“Burnout is your choice”: an unusual way to cope with constant fatigue

How to recognize burnout?

Burnout is a psychological condition in which work (or any other activity) ceases to bring satisfaction to a person. You experience constant fatigue, nervousness, which can reach a complete disgust for the once beloved business.

The first natural reaction to such a state is to look for the causes of fatigue and irritation. Often we see them in the outside world – for example, in the behavior of negligent team members, an angry and incompetent boss.

In consciousness, there is a stable connection between the events that occur in our lives and the reactions that we experience. For example, if an event caused a negative reaction, we begin to consider this event as negative.

However, it is important to remember that there is no direct connection between an event and our reaction, but there is an important element that must be taken into account – our perception of this event. It is based on our perception that we choose a specific response.

A familiar situation on the road will serve as a good illustration: at a traffic light, one motorist accelerated, the other, on the contrary, slowed down, and a collision occurred. After the accident, two people argue, each of them blames the other – broadcasts his perception of the situation to him.

It’s all about our perception

And now let’s try to look at the so-called “burnout” state through the prism of perception. Let’s imagine a person talking about his work: “Yes, sometimes, when I come after work in the evening, I feel tired. Sometimes I think about wanting to change jobs or careers. Sometimes I don’t get enough sleep and overwork. But then, having switched, rested, I feel good again. ”

In fact, this is a description of how a person experiences burnout and how he copes with it. There are two types of worldview: objective and subjective. In the first case, a person perceives himself as an object of influence of external factors, and in the second case, as a subject.

With a subjective view of the world, burnout as a phenomenon simply does not exist for a person, he does not feel like a weak-willed victim in relation to the state of fatigue and exhaustion and takes a position of responsibility for his life. And in situations when he begins to lose working tension, he takes a break and restores strength.

Emotional perception

It is undeniable that there are professions that require increased emotional involvement. However, the universal perception formula given above is suitable for workers in all fields. Volunteers in hospices, doctors in the red zone can also choose how to perceive their lives. Some may mistakenly interpret this as advice to be unemotional.

Emotional involvement is an effective element of work. But the idea that this job destroys you is counter-effective. Sometimes people understand that they need to change their perception, but replace this concept with the term “reaction”.

For example: “I need to learn how to react differently. I want to deal with my reactions (I’m short-tempered, I get angry often).” In order to respond differently, you first need to learn how to manage your perception. The path to this lies through awareness of the familiar context and the creation of the unusual.

physical perception

What can be said about physical fatigue? At first glance, it seems that there is no time for perception. If you constantly feel tired, especially when you return after rest, holidays, days off to work, you need to analyze: how exactly do you rest from physical fatigue?

It is important to rest consciously, analyzing the consequences of your choice. Often, our habitual ways of relaxing further burden us emotionally. Negativity and stress are perceived by many as an inevitable part of life.

If you think that the tension in our life exists outside of you, you again take the position of an object in relation to your own life. If you choose not to strain, this is the position of managing your life.

Hans Selye, the creator of the modern theory of stress, studied the effect of this condition on life expectancy using three control groups of rats. The longest lived were those who had alternating stress with calm periods. Less – groups where there was no stress at all or it was always present, but in a small amount.

Based on these experiments, Hans Selye concluded that short-term stress is necessary for a living being to maintain the protective functions of the body and longevity. The problem is that we do not know how to deal with stressful experiences, to switch.

Stress can only be accepted and experienced. An attempt to resist stress, to cope with it, is initially ineffective.

There are too many events in life that we do not and cannot influence. Figuratively speaking, trying to stop a tsunami is unwise. Another effective approach is to identify a zone of influence and a zone of excitement in your life.

There are a certain number of events that we influence, and those that we cannot influence. When a person becomes aware of these zones, one should ask oneself the question: “Where is something that I do not influence that got into my zone of excitement?”.

If it is not in the zone of influence, it is pointless to worry about this. Laconically, it would sound like this: “Consciously worry about what you are influencing.”

Thus, the only way to change something in the current situation at work or in your internal state is to change your attitude. Changing your perception will always require you to make some effort on yourself, but remember: unusual does not mean impossible.