Burnout is due to adrenal fatigue. It all its (mild and severe) forms,
it is
usually caused by some form of stress. Stress can be physical, emotional,
psychological, environmental, infectious, or a combination of these. It is
important to know that your adrenals respond to every kind of stress in the same
way,
whatever the source.
Life’s stresses at their worst come in the form of such cataclysmic events as
the death of a loved one, an automobile accident or a serious illness. But
stress can also take its toll in less obvious ways, like an abscessed tooth, a
bout of the flu, intense physical exertion, a severe quarrel with a loved one,
pressure at the workplace, an unhappy relationship, environmental toxins, poor
diet, etc. If these smaller stresses occur simultaneously, accumulate or become
chronic, and the adrenals have no opportunity to fully recover, burnout
is usually the result. Its symptoms are clear, distinct and sometimes,
uncomfortably familiar.
Common causes of burnout include repeated stresses, financial
pressures, psychological stress, lack of relaxation, lack of – or excessive -
exercise, emotional stress, negative attitudes and beliefs, unwanted employment,
unemployment, fear, coffee, caffeine, sugar and white flour products, lack of
good food, drugs (prescription and non-prescription), infections (acute and
chronic), wound healing, lack of sleep, over-exertion, smoking, allergies,
toxins (food and environmental). In short, burnout occurs when the
amount of stress overextends the capacity of the body (mediated by the adrenals)
to compensate and recover from that stress or the combined stresses. Once this
capacity to cope and recover is exceeded, some form of adrenal fatigue occurs.
Stresses can include: unrelieved pressure or frequent crises at work and/or home;
any severe emotional trauma such as death of a loved one; major surgery – with
incomplete recovery or subsequent persistent fatigue; prolonged or repeated
respiratory infections; serious burns – including severe sunburn; head trauma;
loss of stable job; sudden change in financial status (up or down); relocation
without support of friends or family; repeated or overwhelming chemical exposure
(including drug and alcohol abuse, and fumes from redecorating or new carpets).
The result of prolonged over-stress is ‘burnout’. It can
also be defined as having a sense that we and others have no worth, with no
energy to do anything about it (strong pessimism - personal, pervasive and
permanent helplessness). Phase I exhibits little or no depersonalisation, a
reasonable sense of success and job worth and little or no emotional fatigue
whereas phase 8 exhibits high depersonalisation (people are seen as objects
without innate worth), absence of a personal sense of accomplishment or worth
and emotional exhaustion (a sense of being unable to cope anymore).
Work is a common cause of burnout (especially if you are
employed, rather than self-employed doing something you love). In a sample of
over 10,000 people, 43 per cent scored in phases 1 to 3 (no burnout), 13 per
cent scores in phases 4 and 5 (borderline burnout) and 44 per cent scored in
phases 6 to 8 (from moderate to extreme burnout). Physical measures of
cholesterol, uric acid, blood pressure, number of sick days used, weight,
smoking, drinking, and so on appear to increase uniformly along this model.
It is interesting that the same study found that burnout
did not occur randomly throughout organizations. Instead, it seemed to occur in
clusters of workers with a common supervisor. The study’s conclusion was that
the quality of the supervisor is responsible for the lion's share of burnout in
organizations.
