical energy, become dissatisfied with themselves, work, cease to understand and sympathize. To get out of emotional burnout, consultations of a psychotherapist and treatment are required..

Herbert Freudenberg, a psychologist from the United States, described in 1974 the phenomenon of emotional burnout - a mental disorder that affects the personality of the subject, due to emotional "exhaustion".

Causes of burnout include:

  • Low wage, with a busy work schedule;
  • Not meeting vital needs;
  • Uninteresting, monotonous work;
  • Leader pressure;
  • Responsible work, lack of additional control;
  • Inappropriate assessment of the work of a specialist by a manager;
  • Work in a pressure environment is chaotic;

Methods for dealing with burnout to restore balance:

  1. Tracking the signs and preconditions of burnout;
  2. Timely elimination of stress, search for support;
  3. Constant control over emotional and physical health.

Emotional burnout syndrome

The state of systematic exhaustion of a person, paralyzing feelings, strength, as well as the loss of a joyful mood for life.

It has been proven that people with social profession burnout syndrome occurs earlier than in people of other professions. In personal, unfavorable relationships in the lives of subjects, symptoms of emotional burnout take place.

There are several stages of burnout:

1. Easy

Tired of the pleasant worries of children; elderly parents; passed exams at school, university; performed chord work.

For a while they forgot about sleep, the lack of basic services, they felt uncomfortable, increased tension and irritability appeared.

But all the work was completed on time, the situation returned to normal. It's time to relax: take care of yourself, exercise, get a good night's sleep - the symptoms of emotional burnout disappeared without a trace.

Consequently, energy, high-quality charging received by a person, after a long load, restores energy, replenishing spent reserves.

Undoubtedly, the psyche and body of a person is capable of many things: to work for a long time, achieving a certain goal (to go to the sea); endure difficulties (pay off the mortgage).

2. Chronic

Burnout symptoms manifest themselves with certain problems:

  • not enough money: buy a washing machine;
  • the presence of fear: tense state, vigilance regarding superiors, afraid of big demands.

Such symptoms lead to overload of the nervous system. In the human body there are pain in the muscles, throughout the subject, turns into chronic burnout. One of the symptoms of overexertion is teeth grinding at night.

The smooth transition from delight to indifference is called dehumanization. Attitudes towards people have changed from gentle, respectful, devoted to negative, rejecting, cynical.

At work, there is a feeling of guilt in front of colleagues, the work is done like a robot according to a template. A defensive reaction begins to act: to retire at home, to hide from all problems.

Burnout syndrome is the impact of constant stress, loss of interest in professional activities and motivation. Negative changes in your body are complemented by regular diseases: colds, flu.

Emotional burnout at work

After high labor activity, a heavy load for a long time, a period of fatigue sets in: exhaustion, fatigue. The employee's percentage of activity decreases: he does not conscientiously perform his work, he has a lot of time to rest, especially on Monday, he does not want to go to work.

The class teacher does not notice the excited state of the class.
The nurse forgets to distribute the medicine on time.
The head of the company sends the employee "through the authorities".

Such phenomena, emotional burnout occur regularly. The same words sound in a person’s head: “tired”, “I can’t do it anymore”, “no variety”.

This means that there was emotional burnout at work, emotional energy was reduced to a minimum.

The teacher does not introduce new pedagogical technologies.
The doctor is not engaged in research activities.
The head of the firm does not seek to promote a career to a higher degree.

If work activity is reduced and is not restored, then professional growth and creativity remain at the achieved level. Therefore, it is worth forgetting about promotion.

Dissatisfaction in life and work leads to a lesser degree depression, and to a greater extent aggression.
In depression period the subject blames himself for personal and professional failures: "I'm a bad father," "I can't do anything." Aggressive reaction - blames others - loved ones, bosses.

In the initial stage of emotional burnout, psychosomatic symptoms appear: dissatisfaction, anxiety, which reduce the overall resistance of the body. Increased blood pressure and other somatic diseases. Irritability is present in the family, friendships, at work.

Indifference to hobbies, hobbies, art, nature becomes a daily occurrence. There comes a stage of emotional burnout, turning into a chronic process of the disease, requiring the help of a specialist - a psychotherapist.

What to do with emotional burnout:

1. with mild

  • Reduce load;
  • delegate business;
  • Share responsibility;
  • Realize realistic goals;
  • Painlessly accept surprises;
  • Do not overestimate human capabilities, requirements.

As well as:

  • Change mental load to physical (go in for sports, work in the country);
  • See a doctor for a sick leave or relax in a sanatorium.

If the symptoms of emotional burnout are not recoverable, it means that the transition to chronic burnout has taken place.

2. with chronic

In a state of prolonged stress, the disease increases the process of burnout. Remorse over their actions continues to increase burnout, they are not able to replenish their health with energy.

Medicines prescribed by a doctor may help for a short time, but not solve the problem of the disease.

Restoring the internal deficit of joy, reducing the pressure of society at the root will change your attitude to life, protect you from unforeseen actions.

The main concern is your physical health. Ask yourself questions: “What is the meaning of my activity, its value? ". “Does my work bring joy, with what enthusiasm do I do it? ".

Indeed, joy and satisfaction should be present in your affairs.

If you realize that emotional burnout symptoms interfere with a fruitful and dignified life, then it's time to make an effort - to work on yourself.

And then the question: “What is emotional burnout?” You will forget forever.

  • Learn to say the word "no"

Example: “I will not do someone else's work. It's not in my job description." Reliability in work is good, but integrity is better.

  • Replenish yourself with positive charges

Example: Meeting with friends in nature, excursion to the museum, swimming in the pool. Proper uniform nutrition: dietary, including vitamins, minerals, vegetable fiber.

Discussing and searching for constructive solutions with a friend, will provide assistance, support at a difficult moment; emotional burnout will stop.

  • Build relationships within your workforce

Example: Invite colleagues to your birthday at home or arrange a feast at work, in a cafe.

  • Watch more people who don't get burnt out.

Take an example from them, treat failures with humor, do not dwell on them, treat work positively.

  • Take a new direction by being creative

Learn to play the guitar, learn new songs, master the skills of a gardener - gardener. Reward yourself for work that brings you joy.

  • Take breaks during your work shift

Talk about topics not related to work: about children, family, art, cinema, love.

  • Change profession, team

Perhaps the old profession does not bring you satisfaction, burnout occurs at work, or maybe not your team, leader - you do not feel emotional stability.

  • Write down the causes of "burnout" on a piece of paper.

Solve problems gradually, prioritizing.

Sometimes a person receives emotional nourishment from his beloved work. They do not need to look for positive emotions “on the side”, it is protected from emotional burnout.

Psychologists say that a favorable team climate is the prevention of burnout of emotional employees. And conflicts in teams, on the contrary, contribute to increased burnout at work.

Emotional burnout is the mental exhaustion of the subject's body, which can be restored with the help of the work team, friends and self-improvement.

Burnout is a state of exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Like Imposter Syndrome or Lost Profit Syndrome, it is not a disease, but rather a combination of psychological and physical problems. Despite the fact that there is no burnout in the ICD-10, psychologists have been using this term for a long time, and the problem itself has been well studied.

The term "professional burnout" was introduced by the American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger in the mid-70s. In those years he had private practice in the Upper East Side - one of the most prestigious areas of New York. Many of his clients were successful people, but at the same time suffered from indifference and even hatred for their work. Their stories were included in Freudenberger's book Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement, a bestseller published in 1980.

The main signs of professional burnout are considered to be a feeling of exhaustion, a decrease in productivity, and, finally, professional cynicism - a cold, detached attitude towards one's activities, clients and colleagues. However, some psychiatrists add to this exactly the opposite reaction - a manic obsession with work with the same lack of strength.

Is this a problem for everyone who works a lot?

Not really. Professional burnout is associated not only with overwork, but also with a high emotional load, which not everyone is able to withstand. Therefore, the hardest thing is for those whose job is to help people. These are doctors, psychologists, teachers, social workers, employees of charitable foundations and police officers. When burned out, they often experience depersonalization - a kind of defensive reaction and professional deformation: an insensitive attitude towards clients, an inability to perceive them as human beings.

However, in recent years, burnout has been considered in a broader sense - as a problem that can affect any person whose occupation requires a lot of return. And it's not just about work. There is also parental burnout, which is especially painful for mothers and fathers of children with special needs: they may feel that they are trapped and their whole life comes down to the need to “serve” the child.

But all my friends somehow cope, but I don’t. Why is that?

Actually, not everyone does. According to research, at least in the US and Europe, where the issue has been studied since the 70s, every third person faces professional burnout. It all depends on the situation - maybe your work requires too much emotional involvement and contact with people for you. The degree of burnout can be affected by both the monotony of work and the lack of its visible results, so that one of the consequences is often disappointment and depreciation of one's successes.

Is there a list of burnout symptoms?

There is no clear list - everyone is individual. First of all, it is customary to single out chronic fatigue and depression. In addition to these, burnout sufferers may develop insomnia, anxiety, decreased alertness and ability to concentrate on tasks, headaches, loss of appetite, and irritability. In terms of clinical signs, burnout and depression are indeed very similar - which is why they are often considered as related issues. However, there are studies confirming the difference between depression and burnout. For example, Canadian scientists claim to have found a "biomarker" for burnout - the level of cortisol in the blood.


Cortisol is also called the stress hormone: the more stress, the higher its level. Scientists note that depression is accompanied by an excess of it, but for those who suffer from burnout, on the contrary, it is not enough - the body seems to “give up”. But when making a diagnosis, specialists still focus on the overall picture and symptoms.

How can I check how burned out I am?

There are separate tests for this, they can be taken online. For example, the "Maslach questionnaire" - American psychologists developed it twenty years ago. The test even has separate options for salespeople, medical professionals, and law enforcement officers. All statements (for example, “by the end of the working day I feel like a squeezed lemon”) should be rated on a scale from “never” to “every day”.

So it looks like I'm burnt out. What should I do?

In such a situation, many people think about whether it is time to change jobs, or even professions. But, firstly, this is not a solution for everyone, and secondly, the problem is probably not only in work, but also in how you feel about it. Of course, if you are in the most vulnerable group - doctors, teachers, hotline employees, and so on, then this specificity cannot be avoided.

Support groups, trainings, and psychotherapy will come in handy here. Even psychologists and psychotherapists themselves go to the supervisor and discuss the problem of burnout in the professional community. So it's not unusual for you to need support.

Try to understand what causes you the most stress, and do not be afraid to discuss it with your superiors and colleagues - together it is easier to find new solutions or redistribute responsibilities. Remember what you love about your job and try to focus on that. Experts also advise taking small breaks during the working day for something pleasant.

For the rest, the so-called work-life balance will help: try to set up processes so as not to live at work. Be sure to make time for your favorite non-professional activities, such as javelin throwing or bird watching. Well, let yourself rest. Don't check your work email in the middle of the night unless it's an emergency.

What if I'm the boss? How to protect the team from burnout?

To begin with, it’s good that you are thinking about it - because your subordinates definitely think about it: according to sociological studies, 53% of working people around the world are now closer to burnout than they were five years ago. Here it is important to closely monitor the moods in the team and clearly set goals: burnout often happens where an employee does not fully understand his area of ​​responsibility and tries to take on more than you expect from him. good recipe- change of focus. If someone is stuck in a routine and has been doing the same thing for a long time, but with less and less enthusiasm, it is worth giving him new tasks - but not as a load, but instead of some boring ones.

Cheer up, it really works. This is not necessarily about bonuses - it is important for subordinates to know that you notice their successes. All this creates an atmosphere of mutual respect, where everyone knows that he is in his place. And, of course, do not demand the impossible and show by your example that work is not a marathon, but a series of races. If you are included in the workflow around the clock, employees will feel guilty. In the end, think about yourself - after all, you yourself are not immune from burnout.

Ecopsy Consulting partner Grigory Finkelstein believes that stress at work is the norm for most Russian companies. According to him, it happened historically. Employers want heroism and labor exploits from employees, and not a harmonious combination of personal and professional life.

hardworking, burnt out

The term "burnout syndrome" was coined by the American psychiatrist Herbert Freudenberger in 1974 to characterize the psychological state of people who are healthy but emotionally overwhelmed during work, for example, they communicate closely and a lot with clients. Initially, employees with burnout were those who felt exhausted and useless. Later, poor health and symptoms of certain diseases began to be attributed to the burnout syndrome.

Researchers from the Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence and the Faas Foundation found that employees who do not get job satisfaction are prime candidates for exit. They studied the level of professional engagement of American workers and compared it with their level of burnout. One in five employees reported both high engagement and high burnout. Such respondents felt tension and despair, although they were eager to learn new skills. It was among these people that the percentage of those who intended to change jobs was high - they turned out to be even more than in the group of those who were not involved. Thus, due to burnout, companies risk losing their hardest working employees.

Who if not me?

According to Hays, one of the main prerequisites for burnout is overwork. 87% of employees admit that they occasionally work overtime. 20% of them work one or two hours a week, 29% devote 3-5 hours more to work than required by labor law, 21% are delayed due to business longer - 6-8 hours a week.

Why are people willing to work longer hours? The majority (52%) agree themselves, because they see no other way out: they are sure that the company does not have the resources to delegate their work to someone else. 29% said that they have to solve too many tasks and they do not have time to rationally allocate time, and 24% themselves do not want to delegate, because they are sure that only they can cope with the work, another 21% perform the functions of colleagues, since they do not cope.

Employers themselves are well aware that their staff have to work overtime. 74% of company representatives admitted that their employees occasionally work overtime, 19% said they do it often, and only 7% said they do not allow overtime.

What can an employer offer an employee working for wear and tear? 45% of the interviewed company representatives say that they pay overtime in accordance with the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (among the employees themselves, only 12% said that they are paid overtime), 35% give an additional day off, 34% are allowed to come later. It turns out that employees often work for wear and tear in the hope of getting a new, better interesting work and employers tend to just pay them a little more.

The most responsible employees who are deeply immersed in the work process get tired the fastest, Grigory Finkelstein explains. As a rule, they take what they do seriously, but burn out if they do not receive positive feedback about their work. “Burnout comes to those whose ambitions long time are not implemented. They do not see prospects in the workplace and do not receive feedback from management on the work done. You need to understand that it is very difficult to return the fuse and motivation to an employee when he has lost interest in work, ”Yota HR Director Veronika Elikova agrees.

Employers do not like burnt workers. “We often see that candidates come to the interview who only pretend that they are interested in the position, but this is actually not the case. Therefore, we do not arrange a meeting with the employer. It’s hard to find a job for the burnt out,” says Olga Sabinina, partner at Contact (InterSearch Russia).

Business against burnout

RBC asked representatives of several Russian companies how they deal with employee burnout. It turned out that many are introducing a variety of staff support programs, but few are trying to study this phenomenon and find a systematic solution.

Elikova said that Yota gives employees the opportunity to communicate directly with a manager of any level and quickly receive feedback on their work. The company has a test to identify the level of motivation, but it is used only for top managers. There are no other studies that reveal the degree of burnout in Yota.

Mail.Ru Group launched a rotational and educational programs. The company believes that a good way to combat burnout is the employee's participation in training others. “A person is distracted from his main duties, switches, tries himself as a mentor,” says Liya Koroleva, head of internal communications at Mail.Ru Group. Specialists may also switch from their main activity to another, for example, to participate in charitable projects. Employees are regularly sent to trainings on time management, project management and personal effectiveness.

L’Oreal Russia measures employee satisfaction and engagement, said Svetlana Anikina, Head of Compensation and Benefits at L’Oreal Russia. For example, a recent survey revealed that the majority of employees suffer from stress, although they consider its level to be acceptable. People expressed a desire to work flexible hours or from home. The company met them halfway and offered to start working at a convenient time in the interval from 8 to 10 in the morning instead of 9, as it was before, and also sometimes work from home. As a result, 37% of employees decided to occasionally work outside the office in the first six months.


In April 2018, the Sibur petrochemical holding launched a program aimed at combating burnout. It is based on the methodology of psychology professor Stuart Heller, and the main goal is “to teach everyone through physical exercises to influence internal state". According to the representative of the holding, employees learn to manage habits and work with the body in order to cope with stress, influence emotions and the process of achieving goals. A special test that reveals the degree of burnout is not carried out at Sibur, however, like L’Oreal Russia, once a year a study is conducted on the overall satisfaction of employees.

Yandex also does not use special tests that detect burnout, said Elena Bogdanovich, head of the Yandex HR partner service. As in other companies, an engagement survey is conducted, which reveals professional fatigue. To help a burned-out employee, the company offers him to change the project, team, or even move to another department and try himself in a new profession. For example, a developer can become a designer or a manager and vice versa. “A change of scenery becomes a breath of fresh air for employees, so we can offer relocation and work in another city where the company's office is located,” comments Bogdanovich.

In MegaFon, employees of departments interacting with clients most often suffer from professional burnout - call center, sales. Therefore, a special program “No Stress” works for them, in which psychologists help to cope with difficulties. For managers, there are other programs - "Team in good shape" and "Emotional intelligence". According to the head of the press service of MegaFon Yulia Dorokhina, managers are taught the skills to work with emotions and create a comfortable atmosphere in the team. If the manager notices that an employee is experiencing burnout, he must determine the cause and offer him to go on vacation, said a representative of MegaFon.

Toxic Bosses

Burnout of ordinary employees is not so bad. The real problems begin when the leaders give up. “Recently, owners and managers of large and medium-sized IT companies spoke at an event in Sochi. Everything is as it should be: smart, deep and bright people. But for some of them, the eyes began to burn only when they talked about hobbies, hobbies and family, but not about business problems. Such people can be seen with the naked eye, including at the interview, these people are the first candidates for the role of burned-out bosses, ”says Olga Sabinina, partner at Contact (InterSearch Russia).

Burnt-out managers have a direct impact on the mood of their own employees. It is rare when they manage to build the right working environment in a team. Instead of supporting the strengths of subordinates, competently delegate, increasing the load gradually, they break down on subordinates. Such bosses are usually called toxic, explains psychologist and business coach Yulia Burlakova. They do not improve processes, but destroy them.

Recently, a charismatic leader from St. Petersburg complained to Burlakova that people were constantly leaving him. As it turned out, he used authoritarian management methods: he was used to putting pressure on people, he could shout. As a result, emotionally oppressed employees spent a lot of energy on participating in intrigues and conflicts, partly provoked by the leader, business processes were upset, and people burned out, says Burlakova. When assessing the level of stress in the team, the psychologist advises leaders to start with themselves.

Hays analysts came to a similar conclusion: pressure from management is one of the top three causes of employee stress. Employees experience stress due to blurred responsibilities (42%), pressure from management (29%) and the lack of someone who can delegate tasks (28%). Only representatives of the younger generation are not so much subject to pressure, Burlakova points out: “The whip method does not work with them. Most of the time they just quit."


What to do?

To deal with a problem, you need to identify it. Burnout syndrome is often determined using a special test created by UC Berkeley psychology professor Christina Maslach. This is a questionnaire where the employee agrees or disagrees with the basic statements: I feel exhausted from work; now the work interests me less than when I started to do it; the significance of the work makes me doubt, etc. Maslach shares the physical and psychological signs of burnout. The former include fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and a feeling of exhaustion. To the second - a feeling of frustration, hopelessness, boredom and disappointment, self-doubt, guilt and irritation, etc.

According to Maslach, there are four degrees of professional burnout. In the first degree, the employee experiences mild irritation from work. In the second, a state of chronic fatigue is added to the irritation. The third degree is more severe, the employee also has a dislike for the profession, for example, a taxi driver is disgusted with driving a car, and a doctor is disgusted with communicating with patients. At the fourth degree of burnout, signs of health problems appear, depression may begin. According to Burlakova, the sooner a person discovers signs of burnout, the sooner he should begin to regain strength and change his lifestyle.

Vacation is not a panacea. Yulia Burlakova says that the main rule for those who do not want to burn out at work is to keep the balance of work and personal time. After work, do not use gadgets, communicate with family, play sports and be in nature. You need to gradually recover after each working day, without waiting for holidays, vacations or weekends. “The employee himself is responsible for the quality of his life - this is a rule that must be observed in order not to become not only a victim of an inadequate boss, but also burnout,” says Burlakova.

Emotional and professional burnout, leading to general exhaustion, become the main cause of diseases from the heart, to the thyroid gland and oncology. By applying even a few of the techniques described below, you will learn how to significantly improve your well-being.

At some point, I caught myself thinking that I was leading a slightly different lifestyle than I would like. Constant fatigue and slight burnout have quietly become my constant companions. There are several promising projects, but with such labor productivity that I have now, I won’t be able to pull them off. So, sooner or later it will lead to problems with money.

Moreover, I did not have enough time and energy to communicate with my wife and children, and wow, how quickly they grow up. It turns out a shoemaker without boots. Every evening, the child came several times and asked - dad, have you finished work yet? Will you play with me? Will you read me a fairy tale? And I'm tired, and I'm not up to it.

But I would like to go skiing in the winter, skating, rollerblading and cycling in the summer, and much more. I kind of regularly did yoga in the morning, on weekends I sometimes went for a run. Periodically, the whole family skated and skied. Wasn't that enough?

It all started as usual, I wanted the best - I began to work out 1-2 hours a day, and then I didn’t have the strength to go outside to run, ski or skate, and I also didn’t have the strength to meditate in the evening. After a week of overwork, I began to burn out. Another week or two of this lifestyle and there will be exhaustion.

What is SEV? Burnout Syndrome is...

This is when there is a feeling of severe fatigue, not only physically, but also emotionally (mentally), which does not go away for weeks. It's hard to wake up in the morning. At work, it is difficult to concentrate and do important things. Productivity is low, deadlines are violated. Bosses or clients are not happy with you, but there is no strength to work better, even if you try.

At the same time, a state of apathy is felt - you don’t want to do anything. This is a deep exhaustion of the body due to emotional burnout. It is very difficult to concentrate on your duties. Relationships at work and at home with loved ones deteriorate. Children painfully endure such a state of their parents and take part of the fatigue and stress on themselves.

People do not immediately understand what is happening to them and why it happened. Simple enhanced rest on the weekend does not help. There is dissatisfaction with life and dissatisfaction. Self-pity intensifies, resentment against almost everyone and for everything. Someone's remarks and their minor failures irritate, more than ever, and intensify the state. At the end of the day, no matter what you did during the day, you feel squeezed out like a lemon, not only physically, but also mentally.

Your situation at work or in your personal life seems hopeless and hopeless. And the challenges seem insurmountable. Burnout and such exhaustion cannot be eliminated by standard methods - going on vacation, more sleep, rest, as before. Often accompanied by insomnia with general constant fatigue.

Can break through to the zhor and swim weight. Or vice versa, appetite disappears and weight drops critically.

Why do we get emotionally tired and burn out?

No forces? Projects cannot be made, dreams cannot be realized, it will not be possible to communicate with children for a long time, and life does not turn out the way we wanted. Or maybe you already spat on all this? Are you working to support yourself and your family? Or would you still like to aim for something more? Live a joyful life, be satisfied with your life, some dreams, but still realize?

Let's first find out - why do we burn out?

  1. Sedentary work for 8 hours a day - requires at least 1 hour a day of leg activity, preferably with the parasympathetic on. The legs are the weakest part of the body. Are you moving a little? Expect burnout, and then exhaustion.
  2. Constantly being inside enclosed spaces is very tiring. You need to go outside for at least 1-2 hours / day - saturate the body with oxygen and give physical activity. If you are not on the street - further tips to eliminate fatigue will be useless for you.
  3. Sleep, insomnia. Daytime stress turns on so that then the body and mind cannot calm down and relax for a long time. In a partially wound state, it is impossible to fall asleep on time and sleep normally. By itself, this state does not go away - it needs to be released.
  4. A sedentary lifestyle means that the body is full of energy in the evening, while mentally you feel tired. So it turns out that it is difficult to fall asleep, being tired.
  5. Too much stress during the day. We were taught theorems and integrals at school, even the theory of relativity was told a little. But we were not taught to get along with each other, just like letting go of stress. Working with people means a lot of stress – whatever that may be.
  6. Lack of harmonious communication with loved ones: family, children. Lack of own hobbies, petty joys, periodic change of scenery, travel. Life, turned into a continuous work, emotionally and mentally tires, exhausts, burns out. Living only for the sake of work does not bring satisfaction and joy.
  7. Frequent criticism, especially undeserved. And it doesn't matter where it happens at home or at work.
  8. Low salary. What creates a feeling of uselessness, underestimation, not being in demand.

a. Burn out at work or professional burnout.

Occupational burnout and exhaustion is increasingly due to work. In Japan, the authorities are forced to introduce administrative and even criminal penalties for death from overtime. Even in China, they began to pay attention to this and punish them.

In Europe, working more than 220 hours a year at a work rate of 1,800 hours a year is prohibited by law and punishable by fines - this is monitored by labor protection services and trade unions.

  • tight deadlines
  • punitive obligations
  • big risks or responsibility
  • routine work
  • low or falling demand/sales,
  • receiving or reading a lot of negative news
  • conflicts of intrigue among colleagues
  • taking out discontent on each other and especially on the part of the authorities
  • frequent inspections, changes in legislation
  • disrespectful attitude towards you, outright rudeness
  • difficult working conditions with people

Some statistics about burnout.

In Europe, professional burnout is the cause of 50-60% of lost working days.

In Australia, to cope with stress:

  • 61% of people drink alcohol
  • 41% gamble
  • 31% use drugs.

In Russia, in total, up to 70% of the population, who, according to statistics, are depressed, are at risk.

As you can see, the statistics are depressing. And it tends to grow.

b. Family causes of emotional burnout.

Emotional burnout can also happen for family reasons. In mothers after birth, due to insomnia. Even housewives can happen. The causes of burnout are about the same as at work, but coming from the family. Not appreciated, not respected. Busy household chores. Difficult financial situation in the family. Debts, psychologically pressing on the psyche.

Lack of due attention, love, recognition, support from a spouse. Intervention of other people in the affairs of the family. Unfounded criticism. Lack of regular sex, which helps relieve some stress and promotes better sleep.

According to the Pareto rule, 80% of tasks require 20% of energy. And the remaining 20% ​​of cases require 80% of energy. In other words, if a wife will only look after small children, and get up at night and do housework herself: cook, wash, clean, then she has a serious chance of burning out. But if a husband or one of the parents at least help and take on up to 20% of the affairs in the family in order to give his wife a little sleep, then thereby save her 80% of her strength.

c. Age crises

All people have age crises for which our education does not prepare at all. Moreover, our culture is somewhat frowned upon to openly acknowledge and discuss our crises. In youth, there is a lot of energy and little experience - this energy is spent extremely unproductively and often to the detriment of oneself.

To be honest, I felt my first crisis already at the age of 18-19, when I had to face life one on one for the first time. Alas, they do not prepare independent life in schools and universities. And the state doesn't care about that. On that moment Soviet Union just collapsed and began shock therapy in the economy. I tried myself in several directions, but I did not really succeed in my business.

The second time I faced a crisis at the age of 25-27.

By that time, I had learned to make good money, but I had to work incredibly hard. There was not enough time for hobbies and personal life. And there was no experience in building relationships. A slight dissatisfaction began to overcome me. And brought to sciatica at the age of 28.

After nine months of suffering with sciatica, I felt like an old man: you couldn’t bend over, and you had to dress very warmly because of the constant feeling of cold in the lower back. Radiculitis was cured in 3 days, on yoga courses. Why don't doctors know about this?

The next crisis arose around the age of 33 - it was already a classic midlife crisis. But I spent it at work for 8-16 hours a day. And all my free time I meditated, looking for a solution.

Blood pressure dropped to 82/75 and I wanted to sleep all the time. Only the kicks of the authorities dragged me to work. At some point I almost died from it. But knowledgeable people helped - the pressure leveled out in 1 evening, it became like in the book 126/90.

I felt the next crisis when I was 40 years old.

Something happens to us at this age - you need to seriously change your lifestyle in order to cope with everything. Most men burn out and cannot fully overcome this milestone. Sluggish downshifting begins: beer, fishing, football, internet, simple work withdrawal from household chores.

Each of the crises is an emotional burnout and should not be underestimated. For example, in the English-speaking world there is a "27 club" - these are celebrities who have died at the age of 27. In other words, the celebrities who could not cope with this age crisis.

d. Reasons from childhood.

By by and large the cause of age crises is the lack of preparation for adulthood. We are not taught this in school. Yes, and parents often, instead of passing on life experience to their children, pour their dissatisfaction on them. Many people have had difficult childhoods for one reason or another.

Let's be honest - just as you were not taught to raise children, no one taught your parents either. And for most, it wouldn't hurt to learn. Raising children is no easy task. The socialization process that each of us goes through in childhood is quite painful.

e. External causes

For the past 25 years, there has been a continuous crisis in the country, and throughout the world. Somewhere it is felt more strongly, somewhere less. It would be dishonest of me to say that an external factor does not affect your life at all.

We live in a world that is changing too fast and too competitive, at the intersection of several crises: economic, cultural, ethnic, demographic and others. All this exerts some psychological pressure.

Doctors and teachers, although they are state employees, have a rather difficult job, and then there are continuous “reforms” in medicine and education, when in words they seem to want the best and promise support, but in reality everything is done exactly the opposite.

From such a dissonance, doctors and teachers feel deceived, unnecessary and burn out. And until the policy of the state changes, they will be at risk. And what about businessmen and people employed by companies?

Emotional burnout and your responsibility for what is happening.

All these reasons and factors complicate your life up to emotional burnout, but you need to take responsibility for your life. You are responsible for what happens to you and no one else. Want to change your life for the better? Take full responsibility for your life.

If you have someone to blame for every difficult situation, then your life will never improve.

1. Professional burnout syndrome - and character traits.

Some people are prone to professional burnout, emotional exhaustion, chronic fatigue. These people are prone to the following traits:

  • Perfectionists, idealists - people who constantly try to make everything as good as possible, perfect
  • prone to feelings of guilt, taking on too much responsibility, sacrificing one's own interests
  • touchy people, as well as those who have high expectations in relation to others, to themselves
  • people with "pink glasses" who usually break "face on the asphalt of reality."
  • The desire to please everyone, usually at their own expense.

The most difficult thing is that you can stay in these states for decades, even be proud of these traits and not notice how much they harm your life and health. Yes, I myself was touchy, and did not notice that I was offended because of every little thing. At the same time, he considered himself an inoffensive, good guy.

Only burnout made me pay attention to my touchiness, to perfectionism. Moreover, it was so deep inside of me that if someone had drawn my attention to this, I would not have believed them at all.

One way or another, these patterns of behavior need to be tracked down in yourself and get rid of them. Something can be changed in oneself by an effort of will, and something may require a visit to a special training. Why not?

People who live for others are very touchy. Because they sacrifice themselves for the sake of loved ones and therefore are full of expectations of the same victims in return, even if they think that they do not need anything. But the subconscious cannot be fooled. Expectations are an unconscious process. Many do not understand that living for yourself is normal.

Burnout syndrome and profession.

Most often, burnout occurs in those who work with other people and have increased responsibility. Also for creative people.

And it doesn’t matter whether your work really involves a lot of responsibility, risks, or whether you yourself have thought of everything and screwed yourself up.

Particularly at risk are:

  • Doctors, medical workers, especially those working in an ambulance. And even ambulance drivers, as shown in the film with Nicolas Cage "Resurrecting the Dead."
  • Teachers in universities and especially in schools. Fewer kindergarten teachers.
  • Service staff, especially with a large flow of people, not very polite behavior: bars, service centers, call centers
  • Sales managers, marketers, managers of different levels, company owners, entrepreneurs, businessmen.
  • Creative workers: designers, artists, actors, directors.

Multiple daily encounters with negative mood, discontent, rudeness, in other people. With a general lack of preparedness for such situations and support from management. Virtually guarantees the occurrence of stress, which over time accumulates like a snowball and intensifies, turning first into burnout, and then into exhaustion.

All cases have common features- Loss of interest in work, fatigue. Working with people is very, very difficult, even in the most favorable conditions there will be stress. All people need to be prepared for real life: to be taught to let go of stress, which, unfortunately, we do not have in the education system. You will either learn on your own, or life will force you to learn, but you will undermine your health.

Professional emotional burnout and business.

More and more effort is required to attract customers and sales. Customer orders are decreasing. Bills to pay, obligations and debts are getting bigger. Lack of long term perspective. Uncertainty.

Less room for error. There are more and more possible consequences from errors. The loss of a job or business becomes a very likely event - even companies that have been operating for 50-150 years go bankrupt. This greatly complicates the moral climate in business and creates psychological stress.

Emotional stress at work increases. The amount of time for rest is the same or less. The situation forces you to give all the best and even work harder. Projects require more impeccability in execution, i.e. more mental strength.

Moreover, in conditions where victories are difficult to obtain, the joy of another victory can be the cause of burnout. In general, burnout from positive emotions is 5 times stronger than from negative ones. There are just more negative emotions, and less strong positive emotions, and this is not so noticeable.

2. 10 signs of emotional burnout or exhaustion.

Not all people understand immediately what is really happening to them and why. Often, many perceive what is happening at their own expense or blame others for this - this is the main danger of emotional exhaustion and burnout.

Society has an erroneous understanding of the norm. For example, some believe, if after 40 years it hurts somewhere, then you are still alive". In other words, perceive pain in the body as the norm, after 40.I assure you this is far from the case. If you take care of your health, you will live 100-120 years, and even at 80-90 you will still be in fairly good health.

Age is not a reason for disease. According to Norbekov - with age comes only insanity, and diseases from lack of care for your body. Pay attention to the following signs - many have them. Just do not assume that this is normal with age.

  • Early gray hair, hair loss
  • Heart problems, diseases, reduced immunity
  • Constant experience, fears, irritation, discontent
  • Loss of memory, teeth, blurred vision
  • Wrinkles, bruising under the eyes, aged appearance
  • Heart attack, stroke, grouchiness, insanity
  • Drowsiness, insomnia, constant fatigue even after sleep
  • Lack of joy, depression, apathy, hopelessness
  • Reluctance to have sex
  • Alcohol cravings, overeating, malnutrition

All these external signs of burnout are not the age norm.

Many illnesses can be easily managed or avoided without medication. Any disease is not normal. Each of the above signs can be pushed back a dozen or so years. It is enough to regularly perform just a few simple exercises.

Most people cannot be an indicator of the norm - because the majority is initially wrong. Some indicators of the norm are individuals, which look great and feel good in 70-80-90 years and even older.

The main character from the Shaman's Laughter trilogy is about 120 years old. At the age of about 100, he looked 50-60 years old and seemed to be stronger than the author of the book at the age of 47. Moreover, at the age of 105-110, he started a civil marriage, not bad, right? There are thousands of such examples. I have personally met many people in their 50s and 60s looking 40 with a health of 25.

With simple, uncomplicated exercises, you can get rid of 95-99% of diseases. And the rest, with the help of doctors, will be much easier to eliminate if you generally monitor your health.

Just start taking care of yourself and your health.

  1. Five stages of the syndrome of emotional professional burnout

The progress of emotional and professional burnout and exhaustion can be conditionally divided into 5 stages. Moreover, there may be different reasons for their occurrence, but the stages and causes are approximately the same.

  • At the first stage, it still looks good outwardly, but some fatigue is already felt.
  • The first external signs: insomnia due to fatigue, decreased concentration on duties, some apathy
  • Difficulty concentrating at work, frequent distractions - processing with a decrease in actual work time.
  • The first signals from the body: health is deteriorating, immunity is decreasing, colds out of the blue, old sores remind of themselves. Discontent, irritation, pickiness - become a permanent state.
  • Fatigue has become chronic and turns into exhaustion, health is beeping big, outbursts of anger, self-pity, resentment, guilt.

4. Symptoms of burnout

I don’t even know if it’s worth talking about the symptoms of emotional burnout, if most people are in chronic burnout. It is believed that emotional burnout has a rather long latent, latent period. And to be honest, I do not quite agree with the scientific explanation of the symptoms.

Officially, it is believed that at first the enthusiasm for performing one's duties decreases. I want to quickly get rid of work, but it turns out the opposite - rather slowly. The desire to focus on what is no longer interesting disappears. There is a feeling of fatigue from work in general and irritability for everyone a little bit.

But the fact of the matter is that burnout is emotional. And it may happen that there is interest in work, but a person is criticized a lot, external factors interfere very strongly - and burnout occurs.

Symptoms of emotional burnout can be divided into 3 groups:

Physical Symptoms of Burnout

  • Chronic, constant fatigue;
  • weakness and lethargy in the muscles;
  • headaches
  • decreased immunity;
  • insomnia;
  • eye fatigue, decreased vision;
  • joint and back pain

Weight changes due to the fact that usually stress “wants” to seize. There is also a loss of appetite - for example, after a divorce or dismissal. Which leads to a noticeable change in weight and appearance

Socio-behavioral signs:

  • The desire to run away from everyone or resentment at everyone, as a result of the desire for isolation, a minimum of communication with others
  • evasion of responsibility, dereliction of duty, laziness
  • blaming others for their own troubles, resentment, irritation
  • envy, complaints, that someone is lucky in life
  • complaints about your life and the fact that you have to work hard;
  • pessimism, negative is seen in everything

Many people go into escapism or dayshifting whenever they can. Cravings for sweets, alcohol, or even drugs may appear.

Psycho-emotional signs:

  • there is indifference to one's life and the events taking place around;
  • self-doubt, low self-esteem
  • disappointment in others
  • loss of professional motivation;
  • irascibility, irritation and dissatisfaction with other people
  • depression, constant bad mood, life failed

Syndrome of mental burnout, clinically similar to depression. There is an experience of semi-contrived suffering from artificially created loneliness elevated to the degree of doom. In this state, it is difficult to focus or concentrate. However, burnout is much easier to overcome than it might seem at first glance.

5. Implicit symptoms of professional emotional burnout.

You can deceive your mind or yourself. But it is impossible to deceive your subconscious or something in the depths of your soul. If you are tired and overworked, then you will rest. Of course, you can imitate vigorous activity, sit in social networks, read the news, but in fact, it will be a psychological rest.

You may even sincerely believe that you are working. But if the body is tired - then it is tired - and it will rest, whether you like it or not. The body or consciousness will start to turn off, you will sleep on the go, concentration will decrease, attentiveness will decrease, thoughts will start to get confused. Errors in work are possible.

Productivity will come to naught - which means that you will be engaged in small, unimportant things, routine. But you won’t be able to relax normally either - this is precisely the biggest danger. The next day you will come to work in the same or almost the same condition, which again will tell on your productivity.

Continuing to work in this mode for a long time, sooner or later you will face a decrease in income. And when the issue of money is added to your fatigue, emotional burnout and professional exhaustion are guaranteed.

If you are tired - go to rest! Get out of this corkscrew.

6. Where do professional burnout and emotional exhaustion come from?

I remember in the mid-90s, the guys and I went to a neighboring city 170 km away. The car was 17 years old, "Kopeyka", it just had the engine rebuilt - the pistons and rings were replaced. After such an overhaul, the engine had to withstand 100 thousand kilometers, if you drive carefully, at a maximum speed of 90–110 km / h.

But we were young and hot, we had fun, so we drove by pressing the gas pedal to the floor, which was a speed of 130 km / h. It would seem that the difference in speed is only 20% more, and we drove some 400–450 km. But it was enough to burn the engine. It turns out that we burned the engine using only 0.4% of the resource, i.e. 200 times faster.

Emotional exhaustion and professional burnout affect you in much the same way; by working only 20% harder than your maximum resources, you shorten the rest of your life by 20–200 times. Is it worth it? And don't ask me how to go to bed at 9 pm.

Do not ask - maybe you don't need to run 3 times a week and train your heart? Therefore, when you feel tired at work and do not work - go home, rest, recuperate - you may be able to work the next day. The working day should be a maximum of 8 hours - because this is the maximum time for work.

Of course, you can work another hour more, as doctors, businessmen, managers often do - but you need to remember that the next day you will have to pay double the price for this. If today you overworked 2 hours, then tomorrow you will be idle for 4 hours.

7. Consequences of burnout syndrome

And if you are constantly in a state of burnout, emotional exhaustion, physical or mental fatigue, your “ship of life” simply does not have the fuel, the energy to move forward.

If youth knew
if old age could.

In youth, you burn out from the lack of life experience. In adulthood, from the inability to recover. One way or another, burnout and fatigue accumulate over the years, and after 40 years turn into chronic fatigue or exhaustion.

And all because we are not taught to let go of stress gradually. So we collect it on ourselves all our lives, and all the stress of life settles on our body with a thick layer of tense muscles, scientifically this is called a “shell of tension”.

If you do not eliminate burnout, then over time there is a feeling of hopelessness in your life situation. Depression appears. May develop into alcoholism. Constant feeling of hopelessness, disappointment in one's own life, disappointment in oneself. Feeling of injustice. Feeling of deceit.

These are very strong destructive emotions. I would say that they are not compatible with life. You have seen them many times in the elderly. Usually people die quickly after that. Often such people are seriously ill with difficult-to-treat diseases.

As Faina Ranevskaya cynically noted: if the patient wants to live, then the doctors are powerless. Doctors themselves often notice that if a patient does NOT want to live, then doctors are powerless. Hopelessness and disappointment with life - this is the unwillingness to live.

Many people are accustomed to the fact that life is hard, they get tired, get sick, and this way of life seems normal to them. This is an unconscious thought pattern imposed from nowhere. But this is not so - life can and should bring joy, pleasure, despite external circumstances. The crisis will not end soon - why not live now? Not enjoy life?

8. Emotional burnout and exhaustion - accumulate in the body for years.

There is an anecdote: Comrade General, stop the train. In response, the general commanded - Train, stop! One, two.

Emotional burnout and exhaustion are also a kind of "train" - do not fool yourself that you can stop them or manage them in "one, two."

According to Wilhelm Reich: Emotional fatigue, burnout, exhaustion, create muscle tension in the body, which, becoming chronic, further inhibits the free movement of energy flows and blood flow in the body. Sooner or later, this tension leads to the formation of " muscular shell tension”, which creates fertile ground for the development of neurosis.

Spending every day, for years, since childhood in a similar corset, a person becomes more and more tense and heavy. This stiffness of the muscles throughout the body, arises from the load of emotions that you carry on yourself. Naturally, these constantly tense muscles are terribly tiring and deplete your strength. As a result, a person ceases to notice his stiffness and tension, loses his natural interest in life.

You are so accustomed to the constant tension of the muscles that you do not notice this shell. But, if you pay attention to the tension in the shoulders, neck, face, back of the thighs, near the knees, you will see that many of these muscles are constantly tense.

9. The official scientific methods of letting go of burnout don't work.

The most interesting thing is that 80-100 years have already passed, but so far scientists have not proposed a full-fledged method for releasing this accumulated tension in the muscles of the body. Either they don't know, or they don't want to offer. Therefore, I do not believe that official professors and doctors of psychological sciences will be able to offer you something really effective for burnout.

I contend that any technique of letting go of fatigue, burnout, emotional exhaustion is nothing if it cannot let go of the tense muscles of the “shell of tension”.If someone tells me about another super-method of releasing burnout and fatigue, I ask 1 question: does the “armor of tension” let go?

If the answer is no, and the answer has always been no, until now - I don't even want to look any further - the whole dead poultice technique. And it can be used in addition to something, but not as a main technique.

If you really want to let go of psychological fatigue, emotional exhaustion and professional burnout, then you should do exercises that release the shell of tension too. Otherwise, it is an attempt to stop the train "by the power of thought" for "one, two."

10. Learn to relax - or how to deal with emotional burnout.

You need to be able to rest. By itself, this skill will not appear. Money does not solve this issue. I know many people who are 10 times richer than me - but they get less sleep, rest, and are less full of energy, especially mental ones. Why? They don't know how to rest.

The difficulty of rest lies in the fact that we must take into account that we have not only a body, but also a consciousness. And they can get tired of both one and the other. Biorhythms may not coincide when the body wants to sleep, but the consciousness does not, and then it is difficult to fall asleep. Therefore, it is highly recommended to prepare the body and mind for sleep. Stop watching TV 2-3 hours before bedtime, turn off your computer and smartphone.

One of the main reasons why it is not possible to rest normally is a sedentary sedentary lifestyle. Working with the mind and reacting emotionally, it turns out that you are psychologically tired. And physically they moved a little, that is, they were full of strength. Go to bed and start counting sheep, unable to sleep when tired.

Here are a few tips on how you can better relax and get enough sleep:

  • Need to be on fresh air every day for at least 1 hour. Better yet, 2 hours a day. For example, Russian nobles almost without fail walked 2 hours a day. If you violate this paragraph, then everything else is useless.
  • Go to bed earlier. To fall asleep earlier at the same time, set your body to sleep a few hours in advance. One hour of sleep in the evening is equal to several hours of sleep in the morning. Isn't that why you sleep in the morning, sleep, but waking up feeling like a hangover? And even the head can ache from too much sleep in the morning.
  • Drink water as soon as you wake up, before meals and every hour. Water is needed for 3 main systems in our body: for the brain, immunity and digestion. What people call thirst is more like some kind of dehydration. We don't have the exact sensation of wanting to drink. Therefore, water should be drunk consciously, according to the regime, and not when you want to drink.
  • 8 hours of sedentary work should be offset by 1 hour of physical activity. The activity that gives you pleasure is desirable. And you also need to remember that activity should be aimed only at health, and not at the ego like bodybuilders or fitness enthusiasts, where some parts of the body or joints are overloaded.
  • Eat right with enough proteins, enzymes, spices, fiber, vegetables and fruits. If you don't have fruits and fiber in your diet, you're almost guaranteed to have mild or even severe constipation. The same goes for vegetables. The main source of fiber is bread, so our ancestors ate everything with bread.

Food should be tasty and pleasant, easy to chew. Limit sweets. If you need to lose weight, then learn to chew your food more carefully and lose weight by a maximum of 50-100 grams per week.

How to fall asleep faster and get better sleep in order to be full of energy in the morning?

On Monday, he set a record when jogging on skis: 7.7 km in 53 minutes.

The weather was great for skiing. And the skiing was very slippery.

The result exceeded all my expectations: almost 2 times faster than the day before. Almost not tired. Legs on the second day almost did not hurt. A week later, the record was broken by 3-4 minutes. And this despite the fact that I was already running 2 laps, i.e. 15.4 km. And on average, I ran 30-45 km per week.
(By the way, this is very little, the last world record in cross-country skiing is 50 km in 1 hour and 46 minutes.)

Why all this? Why run multiple times a week? Yes, because from a sedentary lifestyle and burnout - probably the most deaths happen every year. About 31.4% die from heart disease alone every year. You need to move a LOT more.

If you have read the Shaman's Laughter series by Vladimir Serkin, then in the third book the author asks him: How long will you be able to maintain life in your body? "Shaman" answered - yes, for a long time. How many people at the age of 120 would you hear this from?

I am sure that 99% of people could live up to 100-120 years.

If only they moved like this "shaman". Well, they would let go of stress, disappointment, and other negative emotions.

Everything that is comparable can be used as a run: skiing, skating, rollerblading, actively cycling, swimming, jogging. You need to run for at least 30 minutes, and preferably 1-2 hours per session, 2-4 times a week. Once a week is NOT ENOUGH to maintain a healthy heart and get enough sleep.

You need to run with pleasure and at a low heart rate. Running fast, at a high heart rate is strictly contraindicated. Running with pleasure is also a must - this is how the parasympathetic turns on, that is, you gain energy.

Jogging without pleasure, that is, in sympathy, means with a loss of energy, loads the joints, knees - jogging is extremely harmful to the knees and joints. Look at the occupational diseases of athletes who, in pursuit of records, overload their bodies. Do not rush to run a lot and quickly. You need health, not records.

You run to drive the blood through the body, to invigorate the heart, and to sleep well at night. Not for records. I have, for example, both skiing and jogging - very poor results at the moment. And I don't need any more. My friends can run 1.5-2 times faster, but their knees hurt after such runs.

An example of physical activity from my life.

Although I set a personal record, everyone overtook me again. This time they overtook - not only old people and grandmothers, but also a couple of children aged 9–11 :-). It seemed that they were moving at least 1.5–2 times faster than me. I wonder what their speed is?

It looks like I still have a huge potential for growth results. I still have a weak balance on skis, I fell 1 time when I hit clean ice from a hill. On cross-country skiing it is difficult to keep balance, and even at speed.

Skate style this time - 4.5 km managed to run. I was less tired than the previous time when I was able to run 1.5 km in skating style. Another interesting thing is that despite the fact that he moved almost 2 times faster than the calories burned, the tracker shows 27% less. How does he count them?

Yesterday I did not run - I rested. I'm going for a run again today, for an hour.

This is how my winter runs go. In the summer I run for 1-2 hours, about 8-10 km per hour. It's pretty slow, but I don't need the speed.

Perhaps someday the results will be many times better, or maybe not. For me main indicator a pleasant feeling, from jogging, how I sleep, and so that my knees do not hurt. Many times I caught myself thinking that I did not want to run, because today I would not be able to repeat my best result. This is what pursuit of results means.

You know, it's hard to work actively for 8 hours a day and at the same time set records while jogging. Then I remind myself that I run for health, and not for the result - and I go running as I can.

Good sleep is essential to eliminate fatigue and burnout.

And you won’t be able to sleep normally without walking in the fresh air and without minimal runs every other day. Someone will say that they are engaged in the gym, fitness, yoga or swinging. Or dancing for an hour a day. Believe it or not, this is not enough for the heart and health.

Yes, it's better than nothing. The heart, except for jogging, does not train anything normally. Even monks in Buddhist monasteries and yogis run for hours. You can swing and jump in the gym as much as you like, but you still need to run, in the fresh air.

If you don’t train your heart, don’t help it pump blood through your body, it means that your heart and other organs are working with a load and even overload. Which means you burn out. You may not believe me, but a sedentary lifestyle is the most energy-consuming for the body.

The processes in the body are interconnected - muscles help move blood and fluids through the body, supply cells with oxygen, cleanse the body, and move food through the digestive tract. If you move a little, it means that each organ individually works with a load. Something like this…

11. The first rule of a spy or moral exhaustion.

We were not prepared either at school or at universities for real life. We are being prepared for a life that "should be", in a good way. There is a huge gap between these two "lives". With such upbringing, the first age crisis occurs already at the age of 18–20, when people first encounter reality one on one and “suddenly” it turns out that everything is a little more complicated.

In reality, it turns out that every man is for himself. And setups, deceit, rigidity, are not only in the movies, but also in their own skin, and they are not at all as cool as in the movies. And either you cope with the tasks, or you are replaced by another and continue to live as you want, where you want.

To fulfill your dreams, you need to plow and plow. And it's not a fact that it will work. This is disheartening. By and large, burnout comes from unpreparedness for life, when the skills to cope with situations are sorely lacking. And the pressure in the form of demands and claims from all sides continues to increase.

In life, the law of the jungle applies, only in the city they are tougher. The first rule of a spy is don't get caught. Well, if you get caught - "the fool himself."

On the other hand, you can learn to cope with burnout, stress, exhaustion pretty quickly. And keeping yourself healthy is pretty easy. You just need to understand that 85% of success in society is possible due to developed social skills. And only 15% thanks to technical education and knowledge.

I recommend developing the following skills in yourself in order to make life easier and not have to overstrain.

  • Change. The world is constantly changing - you need to change with it. The ability to change is a skill. Even your body is changing. IN different ages You have different hobbies, regimen and diet. Watch your habits - remember that at some point they will become obsolete and you will need to change them for others.
  • To study. Life keeps getting more complicated, which means you need to keep learning. Yogis say that life is all learning. When I entered the university in 1991, some IT-related disciplines were so new that even the teachers did not know them and studied them together with the students. When I graduated in 1996, this knowledge was hopelessly outdated. And I had to learn something new, different. And now things are changing even faster. Read, learn, grow.
  • Communication. The ability to communicate is a skill. It doesn't fall from the sky. Humans are social beings and that means communication. You need to be able to communicate with people. From the right communication for you with people you are interested in, you can get tremendous pleasure, inspiration and satisfaction. And this means mental forces of the highest quality.
  • Building relationships. To learn how to build relationships with the opposite sex and at work, I read a couple of dozen books and went through more than a dozen trainings on each topic.

And voila - I learned how to build and maintain relationships both with women, friends, and at work.

When I got married, I took this whole pack of books, training records and gave it to my wife.

With words, if you want a long and normal relationship, you need to know all this. Read them as quickly as possible. And she read them. Everything. No questions.

  • Health. It's a skill, not a given. Rely on the doctor, but don't make a mistake yourself. 95-99% of diseases can be eliminated - in a healthy way life. In the remaining cases, let the doctors help you. But no more.
    Abroad, the waiting list for an operation can be up to one year, there is no way to speed it up with money. IN ambulance it’s better not to get there - how many articles have already been written about this. Therefore, 20% of the population goes in for sports there. And in Russia (CIS) - only 2%. Hard? As it is, that's life. Are you taking care of your health? What are you waiting for: a kick in the ass in the form of a severe illness?
  • Sales-purchases. We live in a world where everything is bought or sold for money. But at the same time, we are not taught at all - to buy and sell. I know a bunch of people who earn 2-3 times more than me, but live in worse conditions.

They can't buy and sell - a lot of money is stupidly lost to nowhere, every month. And they can't stop. They didn't buy the car. The apartment was not bought there and needs to be changed. And so several times. At home, a lot of unnecessary rubbish, in the absence of the necessary things. Clothes, groceries, home accessories - from the cannon budget for sparrows.
Moreover: sales, negotiations, persuasion, the ability to negotiate, purchases are, in fact, one and the same skill based on general principles.

Do you consider yourself more brilliant than Vincent van Gogh and Nikola Tesla?

They couldn't make a living from their talents - do you think you can if you don't learn how to sell, buy, bargain and negotiate with people?

  • Honesty. Same skill as the ability to tell the truth. If you decide to tell the truth directly, then you will be called a truth-seeker, and maybe even an impudent and rude person. And they can also knock on the head. Yes, and you will also do if someone tramples on you with such honesty.
  • Kindness. Oddly enough, also a skill. Kindness should be in moderation and in the right place. There is nothing to feed the pigs with oranges - forgive me for this harsh, but vital statement. If you are too kind, others will take advantage of you. But at the same time, obviously, being angry and dissatisfied is not an option. Although this is what many choose, unfortunately.
  • Gratitude. Probably one of the most neglected skills. What people lack the most in our time is gratitude, appreciation. Start giving thanks and giving appreciation to others and you will be surprised how much better you will be treated. You will never be able to pay for everything with money - you have to learn to be grateful not with money, but in a different way.
  • Performance. It is necessary not only to work, but to work profitably. Labor productivity is especially relevant for office workers. And even if you have not thought about it until now, now you should think about it. The competition is so high that either you have more productivity or your services are no longer needed.

Having these skills will make your life much easier. One way or another, you need to develop them. But their absence will cost a lot of gray hair and health, a waste of energy. Well, then emotional exhaustion, burnout, psychological fatigue ...

12. Sympathetic and parasympathetic body regulation systems

In order to have a good rest, you need physical activity on the body. But the fact is that not every load is suitable. Most sports are, to put it mildly, unhealthy, because they act one-sidedly on the body. Even running - almost indispensable for training the heart - is very harmful to the knees and joints. It turns out that playing sports heals something, and cripples another. Where is the exit?

And the thing is that we have 2 nervous systems for regulating the body - sympathetic and parasympathetic. But only the parasympathetic supports homeostasisthe desire of the system to reproduce itself, restore the lost balance, overcome resistance external environment. Yes, and the internal environment too.

Therefore, you should practice in the parasympathetic system, which has a powerful restorative and healing property.

Going in for sports, fitness or something else without the included parasympathetics is an unaffordable luxury - because the sympathetic nervous system does not acquire, but spends your energy. That is, you will need more strength to recover, and the recovery processes will be weaker.

The included parasympathetic is an eternal elixir of youth - if you know how to use it. Naturally, you need to learn how to work with the included parasympathetic, and be in it as much as possible during the day. Then there will be a sea of ​​​​health, work will bring joy, and there will be no stress and fatigue from it. But this, of course, is aerobatics.

It's worth trying to learn it.

13. Ways out of emotional exhaustion, professional burnout and psychological fatigue.

The general answer to this question is to change your lifestyle. If you have the opportunity to change a job that drains you emotionally, then you should change it. If you have relationships, friends, or relatives who squeeze strength and health out of you, then you should at least reconsider them. You should refuse to communicate with vampire people - you cannot help them - only "life" can help them. But they will beat your health in such a way that it will not seem a little.

Next, you should review your daily routine and make any necessary changes. If you continue the same way of life that you have been up to now, then it is useless to struggle with exhaustion and recovery. Yes, I understand not everything depends on you, but you can change a lot.

Recovery plan for one weekend.

Ask your family and friends not to interfere with you or even help you - take on some of your responsibilities. And spend the weekend like this:

  • Go to bed earlier in the evening. Let yourself sleep in the morning.
  • Drink water.
  • Morning exercises or yoga - for stretching. Any harmonious yogic complex. Perform with parasympathetic on.
  • You can have breakfast. Walk 2 hours in the fresh air.
  • Walking can be combined with a run - Jogging / skiing / or swimming - 1 hour (minimum) at the slowest pace, at a low heart rate.
  • Take a nap at lunchtime. No TV, movies, internet, smartphone. It is better to communicate with children, friends, parents.
  • Relaxation meditation - 15-30 minutes.
  • Go to bed early at 21-22 hours. Have sex before bed! (Why not?)
  • Repeat the next day.

The result will be even better if all the exercises are completed. More precisely, in the complete absence of gadgets and electric light and being outdoors. Well, or at least in the country.

Light and harmonious morning complex for stretching.

For 10 years I have been doing the simplest harmonious yoga complex Suryanamaskar of 33 movements. (Not to be confused with Suryanamaskar of 12 movements).

You need to do it at least 3 times a day. Each approach takes about 5-7 minutes and 1-2 minutes break between them. In my trainings, I tell in detail how to breathe correctly during the complex. How

The benefits of this complex can be described for hours. Deeply cleanses the body from the inside, gives energy, improves immunity, eliminates back pain, eliminates cellulite in 2-3 days, cures a lot of diseases. I talk more in my trainings. Or take a look at my website. I'll put my hands out.

Relaxation meditations.

  1. The simplest and most relaxing is the rotation of the microcosmic orbit - from 15-20 minutes.
  2. The next one is quite similar - yoga nidra, when you “roll” energy balls through the body in turn with different sensations of heat, tingling, cold. AND different color balloons.
  3. Deconcentration of attention - has more than 5 varieties.
  4. Well, the most effective meditation is memory, during it you remember your day in reverse order and let go of all the stresses of the day.

Different meditations are suitable for different occasions. There are also options for remembering performed with a partner for especially difficult emotional situations from the past, but it can only be taught at live trainings.

This should be enough for you to recuperate over the weekend. Next, you need to lead an energy-efficient lifestyle and let go of the causes of emotional fatigue, as described in the following paragraphs.

Remember that the best and fastest way to relax is don't get tired i.e. lead an energy-efficient lifestyle with elements of recuperation every day. Tired less, and have a good rest every day, otherwise there will be an accumulation of fatigue.

14. Prevention of emotional stress and professional burnout.

Health needs to be monitored every day, and not when "a rooster pecked in the ass." And they also say: “It’s too late for Gogi to drink Borjomi if there are no more kidneys.” It's better not to bring it up.

To do this, you need to create your daily routine in such a way that it includes, all necessary elements economical spending of your health and recuperation, every day.

  • Morning yoga - every working day. You can take a break on weekends.
  • Drink enough water in the morning, before meals and every hour at work.
  • Work in blocks - remember to stand up and stretch every hour.
  • Be outdoors every day for at least 1-2 hours.
  • Minimum 1 hour physical activity 3 times a week. Ideally 2-3 times a week for 2 hours.
  • After dinner, when you feel sleepy, meditate for 15-30 minutes. Or, you can even take a nap.
  • Meditate before going to bed and during the day to restore strength for 15-30 minutes.
  • Let go of emotional clamps and stuff… (in the next paragraph.)

About morning yoga

Many will say that they get up early, do not get enough sleep and go to work, so they cannot do yoga in the morning. I would say that this is self-deception and excuses. Get up half an hour earlier and do yoga every morning. It doesn't matter how early you have to get up. Go to bed half an hour earlier for this.

I know builders who started work at 5 in the morning and left the house at 4.30. In order to have time to do yoga - on my recommendation, they got up at 3 in the morning, and went to bed at 19-20 hours. This is such an unusual daily routine - but they like their work, so they adjusted to it.

30 minutes of yoga in the morning is equivalent to 1-2 hours of sleep, plus the elimination of back pain, support of the immune system and the whole body in order, which leads to the elimination of 95-99% of diseases.

Is it possible to do without running?

Only a short-term replacement like skiing, skating, rollerblading, swimming and nothing more. But still, alas, you can’t do without running completely. I looked for a replacement for a long time, but found nothing. For a sedentary lifestyle, physical activity needs to go through the legs, and be for the heart. It is the legs that we have the weakest element in the body, and not the breath. When you start running, you will feel that the legs are the weakest, and breathing quickly gets used.

You need to run ONLY at a low pulse - a meditative run with parasympathetics turned on. Run slowly, but run. Starting to run correctly, you will quickly begin to get incredible pleasure from it.

15. Constant stress is the cause of emotional exhaustion.

Resting in stress - it is almost impossible to get enough sleep. And guaranteed is the accumulation of fatigue, which sooner or later will lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout. It is stress that creates the tension that accumulates in the form of a “shell of tension”.

Let go of stress - you need to learn, additionally. It would be great if we were taught this from childhood, but alas, as it is. Few people really understand why and how stress arises, where and how it is deposited, why it arises, how to let go of stress. In our time, this knowledge is vital already.

To get started, get a notebook, which will become your diary, where you will write all your thoughts.

Stress arises from accumulated grievances, discontent, expectations, feelings of guilt, fear of shame, anger, anger, jealousy, envy, self-pity.

Yes, they create emotional burnout and exhaustion for you. It is these emotions that create heartache, especially self-pity.

  • Write down in your diary every similar situation that you can remember.
  • Start with the simplest and start letting go. Learning to let go is not easy. Then move on to more complex ones.
  • You can't confuse the moment of letting go with anything. It needs to be felt. It feels like a very deep release, relief, as if some kind of weight has been removed from the shoulders.
  • Letting go of resentment, expectations, etc. is a skill that needs to be developed.
  • First to let go 1 difficult situation it may take you several hours and even days, but then it will take 1 second. It took me 3 days for the first offense, but I immediately undertook to let go of the big one - do not make my mistake.
  • In the evening before going to bed - mentally remember the day in reverse order and let go of all emotional situations. You will see that there are more of them than you had time to notice before. But they are small.
  • As soon as all the situations from the list are over, write the next set of similar situations. Repeat the practice until you release EVERYTHING.
  • Set aside 0.5–1 hour per day for this practice.

You need to let go of such situations, and not others. You let go of resentment for yourself, not for someone else. You will be surprised how much health and strength your grievances eat up. And how much better will you feel. I guarantee you that you will have less gray hair, wrinkles and other signs of aging if you do this exercise regularly.

After releasing emotional tensions - you will sleep like a baby! If released correctly. I will cover this in more detail in a separate article. And in my trainings I teach this and give a step-by-step plan.

16. Meditation or how to get rid of deep chronic fatigue, professional burnout, emotional exhaustion.

What has accumulated over the years cannot be released by practices at the level of consciousness. Need meditation practices different kind. And also “not to get caught during the day”, that is, not to get tired, not to strain during the day - it is impossible without meditation. And also in order not to get tired during the day - you need to let go of stress, which is deep in the subconscious.

There are at least 3 "reactors" of "bioatomic" energy in your body that could feed you indefinitely, if turned on correctly. One of them you already know is the parasympathetic system.

There are 5 meditations, and 3 of them have up to 5 different ways to perform to release different fatigue, burnout, stress in different situations. To restore mental strength.

Meditation is an eternal or endless source of strength and health.

Because it brings back the powers from your past. It was there that your strength was “lost”, starting right from childhood. This meditation will also teach you how to relax during the day.

Another meditation temporarily turns off the armor of tension, which gives a powerful restorative effect to the entire body and releases fatigue.

I cannot teach you all the intricacies of meditation through an article. I also cannot describe to you in detail all the plans for letting go of various fatigue, stress, burnout. I will write a separate article about letting go of stress, but this will also not be enough to let go of the deep stress accumulated since childhood. Everything is too individual.

Such situations require individual adjustment and direction, which can only be given in training. That is why I have compiled a detailed training for fast elimination fatigue, stress, burnout, exhaustion - for different stages neglect.

There are 2 participation packages - and the simplest one - costs a penny and is affordable for everyone. However, the most expensive one is also available to everyone, with a strong desire.

How to quickly increase the amount of strength at times and return the joy of life.

After completing this training, you will increase the strength and productivity of work at times, and with it, increase your income.

I am sure that even on medicines you will save many times more than the most expensive training package.

Save your time and money. Choose the right package and let's go through it all together. If in doubt about which training package to choose, choose the simplest one. And then, if you like it, pay extra, and take the next one.

PS
If you have not read the Shaman's Laughter trilogy by Vladimir Serkin, be sure to read it. I donated 20 of these books and, on my recommendation, another 300 people bought or downloaded them on the Internet. Each time I heard only positive reviews and thanks in return for this book.

PS3
To quickly regain your strength, build an energy efficient regime and double your productivity, I recommend that you take my training -

There are several participation packages - the simplest 5 lessons. Average - 5 weeks. Full inculcation of skills, access to new level strength, health, productivity - 12 months = 1 year. Follow the link and register now. Prices are symbolic and will rise after the first flow.