ARE YOU SUFFERING FROM BURNOUT SYNDROME?
Tired,
unhappy, fed up and the week has just begun? It’s not just the zzzs — you might
have to catch up on more than sleep. You could be having a burnout — a state of
mental and physical exhaustion, caused by excessive stress. It causes a drop in
productivity, makes you feel sapped of energy and devoid of motivation. And
it’s affecting larger numbers of people as we read this, warn doctors. “Lots of
people, even young corporate folk, are suffering from burnout. With the year
end getting people to juggle festival time, home and office, we’re sitting on
an explosive situation. While it may not be new, burnout is one of the biggest
syndromes in India today,” says psychologist Dr Kanan Khatau.
HOW IT ADVERSELY AFFECTS HEALTH
Burnout, especially occupational burnout, has dire consequences and could eventually lead to blood pressure and diabetes. “Anyone can suffer from burnout and today, practically everyone is suffering from it, but we hide it,” says Dr Altamash Shaikh. “It’s a serious situation with cases on the rise. Burnout could arise from job stress, the recession, not giving time to each other in relationships, plus hormonal surges due personal conflicts. It starts with you feeling physically drained out and can cause lack of sleep, weight gain or obesity issues, increase in BP, inflammation of the thyroid, as well as a chance of heart problems.” But people look at it wrongly. He adds, “Some people even have a ‘double burnout’ and then try blaming peers and family instead of seeing the real issue.”
WE ALL NEED A BREAK
Most times, a break or a sudden French leave is also needed to simply break away from stress or routine and give time out to yourself. Adds Dr Khatau, “In our Indian scenario, there is no boundary between work and home. You are practically married to your work — when we go home, we carry the office with us and when we go the office, we carry the house with us, so there is no segregation. In the process, things spill over and we cannot cut off. The natural tendency of the mind and body — at this point — is to not want to be involved in either. A sense of saturation happens in the brain and the mind gets hanged. The only way out is to shut off.” Adds Dr Shaikh, “There are definite ways to deal with burnout. I tell patients to take a short holiday to rejuvenate themselves. Sharing a smile at work and maintaining a joyous mood so as to keep spirits up are some of the other smaller ways,” he says.
YES, YOU CAN BE HELPED
WAYS TO TACKLE BURNOUT:
Once home, remove yourself from anything associated with work, like a computer. Be aware of burnout symptoms (excessive fatigue, daily headaches and feelings like, ‘I can’t handle this anymore’).
Delegate as much as possible.
Resist taking work home.
Let your employer know you are having a burnout and explain that your productivity is dropping, then ask for a day off.
On your holiday, don’t do too many chores but relax. Go to a spa, watch TV or do whatever else you might like.
No comments:
Post a Comment