INTERVIEW – Marc Blom, psychiatrist and member of the board of directors of the Parnassia Groep (mental health care provider), discusses the subject of burnout. The statistics do not lie, 1 out of 7 Dutch workers experience burnout complaints. But, what is a burnout exactly? How do we recognize complaints? And, even more important, how can we prevent the complaints and thus a burnout?

“There are a lot of definitions for burnout. I describe it as a feeling of overload at work and caused by work. Feeling tired even though you slept well, not able to concentrate well, easily annoyed and having difficulty with handling pressure.The term ‘burnout’, the feeling of being burnt out, not having enough energy to do your work. The feeling of energy loss is the central definition.”

Sounds like a depression and a burnout have the same kind of complaints, how do you distinguish a burnout from a depression?
“Indeed, that is difficult, a depression is an official medical diagnosis and a burnout is not. In general a burnout is based on situational factors, which means you suffer from it at work, but not outside of work. That is the difference with a depression, a depression is everywhere. Because a burnout is work-related, it is not supported by everyone. People think: yeah, he is sick, but then why do I see him gardening?”  

There has been done a lot of research concerning burnout complaints in the Netherlands, outcomes suggest different levels of complaints per workfield. For example people in educational jobs suffer from complaints more often than people working in construction. Why is that?
“This is due to a multitude of things, but mostly because these are jobs where you work with people. This means that interactions are complex, especially for groups, which affects your concentration span. Next to that, it also involves the perceived workload and the difficulty to escape from that. People in work fields like education or health have double, or even triple work: they have a job, responsibility for their children and they sometimes take care of their parents. A lot of caring responsibilities and almost no time for themselves. It can not be a coincidence that these are fields that have to face changes from the government as well. An increasing regulatory pressure. The feeling of alienation, feeling you are not doing what is important, can also contribute to the feelings of a burnout. So for most people it is an interplay of different factors, individual and societal.”

Nowadays we hear a lot about burnouts: is it a buzzword?
“No, I do not think it is a buzzword, it has been used for 50 years already. However, its definition is poor. In history the same complaints, the same syndrome, gets another name. Now it is called burnout, but the complaints have always been there. So the definition is not a buzzword, but the name is a buzzword.”

So a burnout and burnout complaints are difficult to recognize. How can you recognize it in yourself?

“How much pleasure do you experience going to work? Do you feel tired when you just woke up? Or are you fresh and energized? Do you need the whole weekend to recover from your work? Can you concentrate well? It are small signals creeping in slowly. You carry on endlessly, realizing that calling sick is too late. Unfortunately it takes some time before you recover later…”

In part 2 Marc Blom discusses how you should react on symptoms of a burnout.

Are you going to a rough time and do you need some extra support. Do they provide solutions for your problems instead of listening to them? Or do you feel misunderstood? That’s understandable, because only you know how you feel. However, you need someone who listens to you and makes you feel better. The solution might be closer than you think! The unconditional love and loyalty of your pet might give you that extra bit of support you need right now.

Science

A pet can provide social support, which can reduce the negative effects of stress. Research support this statement since the blood pressure and level of stress hormones reduce after interaction with a pet (Allen, 2014). Also loneliness and depressions are less common for pet owners (only for dogs). Several researches show that animal assisted therapy can reduce symptoms of depression significantly (Allen, 2014).

A loving paw

Do you feel like the people around you think you are exaggerating? Your furry friend doesn’t. Pets don’t look for solutions, but listen to you and give love. They give you comfort, warmth and safety. They are to trust completely and you can tell them anything.

The hug hormone

You bond with your pet through oxytocin, or in other words: the hug hormone. Your body produces oxytocin during social contact. For example by hugging your pet, caressing your pet and even during eye contact. Oxytocin suppresses stress hormones and makes you feel calm and relaxed. This helps not only for you, but your pet feels it too!

Rest and structure

Pets give you rest and bring structure to you day. The pets’ life is now in your hands. This responsibility distracts you from your problems, which gives rest. Animals need structure, for example in meal times. This give you a reason to create structure for yourself as well. Dogs need to be walked at least three times a day, a walk gives you rest and relaxation. Time off to get away from the tension of daily life which makes you feel so tired.

Disclaimer: Think it over before you get a pet. Pets need a lot of attention and are a big responsibility. Consider if you have space for a pet in your life on the long term. Also consider to give a pet in a shelter a second chance!

Day after day, week after week. The clock is ticking, but time has stopped. You speak, you laugh, you pretend everything’s fine. Your environment passes you by. You feel everything, whilst feeling nothing at all. Fled from you feelings. Wanting to be alone, alone in this world. You feel empty. Broken.

Mental health

When you got a stomach flu, you don’t even hesitate to visit your doctor. For mental health problems that’s a different story. Your thoughts, feelings and behavior are such a big part of your life. So why is there still a taboo on this subject? Why is there a stigma about psychic problems while almost half of the adults in the Netherlands suffer from them?

Get help

You are not overreacting. It’s not your fault. Your are not stupid. You are not alone. You are not a burden. Talk about your problems! NiceDay wants to break the taboo on mental health problems. Join the online community or connect with one of our NiceDay-coaches via the ‘NiceDay-app’. Together we can beat it!