What is burn-out? E-mail

 

 

   

If you use more resources and energy than you have,

 your physical resources and energy level will decline.

If this last over long enough time, without any rest and relaxation for recovery, the available resources and energy will reduce so much that you become burned out.

      

   

Symptoms

You don’t get burned out over night. The symptoms come usually very gradual – both in extent and intensity. Most people experience that they loose more and more control, and they feel they can’t do anything about the situation. Usually as a person starts getting burned out, they become less social, apathetic (or hyper active) and more negative. People also experience increased mental and physical fatigue and increased physical tension and pain. At work they will have lower motivation, diminishing concentration and poor work performance both in quality and quantity. People that are suffering from burn-out become ill more easily with flu, cold, inflammation of the throat/ear and so on.

   

Factors that lead to burn-out

Work is usually the main cause of burn-out, but other factors in life can also contribute: personal characteristics, health, family, friends and leisure. It is the total strain in life that defines how much resources and energy one spends.

      

How long does it take to get burned out?

The time it takes to empty the resources and energy so much that you get burned out depends on how big the gap is between the energy you use and the energy you possess. As the graph at the bottom shows, the quickest way to get burned out is with a big gap. A small gap can also lead to burn-out if it lasts long enough without time for recuperation.

       

Convalescence

If you are burned out, it will take at least a half year with more or less 100 % sick leave to recover. Usually it takes a couple of years. If you start working too soon, you will have less amount of resources and energy to spend and your body is extra vulnerable to strain. You can therefore easier become burned out again, and it’s more likely that this burn-out will be more severe than the former one.

      

Next ( What can you do? ) >

 

Download the e-book about burnout

 

The e-book contain information about:
- Introduction to burn-out
- What is burn-out?
- Treatment of burn-out
- What you can do to get better from burn-out
- Prevention of burn-out in companies

 

The e-book costs 8 USD (about the same as 5.14 GPB, 8.15 CAD, 8.30 AUD, 10.72 NZD, 6.09 EUR)