The syndrome of emotional burnout among social workers is quite common, unfortunately, not all are taking the necessary measures to prevent or treat it. Even more surprising is that many social workers do not even know what it is and symptoms of emotional burnout syndrome are attributed to usual fatigue.
Burnout syndrome can occur as a result of a constant and long-term interaction with a large number of people, when there is a need to show different emotions, sometimes mismatching the internal emotional state. There are situations when a person brings his needs for a service sacrifice, almost completely forgets about himself and his family. It is not right. Raboah must remain a work. After the working day, you need to relax as much as possible, and for this you need to devote time to your family or to communicate with your friends.
Thus, the first sign of burnout syndrome appears - mental exhaustion. His symptoms do not go away completely after rest and night sleep and quickly return again in the working environment. A person can not relax during the day. And at night, going to bed, his day problems can not leave him in peace. This provokes insomnia. If a person can still fall asleep, then such a night sleep brings little benefit, since it is shallow. Consequently, the body does not restore the forces spent by the day.
The second sign is personal detachment or apathy. This is expressed in the disappearance of any interest in events in personal and, even more so, professional life. People who have to communicate at work start to get annoyed and are perceived as inanimate objects. In this case, a person begins to get angry at everyone without any reason, to enter into conflicts, inadequately to behave with people.
The third sign is a decrease in self-esteem. The work seems inconclusive and meaningless. It no longer brings satisfaction. The sense of purpose disappears, the desire to achieve more, to make a career. There is an ideological vacuum, all problems are solved formally; Creativity gives way to a formal approach. A person considers himself worthless. During this period a person becomes hypochondriac and sensitive to others. It closes in itself. The circle of interests is limited only to work.
More often the burnout syndrome arises among those employees who are responsibly approaching their duties, invest a lot in their work and are more focused on the labor process itself, rather than on the results. For their work, they pay emotional burnout. But you can cope with this problem if you follow some advice.
How can you help yourself in such a difficult situation?
Psychologists give the following recommendations:
1. Define short-term and long-term goals. It is well known that the separation of a long path into several short segments helps to maintain the motivation and achieve the final result. Only such goals should be clearly formulated, realistically achievable within a certain time frame.
2. Professional development and self-development. They give an opportunity to take a fresh look at work and personal life. Everything new changes life for the better. It's never too late to learn and develop, it will only go for good.
3. Use breaks when possible. For example, the weekend and vacation should be used for personal needs, and not in the service interests. Every free minute should be devoted to rest: passive and active. It is necessary to walk more, it is useful to be engaged in any kind of sports or to master several methods of relaxation - all this simultaneously will revitalize the organism and distract from work duties.
4. Communication with close people. Rest should be used to communicate with your family and friends. Sometimes, however, it's better to spend some time alone to relax from people. Do not forget about your friends. Surely, they are only waiting for you when you ask them to sit in a cafe or have a picnic. Pleasant communication has a beneficial effect on the psyche.
5. A full-time sleep of at least 8 hours a day. In order to sleep well and soundly, drink warm milk with honey, or take a walk.
6. High physical activity. The physical load "burns" negative emotions.
7. Relaxation skills. Will help to restore strength sooner.
8. A full sex life. It is a good source of positive emotions. As well as communication with his second half. Family troubles only aggravate the course of emotional stress.
9. Hobbies and hobbies. Help to distract from any problems, make life interesting and more meaningful. With the help of a hobby or a loved one, a person realizes himself, this increases his self-confidence and self-reliance.
10. Refusal to abuse alcohol and high-calorie food. It is useless to "wash down" and "seize" negative emotions. Nothing so badly harms our body as bad habits.
The above recommendations can be successfully applied to prevent the occurrence of burnout syndrome.
Of course, there are cases when all this does not help, and the symptoms of emotional "burnout" only increase with time. This is an occasion to consult a specialist. And it may very well happen that this type of labor activity will be contra-indicated to you, as inappropriate to your personal characteristics.
Be healthy and take care of your nervous system!