BurnoutWhy it happens and how to prevent it

Camillo Zacchia, Ph.D.Psychologist April 15, 2013

Today’s outline

• What is stress?• What is burnout?• Is it depression?• What’s the difference?• What causes burnout?• How do we deal with it?

Why do we have emotions?

• Emotions are calls to action: They are the engines that drive us to act in ways that will protect us or contribute to our survival.

Are you stressed?

What is stress?

• Stress is any form of challenge to the person• It can be felt as anxiety when acute or as

general tension when diffuse and chronic• When is something stressful?

• Novelty

• Unpredictability

• Threat to the ego

• Sense of control is lost

A stressor by any other name…

• No two people react the same way to a similar stressor

• The stress response is an interaction between the challenge itself and the individual’s perception of his or her ability to respond to it.

What is burnout?

Loss of function at work (or in life???): (anxiety, frustration, sense of futility, agitation, fatigue, frustration, impatience, pessimism, loss of productivity, etc…)

• The term Burnout originally applied to workers in a helping profession (doctors, nurses…)

• Burnout is not a diagnosis. It is a popular term with no standard definition.

What is Depression?

• Depressed mood or loss of pleasure– Other indicators which may include:

• Sleep problems• Trouble concentrating• Agitation• Fatigue• Recurrent thoughts of suicide or death• Changes in appetite• Feelings of worthlessness

• Must last for more than two weeks and cause significant personal suffering or loss of function

What’s the difference?

• Burnout is a circumstance:– It can happen when depressed. – It can happen because of work conditions alone. – It is influenced by many of the personality factors that cause

depression.

• Depression is a mood state:– It can cause burnout– It can be caused by burnout– It is influenced by many of the personality factors that cause

burnout– It can happen independently of working conditions

Causes of Depression and Burnout

• Causes can be biological, situational or psychological (or an interaction of all).– Biological (genetic predisposition, biochemical

imbalance, innate temperament). – Situational (e.g., loss of loved one, job loss,

debt, deadlines, workload)– Psychological (Personality traits that can be

strengths and weaknesses depending on the circumstances)

Who we are and how wesee things

The world around us Moods such as depression

X

Disease processes

Biochemical factors

Our upbringing and culture

Events big and small

Innate temperament

What causes burnout

• We expect too much of ourselves (internally-generated pressures)

• Others expect too much of us (externally-generated pressures)

• It’s never good enough• Impostor syndrome• We don’t have what it takes

Internal pressures

Impostor syndrome(poor self-esteem)

Missing skills(poor fit)

Perfectionism(it’s never good

enough)

External pressures

Number of responsibilities

(i.e., challenges)X

How we handle them

(i.e., mastery over challenges)

= Stress

StressWhat is it and how does it contribute to

burnout?

Number of responsibilities X

How we handle them

= Stress

Externally-generated pressures

Internally-generated pressures

Lack of necessary skillsLack of support

Inability to say no

Inability to recognize one’s

limits

Lack of confidencePerfectionism (high standards)

Additional causes of burnout

• Your boss is a jerk!

• You are the jerk!

When is a stressor not a stressor?: Core beliefs (schemas) and you

• Small Italian coffee• Do you remember my name?• The brilliant accountant• The stupid accountant

Dealing with burnout or depression:

Making a change

• Personality factors• Biochemistry• Circumstances• Attitude

This sucks! What are my options?

• Step one: change it• Step two: accept it• Step three: reject it

So, how do we deal with Burnout?

The $500 pair of shoes

Question the value of the exchange

The reception desk

It’s not hard to tell who the good workers are

The delay mechanism: Learning to say no.

• The “Sure, no problem” guy

The marathon runner (it’s all about the pace.)

When you are color blind, look around you

• Seek out objective data• Compare yourself on an equal level• Judge others with the same numbers

If you want it done right, do it yourself…

• If you want it done YOUR way, do it yourself. – But first, make sure it IS the right way and the ONLY

right way.

• If you want the IMPORTANT things done right, then do ONLY the important things yourself.

Stimulus control and clocks

Don’t take advantage of the “go to” guy

Mental Health Info:www.douglas.qc.ca

Blog:www.blog.douglas.qc.ca/psychospeak

Questions ?camillo.zacchia@douglas.mcgill.ca

Website:drzacchia.com