How is burnout syndrome treated in therapy?

Burnout syndrome or "burnt worker syndrome" is a psychological disorder based on the chronification of work stress suffered by a person, and manifests itself in a series of physical and psychological symptoms that have a decisive impact on the life of the person.

In this article you will find a brief explanation of burnout and how it is treated in therapy.

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What is burnout syndrome?

Work burnout is an alteration whose affectation increases progressively over time, some of its symptoms being a loss of interest in the tasks to be performed, a lack of enthusiasm for work and negative psychological reactions to it.

In addition to that, people who suffer from burnout syndrome may also experience irrational ideas about their work, problems manage time due to apathy and stress due to accumulated work, despite not feeling a genuine interest in the work entrusted.

It should be noted that the stress and anguish felt by people with burnout syndrome are not related solely to the desire to avoid the discomfort and inconvenience of not reaching work goals, but these symptoms are associated with the way in which you perceive all your life.

This dynamic causes depressive-type symptoms to arise that anchor the person in their problem, since they make it difficult for you to take action to solve what is happening to you. That is why it is important to have professional help.

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How is burnout syndrome treated in psychotherapy?

Burnout syndrome has been studied for several decades by professionals in psychology and medicine and Thanks to this detailed study, a series of intervention strategies in psychotherapy have been established to treat it with success.

1. cognitive restructuring

Cognitive restructuring is one of the most widely used techniques in modern psychological practice to resolve and help to overcome a wide variety of alterations that affect the life of the person who needs support psychotherapeutic. It basically consists of helping the person to detect the maladaptive and problematic beliefs that you have been holding on to and that contribute to keeping the psychological disturbance going for which he suffers.

Our reality is conditioned by how we interpret everything that happens to us daily, and precisely the technique of restructuring Cognitive is based on changing those thoughts, ideas and negative interpretations that the person makes of their daily reality for others more positives.

Restructuring the mental and cognitive scaffolding of the person with the help of a qualified psychology professional, we will achieve that conceive your reality in a different way than you did before, which will allow you to be happier and have a higher quality of life. life.

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2. Training in anxiety management techniques

The anxiety is one of the main causes in the appearance of burnout syndrome, and more especially the inability to manage anxiety and all the physical and psychological symptoms associated with it same. It is a paradoxical phenomenon; at the same time that the person feels unmotivated and feels that he does not connect emotionally with his job, you feel overwhelmed by the tasks you have to do and that causes you to suffer from stress and anxiety.

In a psychological consultation we can share with the qualified professional everything we feel about work in a detailed, that is, each situation of anguish, stress, discomfort or tension that we have previously experienced in a context labor.

Psychologists are experts in training various techniques that will help us successfully manage anxiety, all of them very useful and based on years of scientific research.

3. Training in detecting limiting beliefs

Training in the detection of limiting beliefs is another of the strategies that are implemented by a psychologist to treat cases of burnout syndrome and help the person overcome it with success.

This technique consists of learning to know ourselves better by labeling, with the help of the psychologist, both of our limiting beliefs and of everything we feel in relation to our work or work context.

Understanding and putting a name to these beliefs that prevent us from moving forward and being better, we will learn to detect them whenever they come to mind and change them for other more positive beliefs and adaptive.

4. Establish healthy life routines

As physical and mental health are related, the establishment of healthy life routines both physically and Mental health is essential to overcome any alteration that may appear in a person's life, also the syndrome of burnout.

The psychologist specialized in this intervention will teach the patient to put into practice a series of healthy routines, moving from wishes to action. For example, eating and physical exercise habits that help us feel better about ourselves, increase our self-esteem and be less vulnerable to negative thoughts.

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5. Empowerment of self-knowledge

The empowerment of self-knowledge can also be achieved in therapy and aims to that the person reconnects with their values and also to discover new exciting goals in the medium and long term.

Bearing in mind a new horizon for the future and new goals to achieve with the present job, the person will regain joy for their present situation when detecting the opportunities that it offers you, and from there a motivation can arise that allows you to perform again in your job, either to keep it or to use it as a platform to improve your situation labor.

6. Learn relaxation techniques

burnout syndrome also it is related to overly agitated mental states, as well as cases of excessive stress and uncontrollable anxiety; That is why learning relaxation techniques is so useful to overcome this disorder.

There are many techniques that we can put into practice to achieve states of relaxation, among the most common we find Mindfulness, yoga, oriental meditation, pilates or breathing aware.

7. Time management to take advantage of free time

One of the recommendations that the psychologist will give us in cases of burnout syndrome is to always take advantage of the free time we have after workboth during the week and on weekends.

Taking advantage of rest time doing pleasant and relaxing activities will help us to regain strength and forget for a few hours about the worries and discomfort caused by the worked.

Some of the activities that we can do in our free time are outdoor excursions, reading, extreme sports, watching series or movies and social gatherings with friends.