Burn out, or professional exhaustion syndrome, results from chronic stress at work. Treatment is based on following six steps.
- There are six important steps to recovering from burnout.
- This starts with acceptance, distancing and taking time for yourself.
- Then, you have to assess your needs, think about how to satisfy them and finally, implement the change.
Fatigue, stress, exhaustion, lack of desire, difficulty concentrating, withdrawal: all these symptoms should alert you. They are a potential sign of professional exhaustion syndrome or burn out. As Natacha Duke, psychotherapist, recalls on the Cleveland Clinic website in the United States, the World Health Organization considers it a “professional phenomenon” and not as a health problem. However, scientists have worked on its symptoms and how to recover from them. An article published in 2007 in the specialized journal Work & Stress is a reference, underlines the specialist: it made it possible to identify the six steps necessary to recover after a burnout.
1 – Accept burnout, the first step to recover
“You can’t get better if you don’t recognize that your current situation needs to change.”underlines Natacha Duke. She says this can be difficult for some people, especially when they are passionate about their work.
2 – Get away from stressors
You need to put distance between stressors and yourself, as much as possible. This can be expressed in different ways: a work stoppage, a resignation or a day of rest.
3 – Think about yourself and your health to move forward
“You’ve been running low for a while, so it’s time to refill your tank.”illustrates the therapist. In fact, when burnout occurs, many people have this feeling of emptiness. To get rid of it, it is essential to think about yourself and plan arrangements to regenerate yourself. This could be going to bed earlier, in order to sleep an extra hour, changing your eating habits and getting back to cooking rather than consuming prepared meals. But Natacha Duke also advises going out dancing with friends if it makes you feel good. In short, she recommends doing everything that “helps you feel like yourself again”.
4 – Evaluate your needs and values
Once the previous steps have been completed, you must prepare for the rest. “Now is the time to reflect on the situation that led you to burnout.”she believes. This questioning can be done as part of therapy with a psychologist. She advises questioning the unsatisfied needs necessary to be fulfilled, the values and the things that are important.
5 – Explore other paths
Once the needs have been identified, it is possible to think about ways to satisfy them. Natacha Duke explains that you need to identify concrete changes in your habits to achieve this. “L“Changes don’t have to be big to make a significant difference in your daily life.” she specifies. This could be changing jobs or taking some time for yourself every week, for example.
6 – Initiate change
The last step is the most difficult. Once you are rested, the things to change are clear, as are the needs to be met, it is time to implement all the changes. “It’s not always easy, but it’s vital to the recovery process.”she says.
If the path to recovery is fairly clearly established, you need to be patient. As the therapist points out, recovering from burnout can take a few months for some people, compared to several years for others.
