The constant development of society often takes its toll, especially on people's mental well-being. Increasing demands at work, routine, societal pressure, stress, and insufficient recognition can eventually lead to the so-called burnout syndrome, which affects all areas of life.
Temporary loss of motivation or already burnout syndrome?
The word motivation comes from the Latin word "motus" i.e. "movement". In simple terms, this is a state of preparedness for a specific action. When we are motivated, we carry out the activities in such a way that they lead to concrete results and achieve the intended objectives. But sometimes we just get into a situation where the results don't come in and even what we used to enjoy turns into a forced evil...
When the motivation runs out....
Anyone of us can encounter a loss of motivation. Initial enthusiasm about the new work later alternates with disappointment. In the beginning, everyone tries to do their job as well as possible, craving success and self-fulfilment, but then something goes wrong and the motivation is gone. We only take work as an obligation anymore, we find that our initial ideas were different.
Professional behaviour is disappearing and getting up every day becomes an obligation mainly because of the need to pay the bills.
Loss of motivation can also occur in people who at first sight have dream job but are under constant stress. Also they may wake up one day without energy or enthusiasm.
How to struggle with the lost motivation?
Now let's see some ways how to regain lost motivation.
1. Remind yourself your goals - the way to your goal can be sometimes monotonous and boring, so it is important to constantly remind yourself the goals and what is waiting for you after they are achieved.Don't forget why you started!
2. Find meaning - answer these fundamental questions: What is the point of what I do and why it is so important to me? You will almost always find a good reason why it is worth. Just think for a moment and doesn't matter what you do, always look for positives.
3. Get inspired - watch inspirational videos, look for inspiration in motivational books, listen to your favorite music that kicks you, or get inspired by the stories of people who have achieved something in their lifes.
4. Have some rest - self-improvement and success requires a good deal of effort and concentration. But don't forget to rest. Spend some of your time on something what is not connected with your goal, it will clear your mind and take a certain distance. You will be convinced that after this, your motivation will increase again and maybe it will bring you new ideas to achieve your goal.
5. Change your routine - time to time try to do something by different way because just changing your approach can keep you motivated. Never give up, even if you don't see results yet.
6. Reward yourself - don't forget to reward yourself regularly for your efforts.
Symptoms of burnout syndrome?
Loss of motivation is one of the symptoms of burnout. Recently, we discuss often about this concept. The burnout syndrome can be also shown to completely mentally healthy people.
The constant development of society often takes its taxes, especially on the psyche of the people. Growing demands at work, stereotype, environmental pressure, stress and insufficient appreciation…
The history of the burnout syndrome dates back to the past, it expanded with the development of work, but this mental state was first described in 1974 by the American psychoanalyst H. Freudenberger in the article Staff burnout. Originally, this designation was used in conjunction with drug addicts, but later it began to be associated with people with a high level of work.
Exhaustion of body and soul…
Burnout syndrome is a mental state showed by complete emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. Especially it occurs in professions what are focused on work and contact with people and the worker is not adequately evaluated for his work by both sides - the employer and the surroundings. The main feature of the burnout syndrome is chronic stress, which comes from professional underestimation and other personal problems.
Phases of burnout syndrome:
Initial enthusiasm - when starting work, one has a high even unrealistic expectations, flashes by enthusiasm, works as well as possible, and often overtime at the expense of one's personal life.
Period of stagnation - the initial enthusiasm has subsided, the individual is rebuffing the self-righteousness, once again starting to pursue his out-of-work interests.
Period of frustration - the individual begins to reflect on the effectiveness of his work, the first obstacles and disputes arise with superiors and clients, there are indications of psychological and physical difficulties.
Period of apathy - this stage comes after a prolonged period of frustration, work is only seen as a source of livelihood at this point, individuals are inconvenienced by any proposed innovations, do not accept overtime, work with clients and conversations with colleagues is a nuisance for them. At this stage, often appears the HH-syndrome (Helplessness&Hopelessness) manifesting by hopelessness and helplessness.
Period of burnout - in the last stage there are feelings of total exhaustion, the work lacks meaning for the individual, loses all enthusiasm.
The problem of workers and managers...
Burnout can affect anyone who performs a recurrent activity, especially those who work in professions where the main job is to help and contact other people (medical staff, teachers, psychologists, police officers, social workers, lawyers, journalists, managers, infoline workers and others).
The main reason for burnout syndrome is failure to fulfil professional ideals, loss of motivation, and inability to say NO, which logically results in the impossibility of honouring all of your obligations. In addition to a person's relationship with work, individual personality tendencies, such as loneliness, problematic family background, excessive and naive optimism, perfectionism, tendency to workaholism, hypersensitivity are also involved in the development of burnout syndrome.
How does burnout syndrome show itself?
The burnout syndrome affects both psychical and physical health. It has also negative effects on interpersonal relationships.
Psychical signs:
- Loss of work commitment, enthusiasm
- Feelings of disappointment
- Reluctance to continue working
- Depersonalization (feeling of expropriation, separation or alienation from yourself, body perception, emotions, so you feel foreign to yourself)
- Forgetting, problem with concentration
- Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness
- Depresions, anxiety, dysphoria
- Aggression
- Propensity to alcoholism and other addictions
Physical signs:
- Muscle tension
- High blood pressure
- Susceptibility to disease
- Problems with the cardiovascular system
- Difficulty breathing
- Anorexia, indigestion
- Fatigue, insomnia, sleep disorders
Interpersonal relationships:
- Cynicism, indifference to people
- Increasing conflicts with clients, colleagues, superiors and also in private life
- Long-time low work efficiency
- Limitation of contact with clients and colleagues
The prevention is important
If you want to prevent the burnout syndrome, it is important to create a healthy attitude to work, but it should not be the only meaning of your life. It is necessary to know how to take passive and active rest, build up quality interpersonal relationships, have around yourself the family, friends, also colleagues who know how to listen. From the employer it is necessary to emphasis on sufficient support and apprecieting of employees, create different workshops and support the team work....
I burned out! What to do now?
Burnout syndrome is not considered to mental illnes at this time. It doesn't have standardized and officially recognized criteria, which significantly
limits its diagnosis. The most frequently used method is questionnaire research, in the Czech Republic the Shirom Melamed's burnout scale is used as the only standardized method for determining the burnout syndrome.
Even here is important to start to treat it from the begining, same like with the other disorders. If you catch the symptoms of burnout on the time, changing the job or position at work could be the solution. However, this is a long- duration process, where the individual often starts to know about the problem when it is already in some phase of duration. The best solution is to entrust the care to a psychologist. Under the professional controll, you will focus on changing your approach to work and yourself, changing your lifestyle, setting your own boundaries. The goal of therapy is also to teach the client to relax and pursue your interests. Every psychologist chooses different treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy, logotherapy and others are very successful. In addition to working with the client's personality, it is also important to eliminate acute problems such as depression, suicidal tendencies, etc.
Below, you can see psychologists who specialize in burnout and can assist you even today.
You have just read an article about: Temporary loss of motivation or already burnout syndrome?
Enter your comment.