Emotional burnout creeps up, as a rule, imperceptibly. At first, you feel the usual tiredness in the evenings. It would seem to be no big deal: get a good night's sleep and go to work with renewed vigor. However, little by little, you feel more tired, you do not want to go out with friends, and any hobbies and activities tire you out. Sleeping no longer saves you, because you simply cannot fall asleep.

If you are familiar with the syndromes described above, we can congratulate you (or rather, sympathize with you), you have earned yourself an emotional burnout syndrome, the scourge of the 21st century and one of the worst mental disorders of a professional worker.

Not so long ago, the World Health Organization acknowledged burnout as an official disease, which means that you can and should fight it. In this article, we will consider how to avoid a situation when you feel sick at work, and what to do if you cannot avoid it.

It was nice while it lasted

Unfortunately, those professionals who love what they do are the prime candidates for burnout. They love what they do so much that they are willing to work from morning till night, 7 days a week. They are afraid of missing something important and are convinced that total control of the situation will solve the problem. These people are so deep into achievement and productivity that, over time, they forget even basic human needs, like eating or sleeping. People around them begin to notice strange changes in the person's behavior and try to tell him or her about it, but in vain — at the first stages, the only authority and motivator of a "burnt out" person is work. According to the theory of the German psychologist Dr. Matthias Burisch, this is the first phase of emotional burnout — the warning phase. If you realize that you are in this phase, you are lucky, because the worst can still be avoided. Your main task now is to understand that there are no irreplaceable people and that your work activity at 3 a.m. will not save the world. It's better to focus on yourself, your needs, and interests. Get more rest, exercise, travel. After all, learn to say "no" to anything that takes away your well-earned rest.

You never know what happens next

One day of your productive life, you wake up and realize something is wrong — either the tasks have become tedious, or the project is uninteresting, or your colleagues are annoying, or something else.

The apathy and confusion grow with incredible speed; you begin to break discipline at work; you lose concentration; you are late; you miss deadlines; you are rude to your colleagues. On top of all that, there is anxiety — you don't understand why you're no longer happy about something that you were really enjoying yesterday. Such syndromes cover two phases at once — reduction of own participation and destructive behavior. Having found yourself here, gather all your willpower and try to climb out of the clutches of burnout. You are unlikely to save yourself with an ordinary vacation, so you’ll need to work with a psychologist. A good specialist will help you find a way out of a difficult situation and get to the bottom of the reasons for your unhealthy productivity.

It’s real serious

Burnout runs so deep in our lives that it affects, not only our mental, but also our physical health. Blood pressure rises, there are pains, eternal insomnia, tachycardia and sexual disorders, immunity decreases. You completely lose the ability to relax in your free time. If you feel that your workaholism has led to health problems, immediately contact a medical professional and get it through your head that no job, even the most interesting and well-paying, is worth your health!

Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse…

At the last phase of burnout, despair, the syndrome reached its peak. One does not just hate his/her job and gets sick all the time spent at it, but starts to feel utter helplessness and despair. One feels that life has no meaning at all.

Usually, only a few people reach this stage, because now there are plenty of opportunities to track your emotional swings, from books to competent psychotherapists. We are deeply sorry if you have reached this stage of burnout, but there is a way out, as we know, from such a place; so you still have a chance for a healthy relationship with yourself and your work. Contact a competent specialist who specializes in burnout problems and has had experience working with such disorders. There will be a long road of recovery ahead of you, but we believe you can do it!

Healthy productivity checklist

As you've learned by now, burnout is a nasty thing, not easy to recognize, and even harder to deal with. To make sure you never have to find out what it's like to hate your job, we've put together a checklist to help you always stay resourceful and maintain a work-life balance.

• Meditate for 15 minutes a day. Meditation is the easiest and fastest way to slow down and reduce stress. You don't need complex postures and expensive mats to meditate; the most important thing is to completely disconnect your brain from all problems.

• Take a trip to nature. The best way to distract yourself is to change the picture that surrounds you. You don't have to fly to the ends of the earth. Even a two-day trip to the country can powerfully reset your head, and you'll come back refreshed and full of energy.

• Plan your day. Chaos is the best friend of burnout, which means planning will help you avoid it. No one is forcing you to scribble miles of paper, but a little to-do list for each day will definitely save your nerves. Besides, there are a bunch of interesting techniques, like Pomodoro, 1-3-5, Pareto, and others.

• Go see a psychologist. This trendy tradition of psychotherapy sessions is actually a very useful thing. Behind a burnout can be more than just fatigue, and instead of self-searching, it is better to work with a specialist. If you are afraid to start with a psychologist, at least listen to some useful podcasts.

• Delegate tasks, if possible. Knowing how to let go of control of everything around you is a sure way to heal from burnout. In addition, everyone should do his/her own thing, in which s/he is an expert. And being an expert in absolutely everything is impossible. If you are not great with technology, there is no need to die in the mountains of instructions until the night; it is better to go to an experienced handyman. The same goes for household needs — there is no shame in calling in a cleaning service, ordering takeout, or hiring a babysitter.

• Limit your intake of junk food. Eating junk food negatively affects, not only your appearance, but also your emotional state. We are well aware that in this way, you are trying to eat away stress; but it's a vicious cycle, which will not lead to anything good. Build a harmonious relationship with food and you will notice that you become less irritable and tired.

• Go to the gym, or go dancing, or at least go for a walk. Movement improves blood flow in the brain area, and we become more positive and efficient.

• Train yourself to fall asleep and wake up at the same time. Sleep is a powerful tool that allows you to completely reset your brain. However, remember that the brain is controlled by the "biological clock" (circadian rhythms), which are not made up. Get your sleep routine right — you'll also improve your relationship with work. If you don't get it yourself, get support from apps like pzizz.

• Deep clean your home. Our heads often boil over, not only from the speed of life, but also from the clutter in it. Clean out your work email and phone gallery, unload your closet, and throw out everything that's dragging you down — dead weight. This also applies to people, by the way.

• Change your workplace, from time to time. If you work in the office, ask your boss for a new desk. If you work remotely, move to another room, or to the balcony, or to a coffee shop! Changes, even small ones, have a positive effect on the brain, it starts to think faster.

• Refuse to work overtime. In a healthy relationship with work, it is perfectly normal to refuse. You have the right not to take on additional tasks, not to work overtime, not to come to all meetings, not to participate in all projects. The first time, you will constantly feel guilty for imaginary unproductivity; but over time, the word "no" will become your best friend.

• Don't read work chats after hours. The desire to be online 24/7 is the first call of burnout. Close your laptop and turn off all apps at the end of the day, and don't feel guilty about it in any way — everyone needs a rest.

• Go out with your colleagues for a team building activity. One of the causes of burnout at work is often a bad team climate. A team-building activity with your colleagues is a cool way to share news and accomplishments, laugh, and even whine. In case of a stressful situation at work, it will help you to endure the stress more easily and get back to being productive.

Get a job you love. As Confucius once said, find a job that you fall in love with, and you won't have to work a single day in your life anymore. This quote can be considered the best cure for burnout, because a job you love inspires you, and where there is inspiration, there is no place for constant control and stress. If you feel that your work does not bring you joy, it's time to think about finding a new one! Of course, any field of activity requires knowledge and experience, so it is worth thinking about training. In the digital sphere, one of the most in-demand fields of the 21st century, there are many professions that you may be interested in.

In Osmi Pro, we offer courses for our students in digital professions from the ground up: QA specialist, data analyst, web-designer. All courses are designed in the most comfortable way possible: classes are held online, practice includes interesting tasks, and each student has a mentor. All of this keeps the feeling of stress and anxiety to a minimum, and we've already covered why this is important in the professional sphere.

The world around us is fixated on productivity, achievement, and getting the best result. In trying to catch up with the ideal and to become better than everyone else, one forgets about oneself and "burns out". We urge you to remember that work is not everything, there are many other areas of life in which it is important to be happy. Love yourself, take care of your needs, and do what you love. If you don't like your job, there is always a chance to start over. In 2022, you have all the resources to do this: look for yourself, learn new things, and live the life of your dreams!