Burnout or professional exhaustion syndrome is chronic professional stress, often linked to work overload. In a recent interview, an American neurologist explained what happens in the brain when this phenomenon occurs.
Combining deep fatigue, disinvestment in professional activity and a feeling of failure and incompetence, burnout is a real public health issue . In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) even recognized it in its International Classification of Diseases, a great first. The burnout syndrome is the subject of numerous studies and neurologist Amy Arnsten of Yale University (USA) is one of the specialists who have studied the subject. She spoke during an interview for the CNN channel published on March 10, 2022.
The expert studies the effects of burnout on the brain and the objective of the knowledge she obtains is to break the vicious circle of guilt . Indeed, you should know that those affected often feel guilty when they discover that they are more irritable, aggressive or even lose motivation and optimism.
According to Amy Arnsten, burnout causes a decrease in gray matter of the prefrontal cortex. Usually, it makes it possible to make complex decisions in an appropriate way, that is to say by reasoning in a synthetic and thoughtful way. However, burnout damages this gray matter and impairs memory and attention . Unfortunately, this makes it particularly difficult to learn new tasks.
Amy Arnsten points out that burnout could also increase amygdala size (or amygdala complex). This part of the brain linked to emotions also plays a role in the fight-flight response, the first stage of the general adaptation syndrome regulating responses to stress. The researcher then speaks of a double penalty. This in effect reinforces the circuits responsible for emotional responses such as fear and therefore promotes paranoia. On the other hand, it is quite possible to treat yourself using behavioral and cognitive therapies, the objective of which is to reverse the phenomenon and restore your pre-burnout state.
Those affected may also try to control their stress on their own , but to combat unwanted feelings related to burnout, rest alone is not enough. The key to a personal resolution of the problem can then take on different faces:exercise, adopt a healthy diet, turn to meditation or even increase social contacts. For example, volunteering can help to re-familiarize yourself with compassion and the feeling of being useful.
