VN May 2022

Vetnuus | May 2022 32 I hope this article finds you and your families well and safe!!! Last month we started learning about what“Burnout”is. It is vitally important that we do not confuse conventional stress with burnout. Stress is often associated with having too much on your plate — too much work, too many responsibilities, etc. Burnout, however, is very different and is not related to your to-do list but more closely entwined with your feelings about what you have to do. You typically feel like you don’t have enough motivation /energy, or you simply cannot bring yourself to care enough about what it is that you need to be doing daily. Furthermore, you may be at a higher risk of burnout if you have poor self-esteem, unrealistic expectations in the workplace or aren’t comfortable coping with stressors. You may also experience burnout at a higher rate if your job requires a heavy workload, is understaffed, has conflicts in the workplace or doesn’t reward work when a job is well done. Similarly, we should not misinterpret depression for burnout either . Certain depression-related symptoms can masquerade as burnout, such as exhaustion and difficulty performing tasks. In most cases, burnout is work-related and doesn’t affect your day-to-day life. Depression, on the other hand, impacts every aspect of your life with persistent feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness or helplessness (https://integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2021/november/what-are-the-5-stages-of-burnout ). Last month we looked at potential symptoms of burnout; allow me to investigate some of these further and put them within a 3-stage progression model: Stage 1 - Initial Stress Response: Physiological symptoms (stomach problems, insomnia, headaches, heart palpitations, high blood pressure) Psychological symptoms (crying, irritability, forgetfulness, and inability to concentrate). Stage 2 - Compensation Response: We attempt to compensate and adapt. When that fails, we then start manifesting the following symptoms: procrastination, excessive lateness, persistent fatigue, social withdrawal from family and friends and apathy. Stage 3 - Exhaustion : We finally admit that something may be wrong Chronic symptoms include sadness or depression, stomach or bowel problems, mental and/or physical fatigue, headaches, thoughts of suicide, and withdrawal from people and events that used to bring pleasure and fulfilment. Furthermore, I would like to share some common expressions that people experiencing burnout may be using and which may help us identify them. The tricky part about these expressions is that they don’t provide us with an unequivocal identification of the which stage the person may be within, but coupling these expressions together with careful observation of behaviour and/or asking questions about the physical condition of the person may be more rewarding: • “If I don’t do it, it will never get done.” • “Nobody cares as much as I do.” • “I am the only one who knows how to do it.” • “I’m the only one who can take care of this.” Influential Life Coaching IDENTIFYING BURNOUT: PART 2 Dr Mats Abatzidis B.Sc. B.V.Sc. New Insights Certified VIP Life Coach mats.abatzidis@yahoo.co.za Founder of Influential Life Coaching http://www.matsaba.wix.com/drmatscoach Author of the published book“Life outside your comfort zone. Better and beyond all expectations”. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref =nb_sb_noss?url=search- alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Abatzidis http://www.life-coach-directory.co.za/mats-abatzidis >>> 33