Stress vs. Burnout: What’s the difference?

httpv://youtu.be/2AB9zPfXqQQ

What happens if you have a case of the Monday’s… every day? Help is here:

            Everyday we face stress.  It comes from all angles: home, work, social and emotional.  Every place we have a presence we run the chance of running into stress in form or another.  “Am I wearing the right thing?”  “I didn’t realize the deadline was so soon.”  And so on.  It is imperative to find coping techniques to relieve stress early in one’s life.  The effects of stress will build up and tear at the person until they are so stressed they withdraw from the world.  Burnout, is generally, agreed upon as the culmination of stress and pressure without proper coping methods leaving the person torn and bent.  It is not limited to the arena of work.  A person can be burnt out from home just as easily as they can be from work it is a matter of the relationship between the two.

Though not recognized as a full mental disorder by the American Psychologist Association and not needing medical treatment.  It is listed as a top problem relating to life and work by the ICD-10, the tenth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Risks. Burnout needs to be identified early because its lasting effects are detrimental not only to a person but also to the organization.

Stress vs. Burnout

            Stress needs to be put in its sphere.  There is no argument from any leading source or author; untreated stress will lead to burnout. Stress defined as mental, emotional, or physical strain or tension.   A person needs to find the things that will help them cope with stress.  Stress is momentary and passes.  When someone finds the root cause for the initial stress then future occurrences will have less impact.  They will still be stressful but without the full initial force with lasting effects: more akin to pressure than true stress.  It is highly rewarding to find coping methods like hobbies and activities that may open you up to new explorations.

Stress is more commonly a “too much” condition conversely “not enough” or emptiness denotes burnout.  Imagine a hill; going up the hill is the mounting stress, demands and pressures tearing at the person the “too much”.  Stress taking its toll, personality and anxiety issues, over reacting to emotional stressors or constant state of hyperactivity, coping with the stress is staying on the ascending side of the hill.  When the feeling emptiness takes over, emotions become blunted, lethargy sets in, and simple recouping no longer cures stress you are on going down the hill, descending into burnout.

Burnout can occur in all parts of someone’s life.  While it most commonly occurs in someone’s professional career it has been found to happen in social lives as well as homes.  These symptoms need to be identified early because it can spill into all aspects of a person’s life.  Once the burnout happens, the feelings of emptiness and lethargy bleed into all parts of the person.  Tomorrow, we will examine factors regarding professional burnout.

 

Is your organization riddled with burnout? Contact Jumpstart:HR and find out ways to help put out the fire of stress and burnout.

Burnout Week is brought to you by Richard Ludvigsen (@HRmagician), Jumpstart:HR HR Generalist and HR Project Manager: