How Work Stress Can Grow into Burnout and Ways to Prevent it

No matter what your profession, work can get stressful at least sometimes if not most of the time. According to a new study published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, work stress and burnout are mutually reinforcing. This means that not only does work stress lead to burnout but also chronic burnout can lead to more acute stress and eventually to a nervous breakdown. Signs of work-related burnout Burnout often involves the same symptoms as stress, which is the reason why people often fail to recognise it in time. There are, according to The American Institute of Stress, three basic points where burnout differs from stress: Excessive feelings of tiredness or exhaustion Lack of enthusiasm and increased negativity towards the job Decreased ability to do your job The following are some other symptoms associated with burnout: Frustration or anger Irritability and annoyance Change in appetite and sleep patterns Frequent headaches and muscle pain Withdrawing from work responsibilities Isolating from others, especially work colleagues Decreased sense of accomplishment and satisfaction Using food, drugs and alcohol to cope Tips to prevent burnout If you’re already spiralling due to work-related stress and are afraid it may lead to burnout, you can take the following preventive measures immediately to keep burnouts at bay.