Emotional burnout - advice from a psychologist

First, irritability and aggression set in with burnout, followed by apathy, indifference, headaches, and a desire to sleep all the time.

Since our country is a place of incessant crises and rush jobs, this term can be applied to the entire working population. Having set ourselves the goal of "killing ourselves" at work in order to become "faster, higher, stronger," we sometimes fall short of victory and fall off our feet from fatigue. Or we make it and fall later.

Reality is what it is. All of us, working people, are involved in the production process. And we work and make it - some until vacation, some until retirement, some until death. Having made it to vacation once, I decided to study this issue in more detail and help myself first of all. I want to live! I am happy to share this experience - there are plenty of people in need.

Saving the Drowning: 3 Options

Firstly, you don't have to do anything special: the body will save itself. Something will get sick or break, a leg or an arm, - and here you are on a legal sick leave. You sleep, eat up and, having recovered a little, you are again eager to fight to do better, jump higher, earn more... Until the next sick leave.

The second option: change the job where you are burning out and find a quieter and calmer place.

And the third, fairy-tale option: change yourself, while staying in the same workplace. It suited me best of all, because I love my job very much.

The famous psychotherapist Oleg Starostin, explaining to me the problem of emotional burnout, cited a formula from physics: U = I * R

That is, the voltage in the network is equal to the current multiplied by the resistance. The key word here is resistance. At work, we do what we resist, what we don’t want to do. But we do it - what else can we do? And we burn out.

Psychological test: what I want and what I can

To study this issue, I offer a written work, which also helped me understand the situation. So, let's write:

1. "I don't want to and can't do..." - write honestly to yourself what you don't want and can't do anymore at work, in relationships, at home.
2. "I don't want to, but I can do..."
3. "I want to, but I can't..."
4. "I want and can..." - this last phrase is where the light at the end of the tunnel appears.

It turns out that there are things at work, at home, in relationships that you like and can do. Write down as many of your I want and I don't want as possible - no one but you will know your secrets. And you will get to know yourself better. And over time, your I want to do will outnumber the "I don't want to". Checked!

• Next, we look at the formula for the current strength - this is about our working hours. Write down honestly how many hours a day you would like to work (I understand that you have loans, debts, a plan, and therefore three jobs, two rates, etc.). Just write this number. For yourself.
• Now let's move on to voltage. When the voltage in the network goes off the scale, we see this in the light bulb - it begins to burn brightly, but not for long, and soon burns out completely. We then throw it away.

An overstrained body also "burns out", but does not always die immediately, it suffers for a long time. There is even an expression: "A person burned out at work." It is clear that I am not talking about a firefighter, but about a heart attack.

I know that immediately reducing the number of working hours, as well as doing only what you want, is from the realm of fantasy. But there is hope: it is possible to relieve stress.

Relieving stress from the physical body

When I worked on the "anti-stress" program in one of the sanatoriums, men told me three ironclad ways to relieve stress: alcohol, sauna, sex. However, for some reason they still ended up there with cardiovascular pathology. So, these are not all the ways.

I am already giving a three-hour lecture on the prevention of emotional burnout, but I can briefly note several important points.

1. Water is, first of all, good for the body: drinking, and a shower after work, and a steam room, and swimming in any form, as much as possible.
2. Daily routine. "Early to bed, early to rise, you will not know grief and ailments." You need to go to bed at 10 p.m. The brain rests from this time until 2 a.m. If you don't give your brain a rest, blame yourself!
3. The pancreas goes to sleep at 8 p.m. Everything you throw into your stomach later will stay with you forever.
4. Nutrition. Add salads, greens, fruits, and seeds to your diet. Raw food contains a lot of energy and nutrients. By the way, the World Health Organization has announced that fried meat is the cause of cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
5. At least a little bit of sport. The body needs alternating tension and relaxation. Walking, yoga, swimming pool, massage.

The body has sense organs. For your eyes, choose beauty, for your ears - silence and your favorite music, be in nature, surround yourself with pleasant smells, savor delicious food, touch pleasant surfaces, hug your loved ones more often.

One of the nurses who has been working at our hospice for 25 years, when I asked her how she manages not to burn out, answered: "In the morning - a bathhouse, in the evening - a philharmonic!"

The body and emotions are closely connected. Look for positive emotions. Think well of the people around you. Say good words to them. Do good deeds. Be grateful for everything you have and don't have.

The meaning of smiling

Mother Teresa, who dedicated her entire life to caring for lepers, was kind to the very end. Once, answering a question about the most important thing in life, she said: “If you are in a bad mood because you were offended or you received bad news, use the power of a smile. Even if no one sees you, try to smile to show yourself that you are above all difficulties. Think that you are invulnerable, immortal, eternal. Give yourself a smile, as you do sometimes when passing by a mirror. Even if your smile is a little forced, this is already the beginning of improvement.

As soon as you smile, you will feel in a better mood. And in a good mood it will be easier for you to solve all your problems.

You can’t imagine how much good an ordinary smile can give you and the people around you. God helps those who meet all troubles and sorrows not with whining and complaints, but with joy and a smile. When life hits you again, tell yourself, "It could have been much worse," and smile.

Smile at each other, find time for your loved ones. Smile!"

It should be noted that Mother Teresa was a believer, she did everything for God, because she sincerely loved the Creator and saw a part of him in every person. She had two saris, one pair of sandals and a Bible. Serving other people became a source of happiness for her. For what and for whom are you "burning" at work? This is also a question just for reflection...