MHM Magazine

Issue 5 | 2024 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 27 MHM With the year rapidly drawing to a close, burnout is an increasingly important topic to understand and address. There is often a misconception that burnout is simply a state of extreme tiredness or exhaustion and that by merely taking some ‘time out’, everything will be fine. However, burnout is much more than that. Burnout is a chronic condition characterised by physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. Mentally and emotionally, the sufferer feels an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and pessimism, coupled with a lack of motivation to engage in their usual activities. You feel drained and constantly unable to meet the demands of life, whether at home or professionally. Burnout is very different from stress, although the two are often conflated. Many people, including general practitioners and psychiatrists, often hear, ‘It’s just stress’. But burnout is not stress. When we feel stressed, it’s usually due to an identifiable event or the demands of work or home life that we feel unable to meet. However, with stress, once we regain a sense of control and organisation, the feeling of stress usually subsides. Burnout, on the other hand, is far more chronic and deeper than tiredness, stress, or a sense of exhaustion. There’s no definitive timeline for burnout—no clear point at which it can be pinpointed as a problem. Burnout creeps up on you gradually until you find yourself fully immersed in its symptoms. Red flags for burnout include: • Feeling tired despite having had a good night’s sleep • A lack of drive or passion • Loss of interest in life • Reduced accomplishment • Pain in the neck and shoulders • Back pain • Gastric discomfort It’s crucial to take action once these symptoms are recognised. The first step is knowing your normal state, identifying the physical, mental, and emotional signs within yourself. But what This article is based on a webinar by Dr Anita Padmanabhanunni, Professor at University of the Western Cape, Registered Counselling Psychologist UNDERSTANDING AND OVERCOMING BURNOUT: STRATEGIES FOR RESILIENCE AND RECOVERY MHM | 2024 | Volume 11 | Issue 5 | Understanding and Overcoming Burnout: Strategies for Resilience and Recovery MHM