First, let’s define burnout. Burnout is a state of serious or chronic stress in which such an individual is consumed with feelings of lack of accomplishment, ineffectiveness as well as physical and emotional exhaustion. The dangerous thing about burnout is that it grows like cancer rather than just appearing suddenly and of course, our body gives us warning signs but because we just want to achieve a lot almost at the same time, we ignore the signs thus allowing it to creep up on us until we reach ‘breaking point’. Burnout is simply a higher form of stress or an accumulation of stress over a long period of time. Let’s now examine some of the signs and symptoms:
• Insomnia-as a healthcare professional suffering from burnout, you might find yourself having trouble sleeping despite being exhausted from work; while it may be irregular at first, it soon becomes a constant as time goes on.
• Difficulty in concentration- concentrating and focusing on the task at hand might become a problem such that completing a simple task like maybe checking on a patient to see if he or she has used her drugs might suddenly turn into a big deal.
• Chronic fatigue- you find yourself feeling tired for no reason, there’s lack of energy thus leaving you with little or no motivation to work. Or maybe you find yourself feeling depleted, listless or drained, then watch out, that’s burnout on the horizon.
• Loss of appetite- you may find yourself skipping meals due to lack of appetite which may not be recognized early enough but as time goes on, you are find it difficult to eat and are consequently losing weight.
• Anxiety- worry and tension may start creeping into your ‘game’ and for some reason, you can’t just place your finger on it; well it’s for no other reason than burnout creeping in.
• Sudden irritability- due to the build-up of tension, such individuals become irritated at the slightest mistake or dirt resulting in angry outbursts and raising of voice even when it is not warranted.
• Physical symptoms- a healthcare professional heading towards burnout may suffer from dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pain, fainting and such signs should not be taken for granted.