One in two doctors would suffer from professional malaise. A free telephone number will be set up from next year to help those who are victims of burnout. And take this taboo disease out of secrecy.
There is an emergency, and the suicide of doctors is there to remind us. Too much pressure, too much responsibility, too many hours of work, in particular on general practitioners who will have a heavy toll to pay for the epidemics of winter.
Burn-out, translates to “burnt”! It is a process that sets in gradually over several weeks and even months. He first goes through a depressive phase in which we have nothing more to do.
Yet doctors know the effects of stress better than anyone because it is one of the most adaptable areas in our body. It is a normal process of our body when faced with a situation of aggression. Whatever the aggression we know of only two attitudes: to flee or to face. Since flight is not the normal biological attitude of man, the body is preparing – unconsciously – to react. This is positive stress. When the body reacts for nothing, it is negative stress and its consequence is burnout.
From sports to alcohol or worse
To relieve stress, a survey had shown that executives who suffer from burnout had various methods. A small half confides in their loved ones. 40% of them turn to sport. A quarter of them consult a professional – psychotherapist or coach. One in 5 let off steam on tobacco and alcohol …
Affected doctors say they feel tension or heart palpitations, or even have difficulty digesting; These are physical indicators that show the body is overloaded. There are also behavioral signs. For example, they increase their consumption of alcohol, tobacco or coffee. In this case, this proves that the organism is overheating.
It is a bit “cliché” to say that those who have permanent stress consume toxic products. Yet that’s how they do it, by stimulating themselves with drugs. This is also true of all those with a consuming passion for work, which almost becomes an addiction. They are often addicted to substances that help them keep up with this hellish pace of work. It can range from coffee to medicines which for doctors are in their kit, in free access!
Advice from colleagues
Counseling is prevention, rather than cure. You must then start to pay attention by acting on yourself. Take breaks or relaxation during the work day. You also have to know how to get a job. Finally, having a healthy lifestyle, practicing physical activity or eating a balanced diet are the best ways to protect yourself from stress.
Above all, do not isolate yourself
The Council of the Order of Physicians, the Autonomous Retirement Fund for the profession (CARMF) and the National Management Center have just signed an agreement which provides for the establishment, from next year, of a single number and free, responsible for centralizing complaints of this malaise, this “syndrome of professional exhaustion”, this state of suffering at work, still poorly defined, but which combines deep fatigue, professional disinvestment and a feeling of failure.
They also count on the support of colleagues who observe but feel helpless to act. Going through a third party is an elegant and above all effective solution.
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