Burnout Syndrome: what causes it?

A recent New York Times article analyzed the labels we have historically used to categorize non-specific episodes of mental illness from the mild to the extreme.

But "Burnout Syndrome" is merely the latest label for the collection of symptoms that we used to call a "nervous breakdown". The original term always seemed nebulous and unscientific, but the effects were real enough.

"Nervous Breakdown" was often the label used for a variety of ailments, covering anything from alcoholism, severe depression (possibly even postpartum depression), to psychotic episodes that signalled schizophrenia. Since the entire realm of mental illness was a source of shame and and rarely discussed, the incidence of number of people suffering from any one ailment. Worse still, the label implied something did not require outside help - especially not if it meant seeing a "professional".

Now, however, as we work to reduce the stigma of mental illness with a clinical understanding of the root causes, and more effective treatments, this new label is being used particularly in Europe to categorize the emotional collapses subcategorized as "frenetic," "underchallenged," and "worn out".

Sound a lot like it is workplace-related? A quick scan of PubMed, a comprehensive database of published medical and scientific studies brings a list of job-related results including:

• Stress and cardiovascular disease risk in female law enforcement officers
• Characteristics of the work site and their relevance for cardiovascular risk factors; consequences for prevention from an epidemiologic viewpoint
• Professional burnout and stress among Polish physicians explained by the Hobfoll resources theory.
• Overcommitment to work is associated with vital exhaustion.
• Cortisol dysregulation in school teachers in relation to burnout, vital exhaustion, and effort-reward-imbalance.

But other studies also examine personality types, socioeconomics, and resiliency factors (support systems, coping skills, etc.):

• Circulating fibrinogen but not D-dimer level is associated with vital exhaustion in school teachers.
• Type D personality in the general population: a systematic review of health status, mechanisms of disease, and work-related problems.
• Heart rate recovery after exercise in chronic heart failure: Role of vital exhaustion and type D personality.
• Can gender differences in psychosocial factors be explained by socioeconomic status?
• Psychosocial factors of coronary heart disease and quality of life among Roma coronary patients: a study matched by socioeconomic position.
• Depressive symptoms in persons with acute coronary syndrome: specific symptom scales and prognosis.
• Independent association of sleep quality, fatigue, and vital exhaustion with platelet count in patients with a previous venous thromboembolic event.

"Burnout is characterized by emotional exhaustion, physical fatigue, and cognitive weariness, resulting from prolonged exposure to work-related stress,"
-- 2006 study from the Sackler School of Medicine.

Many of the factors that lead to burnout are associated with and exacerbated by a poorly-regulated work routine -- but work isn't the sole cause. Consider: women in the 1950s and 60s were susceptible to it even when they were not traditionally in the workplace.

Certain factors that can be mitigated by being in the right job - or by having cognizant HR staff - while others you can take control of yourself:

1. Minimize a disrupted sleep schedule. Rotating shift work is bad. That is one generalization that is valid, as study after study has shown.
2. Take vacations and lieu time. It may seem as though putting in the extra hours are to the advantage of the company and your career, but the reality is that people are only productive for so long before hitting a wall, and sitting at your desk moving files around instead of taking time away isn't helpful.
3. Eat regularly and eat well. The effects of cortisol (the "stress hormone") and other stress factors on the body are countered by eating foods that are high in antioxidants, particularly vitamin C, beta carotene, and lycopene. Eating the right foods will help your body keep its resistance levels high and prolong the time you can cope with the stress, physically and mentally.

Posted by: gisela on 2010-06-26 11:37:03

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