Chronic stress over a period of time may make you feel totally helpless and unable to cope up with demands of life. This can cause burnout. When in a job, you feel that you are overburdened, and under appreciated, that the demands of the job are increasing and despite all your efforts you are not able to manage the work and get blames for not performing, stress becomes chronic and one loses interest in work and many other activities in life. This is burn out. Absolute helplessness is experienced during burn out and one finds that one can simply not continue.
Burn out can not only cause mental problems such as depression but also affect you physically. Body slowly gives in under the stress and this creates a vicious circle. What can be done if you are facing burn out? First of all, one must know that one is facing burn out. Constant irritation, depression, feelings of helplessness etc. can give a hint to what is happening. Along with that body may give signs such as headache, fatigue etc. Consult a medical professional about your body symptoms and discuss about burn out. once you know that you are facing burn out, it become easier to fight it.
The first need is to preserve yourself. If the job demand does not reduce, talk to your superiors about that. Reduce work load and redesign goals so that stress reduces. Begin socializing more and relax as much as possible. Begin going in natural surroundings and talk with friends and colleagues about your situation. Their togetherness in this condition will be vital to fight burn out.
Sometimes, we find it difficult to say no, and keep taking more responsibilities because we don’t want to make any body feel bad. In the process, we develop frustration and despite all our effort are not able to satisfy anyone. This causes more irritation and stress, and ultimately one begins feeling hopeless about everything. Unappreciated and misunderstood. If you are such a kind of person, watch for the signs of burn out carefully.