In this edition of the Stress Cops PodCast Radio Show we bring you a special article about stress burnout, how stress elevates into burnout, how to recognize the signs of stress burnout, and the steps to take to manage your stress to avoid stress burnout.
If lately you are finding your tasks and responsibilities at work more than you can bear, you may be approaching stress burnout. Stress burnout is not an imaginary mental condition. Stress burnout is a very real physiological condition caused by a serious, and often ongoing, stress overload.
Stress related burnout arises when we are overworked, overtaxed emotionally, or physically exhausted -- and as a result find it increasingly difficult to cope with our everyday stress load.
Commons sign of stress burnout include: a loss of enthusiasm for your job, reduced social life, and weakened interest in your relationship and normal personal interests. Sound familiar.
A True Stress Burnout Story
I once had a crisis call from a CEO I was advising in Silicon Valley, California. He was in a critical stress mode, and had a serious problem on his hands. We’ll call him Steve.
Like many CEOs of growing companies, Steve was balancing a heavy work load. Among other things, he wanted to increase his sales. Steve was impressed by a presentation by a representative of an outside marketing organization, and signed a binding contract for their services.
Then less that one month later, after the outside company was all geared up and going out to his customers, Steve realized he had made a terrible mistake: The contract gave the outside reps paid them three times the commission he paid his own in house sales staff.
His in-house sales staff was boiling, and their stress levels had virtually shut down in-house sales. The immediate outcome was two lawsuits totaling millions of dollars.
Why did this happen. Because Steve had been so stressed when he signed that contract that his higher thinking centers had been shut down. (This is a common symptom of chronic stress).
He told me that at the time he could no longer understand what he read, and mental focus was impossible. Steve was in the grips of a spiraling adrenalin high stress trap, and had not realized the consequences.
The Adrenalin High Stress Trap
Many executives and entrepreneurs claim to thrive on stress. But what they are enjoying is just the physiological excitement of a potentially exhausting adrenalin high.
Adrenalin rushes are designed to prepare your body (and mind) to either fight or run. They are a key component of the stress response.
But during an adrenalin rush your higher thinking centers actually close down. Older, more primitive portions of your brain rush into action to prepare you for the emergency. Over a period of time this leads straight to stage 2 burnout and serious mental and physical exhaustion. And if you think YOU are immune to this stress response, you are seriously kidding yourself.
The Major Factors in Stress Overload
Stress occurs when the demands around you exceed your capacity to meet them. The four major factors involved stress overload include:
* Stressful time pressures,
* Excessive responsibility or high stress accountability,
* Lack of adequate support, and
* Excessive expectations by yourself and/or those around you
The Stages of Stress Burnout
Stress burnout is a process that progresses through stages of stress overload. With some self-monitoring, you have the opportunity to take steps to stop the process at any stage. The three stages of stress burnout include:
* The stress arousal stage,
* The low energy stage, and
* The stress exhaustion stage.
The Stress Arousal Stage
You are experiencing this early burnout stage if at work you feel irritable, anxious or forgetful, or are having difficulty with your mental focus.
Some of the common signs of early burnout include: flare-ups of high blood pressure, bruxism (grinding teeth during sleep), insomnia, headaches, and acute gastrointestinal symptoms.
The Low Energy Stage
As your stress becomes more and more chronic, your body tries to compensate for your growing mental and physical exhaustion. The feeling of low energy so common with chronic stress is a sign your body is trying to compensate for exhaustion by shifting into an energy conservation mode.
Behavior consequences often include: Forgetfulness, serious inability to focus, a tendency to procrastinate, excessive time off from work, lack of interest in your work or business, loss of hope and enthusiasm, decreased desire for intimacy, and a persistent feeling of tiredness or exhaustion.
Other common signs include: Social withdrawal from friends and family, cynicism, resentment, apathy and increased substance use (nicotine, caffeine, alcohol or prescription drugs).
The Acute Stress Exhaustion Stage
The acute exhaustion stage is where most people finally get a clear sense that something is seriously wrong.
The signs of acute stress related exhaustion often include: Chronic sadness or depression, chronic stomach or bowel problems, chronic mental fatigue, chronic physical fatigue, chronic headaches or migraines, difficulty reading or understanding communications, and almost total inability to focus.
Other common signs may include: A desire to drop out of society, quit work, or abandon your business or profession -- plus the desire to avoid family, friends, and social situations.
The author, Stress Cop Dr. Jill Ammon-Wexler, is a pioneer brain/mind researcher, doctor of psychology, author, life adventurer, and international executive advisor. You will find more of her stress management and stress reduction articles at Quantum-Self.com -- the Self Discovery Community, and in the QuantumBrainGym -- the first online brainwave training center.
The Stress Cops Radio Show
We always talk stress management and stress reduction.
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