Although the concept of burnout was defined by Freudenberger in 1974, we can say that it entered our lives in the last 10 years. Freudenberger burnout is a danger to people's professional lives; It is defined as a situation that causes wear and tear, failure, lack of strength and energy in the person, resulting from failure to meet desires and overload. The concept was later defined by Maslach and Jackson as a syndrome that includes conditions such as chronic fatigue, helplessness, hopelessness, physical exhaustion, negative self-perception, negative attitudes towards the profession and life in general, and withdrawal from work. They emphasized that burnout is not seen as all or nothing in people, and that its different dimensions can change at different levels. Accordingly, burnout has three different dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment.
Emotional exhaustion is described as the general dimension of burnout. It manifests itself with physical fatigue and mental wear and tear resulting from the inability to cope with the intensity of demands, especially in people working in professions where human relations are predominant. The negative and intense working conditions put pressure on the person. Excessive organizational expectations and the social role conflict experienced by the person create the feeling of depletion of internal resources. In this respect, the concept of emotional exhaustion is the internal element of burnout in general. A person experiencing emotional exhaustion cannot cope with the stressors created by working conditions and feels a loss of strength. He becomes unable to feed himself psychologically. It is stated that these people are prone to depression, substance addiction and somatization.
Depersonalization refers to the negativities experienced by the person in the relationships that need to be maintained in the work environment. The person experiencing depersonalization objectifies the people he encounters as part of his job and with whom he is obliged to communicate, or sees people as mere numbers. Indifference, insensitivity and emotionless behavior are dominant in the relationships established in the work environment. Ashforth and Lee suggested that this was a form of defence. Why one builds business relationships this way They stated that this is because the person avoids unwanted demands and wants to ward off possible threats. In this case, depersonalization can be seen as a defense to escape burnout. But it is a dimension of burnout in itself.
Finally, personal success can be seen as the last link in the stress and coping/inability sequence of burnout. The concept related to a person's self-efficacy generally refers to the person's perception of himself as successful or unsuccessful. Accordingly, a person who sees himself as unsuccessful will have a feeling of inadequacy and will begin to look at himself cynically. A person who sees himself as successful will feel competence and motivation in his profession and in his life in general. While competence and motivation give the person the feeling that he is in control of what is happening in his life, the opposite situation will push the person into despair, pessimism and depression. Therefore, whether a person sees himself as successful or not is very important in terms of burnout.
So what are the symptoms of burnout? When should you consult a specialist? People experiencing burnout are often unaware of the situation at first. If the symptoms of burnout are considered in three different ways: physical, emotional and behavioral, the first period symptoms are usually emotional symptoms. These are symptoms such as chronic anger, outbursts of rage, hopelessness and helplessness, feeling frustrated and lonely. After the first emotional symptoms, other symptoms that occur in the person may increase over time or new symptoms may be added.
Physical symptoms include chronic fatigue and feeling exhausted, insomnia, increased heart rhythm, breathing difficulties, weight loss, headache and other pains, numbness. feeling, chronic cold, increased cholesterol and skin rashes. These symptoms are, in a sense, psychosomatic symptoms. Physical symptoms of burnout are the most common group of symptoms seen in people.
Emotional symptoms of burnout are chronic anger, rage, hopelessness and helplessness, problems in close relationships, depressed mood, internal distress, disappointment, alienation from oneself and one's life, decreased self-confidence, anxiety, apathy, impatience, feeling of worthlessness and irritability.
Finally, some symptoms occur as a result of the burnout situation being reflected in the person's behavior. Behavioral symptoms of burnout include outbursts of anger, not wanting to go to work or not going to work, going to work late, trying to extend breaks or lunch breaks at work, substance use and substance abuse, crying easily, withdrawing from social relationships, isolation, difficulties in concentrating, sarcasm in relationships. or acting suspiciously, trusting people easily and too much or not trusting them at all, feeling dissatisfied and dissatisfied as a result of being alienated from work, decreasing performance, not trying to solve problems, deteriorating nutrition patterns, experiencing adaptation difficulties and even an increase in accidents and injuries.
If you or those around you have symptoms like these, it is recommended that you consult a specialist and direct your environment.
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