Stress Vs. Burnout: Learn the Signs and How to Manage Them
What are the differences between stress vs. burnout? As our world has transformed greatly, modern life certainly has many stressors including financial challenges, relationship problems, excessive workloads and social withdrawal. There are various ways to address stress and burnout. For example, achieving a work-life balance is one of the most effective ways to manage stress in the long term.
Stress and burnout have become an increasing worldwide phenomenon. However, the differences between stress vs. burnout are not widely understood. By understanding the causes, the symptoms and the ways to cope with stress as well as burnout, you can strive to achieve balance in life and improve your well-being.
What Is Stress?
Stress is an ongoing issue that most people face at different points in life. Photo by Татьяна Волкова - stock.adobe.com
As defined by the World Health Organization, stress is a state of mental tension that is usually caused by a challenging situation. And it’s a thing everyone has to deal with at some point in their life.
For instance, we may feel pressured or worry about an upcoming interview or missing a flight. WHO also said, “For many people, stress reduces over time as the situation improves or as they learn to cope emotionally with the situation.”
Different people react differently to stress, which contributes to how stress affects individuals' well-being. Stress is a natural human response to stressors in life. Stress can be categorised into three main types:
- Acute stress: This type of stress is usually brief and often occurs when you are going through a new or challenging situation. For example, it might occur during an upcoming exam, an approaching deadline at work, or a close-call traffic accident.
- Chronic stress: This type of stress continues for an extended period of time, and it might occur when you are enduring prolonged feelings of anxiety and negative emotions. For example, it might occur due to financial difficulties, health-related conditions, traumatic experiences and relationship issues.
- Episodic acute stress: This type of stress tends to happen frequently and in the short term. It can happen when you are dealing with consecutive stressors. For example, it might occur due to work overload and overwhelming responsibilities.
Signs Of Stress
Stress manifests in various ways for different individuals. Usually, when our body is stressed, hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released. This triggers the fight-or-flight response in most people. There are different signs and symptoms of stress displayed when our body is overwhelmed with stress-related hormones.
- Physical symptoms: Headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, insomnia, digestive issues, excessive sweating, increased heartbeat and more.
- Emotional symptoms: Irritability, mood swings, depression, anxiety, lack of motivation, constant worrying, feeling restless and more.
- Cognitive symptoms: Difficulty concentrating, racing thoughts, issues with decision-making, negative thinking, memory problems and more.
- Behavioural symptoms: Changes in appetite, increased use of substances, decreased performance, social withdrawal, procrastination and more.
- Interpersonal symptoms: Difficulty maintaining relationships, increased tensions with others, negative attitudes towards others and more.
By looking at common symptoms of stress, you can use it for informational purposes and self-diagnosis. However, seeking a professional diagnosis for medical advice is highly recommended.
Common Causes Of Stress
Various reasons can cause stress. Photo by Nandhu Kumar on Unsplash
Stress can be caused by numerous factors, from new changes in life, such as starting a new job, to dealing with unexpected life events, such as losing a loved one. According to the Mental Health Foundation, even positive changes, such as moving to a better house, can cause stress. Here are common causes of stress divided into five categories.
- Work stress: Job insecurity, poor working conditions, overwhelming workload, lack of professional support, conflict at the workplace, lack of freedom and more.
- Financial stress: Losing job or job insecurity, worrying about mortgage payments, having burdensome living expenses, experiencing emergency expenses and more.
- Relationship stress: Couple issues, problems between family members, peer pressures, differences in culture, issues with colleagues and more.
- Health stress: Having a chronic illness, experiencing health emergencies, dealing with expected injuries, being involved in a humanitarian crisis and more.
- Life stress: Death of a loved one, becoming a parent, experiencing divorce or separation, going through a midlife crisis and more.
One matter can be considered a stressor to one person but not another. Good examples of this are getting married or divorced, starting a new job or retiring, moving to a new place or having a new baby.
Effects Of Stress
Stress is something that people experience at various points in life. To some extent, stress can motivate us to perform better. However, with too much stress, it is known to cause medium and long-term effects on people's medical health and mental health. Here are a few common effects of stress on our body and mind.
- Physical effects: Cardiovascular health problems, decreased immune system, digestive health issues, weight fluctuations and more.
- Emotional effects: Depression, mood swings, anger, constant worrying, anxiety, feelings of overwhelm and more.
- Cognitive effects: Memory problems, poor judgement, cognitive decline, decreased cognitive flexibility, reduced attention and more.
- Behavioural effects: Substance abuse, reduced productivity, decreased sex drive, overeating or undereating, impulsive behaviours and more.
- Interpersonal effects: Negative interactions, social withdrawal, decreased relationship functioning, misunderstandings and conflicts, hostility behaviours and more.
Stress and its effects impose different levels of medical risks and consequences. Physical effects and cognitive effects of stress can contribute to higher risks of major health problems later in life like stroke, heart attack and diabetes. By raising awareness of the effects of stress, we can actively work on ways to manage our own stress and seek professional help when needed.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is a result of prolonged stress over a long period of time. Photo by Simon Abrams on Unsplash
Burnout is an occupational phenomenon and not a medical condition, as defined in the International Classification of Diseases issued by WHO. It often derives from workplace-related chronic stress. As mental well-being in the workplace receives inadequate attention, burnout is an issue in occupational contexts that needs further research and awareness.
According to the American Psychological Association, burnout is recorded at an all-time high in many professions due to the combined effects of personal, health-related and professional stressors.
How Do You Know If You Are Burnt Out? You might be if you often feel exhausted and a day at work feels impossible to get through. If you feel anxious or experience a sense of dreadfulness when thinking of your job, you are likely burnt out.
How Is Burnout Different From Exhaustion? The latter is more about physical exertion, lack of sleep, or illness. Things will improve with rest, relaxation, and good sleep hygiene.
Am I Burnt Out Or Lazy? Laziness might be specific to a particular task. You might still have the drive to do things you enjoy and won’t have negative emotions such as cynicism or detachment. A small change in mindset or a small push is all you need to be productive again.
Signs Of Burnout
What does burnout feel like? Burnout is described in various ways by different individuals. Some people describe it as feeling physically or emotionally drained, while others describe it as a feeling of underachieving at work. There are three categories into which we can divide common signs of burnout.
- Energy levels: Feelings of constant exhaustion, experiencing energy depletion and fatigue.
- Negative emotions: Feelings of negativism related to work and a reduced feeling of personal accomplishment.
- Reduced performance: Experience a reduced level of productivity and decreased professional efficacy.
Common Causes Of Burnout
Overwork is one of the most common causes of burnout in working adults. Photo by Pixel-Shot - stock.adobe.com
Health workers are recorded to have the highest rates of burnout, as reported by the World Health Organization. Is burnout a mental thing? This is evidently a result of prolonged work stress. Some factors influence the burnout phenomenon, including individual characteristics, organisational factors and environmental factors.
- Individual factors: Unrealistic expectations, low self-esteem, neurotic anxiety, low level of flexibility, unclear limitations and more.
- Organisational factors: Heavy workload, insufficient time-outs, institutional disregard for staff's well-being, lack of autonomy over work and more.
- Environmental factors: Unsupportive leadership, lack of social interaction among staff, exposure to negative emotions from difficult people and more.
Effects Of Burnout
Burnout is not a result of acute stress but chronic stress. The long-term effects of burnout are not well-researched or well-defined. Individuals have various degrees of tolerance when it comes to work stress. Based on the most common signs of burnout, here are three main effects that can be observed in working professionals.
- With low energy levels, people who suffer from burnout might experience chronic fatigue, sleep disturbances and physical pains. All of these physical exhaustion symptoms significantly increase the risk of illnesses.
- With negative emotions