Psychologist and psychotherapist specialising in burnout in Brussels.
What is burnout ?
Burnout is a complex syndrome; it is still relatively little known and is often confused with depression.
It can indeed resemble depression in the sense that it too is a form of collapse. It is beyond dispute that depression is part of burnout; the reverse, however, is not necessarily true.
Burnout is described as the syndrome of professional exhaustion. The term “burnout” refers to the feeling of being consumed from within, like a candle that finally goes out after burning for long hours.
This metaphor is telling, because burnout is a process that generally begins well before the individual’s resources are exhausted. It is a gradual process whose source lies in stress; it is indeed a prolonged exposure to stress.
Initially, burnout is a psychological disorder resulting from chronic stress which most often develops in a work context. Finding themselves in frustrating and demotivating working conditions, the individual seeks to turn the situation around by investing more and more of themselves. This vicious circle leads the individual to the depletion of all their resources and to a total exhaustion which most often results in sick leave.
Shall we talk about it?
I am a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in Brussels, specialising in burnout.
The origins of burnout
It is to Herbert Freudenberger (1926-1989), professor of psychology at New York University, that we owe the first detailed description of burnout : “People, like buildings, are sometimes the victims of fire. Under the strain of living in our complex world, their inner resources come to be consumed as if by the action of flames, leaving nothing but an immense emptiness inside, even if the outer shell seems more or less intact“.
Following his observations, he went on to develop his own definition of burnout : “A state of fatigue, frustration and depression brought about by devotion to a cause, a way of life or a relationship that fails to produce the hoped-for results”.
This definition is particularly telling, because it introduces the founding components of burnout, which are : physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion (depression), and over-investment or devotion to a cause.
And this devotion does not have the expected effects: the return on investment being very meagre, the individual is plunged into endless distress.
A more motivational definition of burnout then emerged with Ayala Pines in 1988. Pines describes the fundamental need of individuals to give meaning to their lives, which they very often find through their professional activity. If, however, the individual feels that their activity no longer has meaning, the immense energy invested from the outset will gradually burn itself out, leading to an exhaustion proportionate to the initial investment. It will be characterised by : “physical exhaustion, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, emotional depletion, the development of a negative self-concept, and negative attitudes towards work, life and other people”.
Pines was the first to extend the notion of burnout to spheres other than work; she notably wrote a book on couple burnout.
The symptoms of burnout
Burnout can have serious psychological, physical and emotional consequences. It begins with an over-investment in the professional sphere to the detriment of other areas of life.
There follows a long period of struggle in which the individual seeks to overcome adverse circumstances by every possible means, to the detriment of their psychological and physical health, until burnout proper, marking the final stage of the process, which is divided into 5 distinct parts :
- The onset of exhaustion and the first symptoms
- Reduced engagement and performance at work
- Deterioration of general condition
- Physical reactions to stress
- Depression and hopelessness.
More generally, the characteristic symptoms of burnout are :
- A loss of motivation at work spreading to other areas of life ;
- A form of existential crisis characterised by feelings of sadness, weariness and hopelessness ;
- Excessive and chronic fatigue that seems insurmountable ;
- Generalised anxiety ;
- Hypervigilance and hypersensitivity ;
- Excessive reactions (sudden fits of crying or anger) ;
- Withdrawal into oneself ;
- A loss of self-esteem ;
- Physical pain (muscular tension, headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance) ;
- Addictive behaviours (tobacco, alcohol, drugs, eating disorders).
The causes of burnout
Several scenarios are possible, and very often these factors combine.
An excessive workload :
A workload that is too heavy and never seems to decrease, and which forces the person to work longer hours, to come home late and to cut down on sleep, increases stress, anxiety and the feeling of being caught in an endless race.
A lack of autonomy and decision-making latitude
Very often, the working environments that encourage burnout are opaque and constraining environments, where managers want to control everything and allow employees little or no scope to make decisions. There follows a feeling of suffocation, a fear of doing things badly and a lack of confidence in one’s own abilities.
A lack of recognition
In this type of environment, employees are not congratulated on their work and initiative is discouraged. This is part of the control strategy put in place: by fostering a climate of uncertainty, individuals feel perpetually at risk regarding their position in the company and work permanently under pressure.
A lack of social support
In constraining work environments, the “divide and rule” strategy is often the norm. Management maintains a climate of competition between employees, but also often a climate of generalised mistrust by turning employees against one another. Everyone feels alone in their frantic race, with the added feeling that others are out to harm them.
Harassment
It is expressed through a whole series of attitudes and behaviours characterised by humiliation, hostility or intimidation within a hierarchical relationship. The person endures this harassment over time because they fear for their job.
Personal factors.
There is an asymmetry between the investment made and the results obtained, and an immense loss of meaning follows from this realisation.
It is rather as though the individual had staked their entire sense of identity on a single cause, no doubt neglecting the other areas of their life.
Shall we talk about it?
I am a clinical psychologist and psychotherapist in Brussels, specialising in burnout.
What drives an individual to exhaust themselves to this extent ?
Burnout can sometimes be the expression of a pre-existing fragility in the individual, which will express itself through an over-investment in one area of their life to the detriment of the others, an area in which they hope to find a recognition that will give meaning to their existence.
Burnout can bring into play a flaw in self-esteem, inherited from the past, leading an individual to have to prove their worth, at the expense of their own life.
How can one come out of burnout ?
It is important to consult a psychologist-psychotherapist in Brussels as soon as you become aware of the first symptoms.
Burnout prompts you to reconsider your life. It generally expresses itself through an identity crisis in which you feel you have lost yourself. It prompts you to reconsider your position in relation to the world, because it shakes up previously established certainties and points of reference.
It often prompts a wholesale re-examination ; a review of one’s life choices and priorities.
It calls into question basic choices (is this the right career for me?), the place of work in one’s life, one’s relationship with the hierarchy but also with other people (colleagues, family).
As it brings about a total collapse of oneself and of one’s resources, it also invites reflection on one’s own limits. Why did I not put a stop to this situation earlier? What drove me to carry on to the point of exhaustion? Very often the answers are found by piecing together the thread of one’s own history.
If this reflection is carried out properly, it can genuinely bring about a saving renewal and make it possible to build a more fulfilling life, by revisiting certain choices, rebalancing one’s priorities and reassessing the place of others and of family in one’s life.
But also finding, or refinding, a connection with oneself, and taking care of oneself.
You have to learn to take the time to do things that do you good (sport, yoga, dance) and that you enjoy (walks, friends, and so on), and to know how to say no without feeling guilty.
You also have to identify the people who generate energy and to move away from the others.
It is also important to understand that the meaning of life is not to be found in one sphere of your life to the exclusion of all others, but on the contrary in plurality.
It is often through a fair distribution of your energy across different areas that life feels more harmonious. You then try, as accurately as possible, to find a balance between the time given to yourself, to others and to your own aspirations.