Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Demystifying Medicine channel. Today's video is on burnout, symptoms, and strategies. Meet Jane. Jane has been working extra hours at work lately and is starting to feel overwhelmed and defeated. No matter how hard she tries, she just can't seem to catch up, does not feel like she's getting any recognition or help from her boss. Jane is feeling extreme stress, exhaustion, and is developing negative attitudes towards her work. Jane is experiencing burnout. Burnout is a psychological syndrome resulting from prolonged chronic job stress. However, it's important to note that burnout is not only applicable to professionals in the workplace. Students with heavy workload can also develop burnout syndrome. Now let's discuss the symptoms of burnout. The three key symptoms of burnout are exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and lack of accomplishment. Here's where you should ask yourself some questions. Are you so tired that you can't do anything after work? Do you drag yourself out of bed to get to work or class in the morning? If you feel yourself answering yesterday's questions, you may be feeling exhausted both emotionally and physically. Some physical symptoms to look out for that can indicate exhaustion include body aches, difficulty concentrating, feeling drained, and irritability. Extreme exhaustion often leads to our second key symptom, cynicism and detachment. A question to ask yourself is whether you've developed a negative outlook on work or school. Signs of cynicism and detachment can include a negative attitude, a loss of enjoyment in your work, isolation from colleagues and fellow students, feeling disconnected from others and your environment, and increased conflict with others. The third key symptom is lack of accomplishment. Do you feel like you can never catch up on your to-do list? If so, you may be demonstrating signs of feeling like your work is not important. You may see a loss in productivity, you may feel useless or ineffective, and show poor performance. Some other symptoms of burnout syndrome include difficulty controlling emotions, not taking care of oneself, not eating properly, and experiencing headaches or blurry vision. It is important to find ways to prevent or cope with burnout. A study suggested if these symptoms are left untreated, they can increase your risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. If you're relating to these symptoms, it's important to know you're not alone. In fact, burnout may be more common than you think. What do you think is the prevalence of burnout syndrome in high-stress sectors? A. 10 to 15%, B. 20 to 25%, or C. 45 to 50%? If you answered C, you're correct. Studies suggest prevalence among high-stress sectors such as healthcare to be as high as 46%. Now let's discuss coping and preventative strategies. The first strategy involves changing your work patterns. Recent studies have suggested that a main cause of burnout and stress is due to long hours of work. Take Jane for example. Working extra hours at her job has caused her much stress. If Jane changed her work pattern by working less hours, taking more breaks, avoiding overtime, and investing more of her time into her personal life, she may find her job significantly less stressful and could avoid potential burnout. However, sometimes you can't afford to adjust your work pattern, which is okay as there are many other ways to help reduce burnout stress. Another strategy is creating social circles. Social support is one of the most important coping strategies for burnout. Communicating with your colleagues, family, and friends can help them understand what you're going through. Together, you can make a plan to help gain back control of your work-life balance. Another common coping strategy is focusing on yourself and developing relaxation strategies. This can include learning new breathing exercises, trying out yoga or meditation, or discovering a love for music and art therapy. Lastly, it's important to prioritize health and fitness. Getting exercise and following a healthy diet is crucial for maintaining your overall health. Although physical fitness is extremely important for your well-being, prioritizing your mental health is just as important. Working on your mental health may include making more time for your personal life or finding a new hobby that brings you joy. Additionally, it's recommended that adults get at least seven hours of sleep each night to prevent exhaustion and maintain proper energy and focus for the day. Now let's get back to Jane. What do you think she should do to manage her burnout? Should she a. quit her job, b. communicate her feelings with her manager and family to develop a plan to reduce her stress, or c. work harder and hope for a promotion? If you chose b, that's a great option. Jane decides to have a discussion with her boss and they are able to establish a plan that takes more work stress off Jane and allows her to regain her enjoyment of coming to work. We hope through this video you were able to develop some new strategies to deal with burnout. However, please don't hesitate to reach out to other professional services. For example, many employers have free confidential counseling services available. Feel free to reach out to your HR department to find out what your company has in place. Additionally, the Canadian Mental Health Association, or the CMHA, offers free programs to help cope with mental health issues and help you return to your job with confidence. Lastly, if you're a student, check out your campus's Student Wellness Center to access some other professional resources. Thanks for watching and don't forget to like and subscribe for more informative videos.