Monica Vezino: Hi everyone, my name is Monica Vezino. I am a licensed mental health therapist, and I work for Jasper & Associates. I am one of the counselors there at the establishment. So today, I would like to talk about burnout.

When we're experiencing burnout, it comes from many, many different factors. So, I just wanted to just give you guys just a little rundown on what this topic is about. And, if you're ever curious and you're wanting to know more about it, please reach out to me. It would be beneficial to your mental health and to me as well. So where I'm located at is at 2901 East 20th Street, Suite 104, and that's here in Farmington, New Mexico. And the phone number is 505-326-0241.

So, the thing with burnout is, you know, if we were to really get down to the nitty-gritty from the American Psychological Association, it actually states this: "Physical, emotional, or a mental exhaustion accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitudes towards oneself and others."

So when we are talking about burnout, it talks mainly about different factors that is influencing your health, or it can influence like the community. And by community, it can also be yourself and your spouse or your partner or the community in general, like, let's say Farmington, okay. But with burnout, it's a syndrome that is happening within a very tiring workplace and your stress is not really managed not well. So, that's how I'm going to give it to you in a nutshell. This is where we are feeling a complete exhaustion. We're having really mental distance from your own job, like feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job. And then, like it kind of makes you not want to give it your all while you're at work.

And when we think about our daily lives, like we come in, we assist patients, and that is our oath, we want to help others. We want to help them get better. And we do that day in and every single day, but we kind of get so busy with that, that it starts eating away at us very, very slowly. And we kind of forget that we have to take a step back. Because if we keep giving and giving, we're not really taking care of ourselves.

So when this happens, it starts affecting you, your life, and again, like your community. And sometimes with burnout, it's not really happening at work. Sometimes it can happen with your daily life as well. It could get to the point where, let's say, you're taking care of an elder and caregiver syndrome, caregiver stress. Day in and day out, you're wanting what is best for the person you're taking care of, but you're not really taking care of yourself because you're having little motivation or to care of your own self. So when we're in therapy, I really emphasize a lot on self-care. Like, how are you really taking care of yourself?

So, the next thing I like to talk about, if you do suspect that you might have a burnout, but you're not entirely too sure if it could be another differential diagnosis, like it could probably be like depression. Burnout can look like depression. And so, the key difference with it is with burnout, you can get time off to get the rest that you need and with appropriate therapy. So with depression, let's look at your triggers. Let's look at your energy levels. The other part would be with sadness, irritation, you know, guilt or shame. Having consistent thoughts that are just coming in day in and day out. And we have a negative view of ourself, our world, and of the future. We're also looking at your appetite, like how we are like, "Hey, are you eating okay? Are you eating three meals a day?" And we're doing this as a way to find out too, as clinicians, is this really burnout or is this depression?

So, the symptoms of burnout. It could come with irritation. It can come with worry, rumination. There are cynicism, negativity, self-doubting. You can have a disrupted appetite. And the exhaustion is more of the core dimension of yourself. Like, you're experiencing a lot of weakness, you're feeling very tired, you wake up and the moment you come home, you barely have enough strength to even just get dressed or maybe go eat with the family. Instead, it's just like bed to doorway, sleep. And that's when, you know, it's like, "Hey, maybe I might have that." So, that's something where it would be best for you to come in, and we can assess you.

So, with the types of burnout, there's four different ones. There's an overload burnout. This is when you're working harder and harder, and you're experiencing this, because sometimes when we get into that mindset like, "Hey, maybe I need to do this crisis call, and I'm going to be okay." That is something we do need to talk about. But that's what the overload burnout is. This is when you're willing to risk your health and your personal life to feel successful.

The next one is under-challenge burnout. This is what happens when you feel underappreciated and bored. Maybe your job is not providing opportunities you have or room for professional growth. You may feel very cynical and you may avoid responsibilities.

And the next one is neglect burnout. This happens when you feel helpless, like things are not going right. Sometimes it can make you feel, like, incompetent or unable to keep up with your responsibilities. This is almost connected to imposter syndrome, which is where you're doubting your abilities, your talents, and your accomplishment, okay? So, I'm just letting you guys know, just being very mindful, okay?

The next one is habitual burnout. This is the most serious phase of burnout. This happens when your physical and mental fatigue is very chronic. Like, you feel sad and your behavior starts changing, And when it gets to any of these stages, that's where we end up—I'm hoping you all can come in and talk, and we can assess you.

And when we do that, we start assessing, like, is there an urgent need to prove yourself? Because we go through the earliest phases of burnout. Freudenberger's twelve stages of burnout.

Step one is the compulsion to prove oneself. Like, feeling the desire to go above and beyond. And then, step two is working harder, the glorification of working harder than anybody else does. You have difficulty winding down. And then, step three is neglecting their needs. Poor sleep and diet, starts to shut off from others. For instance, your absence from work may or may not begin right now. And step four is like displacement of conflicts. Problems tend to be avoided due to a feeling of anxiety or being threatened. And step five is revision of values. Values become distorted. Friends and family's opinions about overwork are dismissed, hobbies dwindle, and work is like your only focus.

And then, with step six, this is when the denial of emerging problems. This is when things start falling in between the cracks. Sometimes this can happen at work where it's like, "Oh, I forgot to maybe put that in the documentation." "Oh, I forgot to mention this with EHR." Like, "Oh, I forgot to do this," because we're so focused on patient care, things start adding up. And remember, we're talking about the stages of burnout.

And then, step seven is withdrawal. Social life has dwindled and may disappear, and there's a higher chance of reliance on inappropriate forms of stress relief, needing to take repeated time off, sick may arise. Step eight, odd behavioral changes. Other people start being concerned about some behavioral changes that you're doing. It could be like maybe your spouse would be like, "Hey, you're coming home very upset, You're lashing out. You're giving me, like, a very spiteful remark." It could stem from there or it could be like, "Hey, I noticed that you're coming home and you're just quiet." And we'll talk about that more in therapy on why that is.

And then, step nine is depersonalization. This part right here is where it's getting down to the nitty-gritty. Because when you're at this stage, you're starting to view everything like that has no value. You're having extreme cynicism. You're no longer able to see anyone else's needs.

And then, when we're going to step 10, as the inner emptiness, feeling empty inside, and to overcome this, sometimes we start overeating. Sometimes we abuse substance abuse. We're taking drugs or alcohol or maybe behavioral factors could be like increase of gambling. It could be sex, you know, like having unprotected sex. Activities are being exaggerated.

And then, step 11 is depression. So, we're feeling lost and unsure. We're feeling exhausted. Future looks blank. We're having like a low mood. We're also like feeling very, very empty at this point.

And then, the last one is step 12. This is where we call it the burnout syndrome. This is where your mind and your body have total collapse. When this happens, there are diagnoses that are probably you went to the doctor. Maybe you went to the doctor, and doctor's telling you like, "Hey, you're having like some GI problems. Like your migraine is coming back again, having like frequent headaches." Or maybe this has caused others. Who knows? Scientifically, when we do get sick, we have to get better. And maybe this is the wake-up call for whoever this is, to come and talk to us because we want to help you before you get to any of those steps.

So, I want to remind you, too, if this is speaking to you to where it is like, "Oh, I might have that," or, "I might have that," just come on in. We will talk to you. And I want you to be very mindful that when we are assessing and we're helping you, we have our own little treatment plan too. Everybody's treatment on getting better is going to be completely different. And, it does take time. It's not going to be one time you come into session, and I'm like, "Oh, I'm cured." No. Like, I think you should go for more. You know? It just depends. It really depends on where you're at. And there are ways to get the help that you do need. So, I want to be able to humanize that and to let you guys know.

So when we are talking about this, for those maybe talk with your supervisor, make sure you get enough sleep, try doing a relaxing activity. Sometimes with yoga, meditation or Tai Chi, sometimes running or even like boxing, kickboxing, like that will help you and to be mindful and to always get the support.

Just remember that we're all here and supporting you. Of course, we want what's best for you. We want you to continue because if you're not getting better, then we can't help our patients. So, we need to create that time for us to get better

Furthermore too, how do I put that into my daily life into creating that headspace of mindfulness? There's several. There's Calm, there's Headspace, there's Insight Timer. Those would be beneficial to download on your phone if you wanted to.

So, we're talking about this, and let's say you went to go to a therapist, and you're getting the help that you need. So, we want to be intentional about our burnout prevention in the workplace. So with that, what that looks like is maybe have reduced workloads. Recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive workforce. Prioritize fair treatment. Emphasize quality work and job satisfaction. Implement a thoughtful technological solution. Engage people in a collaborative decision-making. Emphasize role clarity. Provide a greater sense of control and empowerment to people to craft their work like a professional autonomy. We want to cultivate and encourage support, a sense of community and a strong peers network at work. We want to use rewards in a sentence wisely. And most importantly, take your sick days even if you are healthy, okay?

So, those are the ways that maybe give you a little insight on if you are wanting to be more grounded and be like, "Okay, I want to do this. I want to set up boundaries for myself and get help with managing stress, set new priorities."

Prioritize your health. When you start to get more sleep, when you start eating better, you start exercising, you will do whatever it takes to get yourself back on track, because the more you know about the problem, the better it is for the better outcome to know, like, "Hey, I am so intent on just getting this done and to make my life a whole lot easier."

In a nutshell, when burnout happens, you feel overwhelmed, you feel emotionally drained, and you're unable to keep up with life's demands sometimes. It really takes your energy, and it reduces your productivity, And when you're doing this, this means that you have maybe, like, a problem, So, we're helping you to take proactive steps to combat it. Seek counseling, see a therapist, ask for help. Take better care of yourself.

So, the five symptoms of burnout is exhaustion, drained of energy, hopeless or unmotivated, detachment, cynicism, and negative views of oneself, a sense of failure. So when this keeps happening, this is an ongoing state of feeling tired, having all the symptoms what I just said ongoing, and it starts draining you. And when it starts draining you, it starts eating at you bit by bit.

And everyone has a different way of getting help. The recovery is going to be so different. Everybody's treatment plan is not all the same. But the sooner you recognize this, the sooner you can get the help that you need, and that we will be here to help you, and that I would like to see you at your fullest potential and to see you shine at work. So, the better that you know this, the better that you will start soon loving yourself, and that you will change how you look at yourself and maybe have a better attitude at work.

So, I would like to thank you for listening. And come and see us at Jasper & Associates. I'm going to give you guys the number again. It is 505-326-0241. We'll be happy to see you guys. I want to see you at your fullest potential. And thank you.