3 main symptoms of burnout. How to identify them?
When we think about the main symptoms of burnout, we tend to assume that it refers to people who are overworked and exhausted. However, exhaustion has more nuances than that.
In 2019, the World Health Organization classified it as a syndrome resulting from chronic work stress that is not successfully managed.
To identify it, we must know that burnout is characterized by three main symptoms:
- Feelings of exhaustion or energy depletion
- Negativity or cynicism related to their work
- Reduced professional effectiveness
As we can see, regardless of the root cause, exhaustion usually presents itself in a combination of internal and external signs.
Internal symptoms include emotional exhaustion, cynicism, detachment from work and personal life, feeling ineffective in one's role, and being exhausted even before the workday begins.
As part of this, there is a general pessimism and loss of motivation.
The external symptoms of burnout include physical exhaustion and pain, insomnia, a weakened immune system, and may also include increased drug and alcohol use as a form of escape and a drastic change in appetite.
Sometimes, there are also problems with memory, concentration, and increased irritability.
