Most of us have seen it happen: a friend or colleague with enviable energy and dedication to a stressful job suddenly burns out. In place of tireless toil comes unrelenting exhaustion, difficulty falling asleep, low mood and a sense of inefficacy. These symptoms may look a lot like depression, but new research suggests that burnout is subtly different in the body and brain.
Although burnout is not recognized as a distinct psychiatric disorder, it seems to cause a unique profile of changes to neurological functioning, according to work by psychologist Agneta Sandström of Umeå University in Sweden. Sandström compared women with burnout, known formally as exhaustion syndrome, to women with major depression, and she found subtle but significant differences between the two groups. For instance, both groups of women had sleep difficulties, but women with depression reported waking too early, whereas women with chronic burnout had difficulties falling asleep.
Sandström also asked healthy women and those with exhaustion syndrome and major depression to complete a working-memory test. Both depressed and burned-out women found it hard to focus and remember simple details, compared with control women. But women with exhaustion syndrome had even lower brain activity, measured by functional MRI, during these memory tests than depressed women did.
Over time, Sandström says, small daily stressors can accumulate to create chronic burnout. By coping better with these seemingly insignificant pressures, people may be able to reduce their risk of developing exhaustion syndrome. “It’s okay to get stressed, but you also have to find time during the day to rest,” Sandström says. Just as your muscles can get tired, so can your brain. “We need to think about how much the brain can cope with during a normal workday,” she says.
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6 Comments
Add CommentExcellent and informative article. Not enough people take good care of themselves mentally and all too often we see people burning out. I wish we could have more of an awareness campaign like we do with physical ailments.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have to wonder how many people are misdiagnosed with depression or anxiety when in fact they are suffering exhaustion syndrome. What is the best treatment for exhaustion syndrome? Is this the same thing as adrenal fatigue?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSounds like a better title would have been burnout vs depression....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisps..haven't read the full article yet....
Quote: We need to think about how much the brain can cope with during a normal workday
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnswer: One would think they are fully aware of this problem. Quite awhile ago in Canada they enacted an 'early retirement package' for those who have 'contracted' this stress related burnout. EVERY police chief in Canada took this package.
I agree with what 2.said. Many burnout might be misdiagnosed with depression,especially those formerly performed high. Maybe exhaustion is an adaptation of the body to the unrecovery from tiredness in a way that it just level down its gear. Adrenal fatigue might be related to constant stress, the adrenals might not be able to respond appropriately to the actual stress. I suspect depression has more to do with sever mood-congnition conflict or trauma and also has a distinct alteration at the neuronal homeostasis of 5HT.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI found the article very interesting and confirmed something I have suspected. I am disappointed that the article did not go on to suggest how treatment might differ. I'd also have liked to read something about prognosis.
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