Early Warning Indicator- Burnout Ahead!
By: Kristen Guskovict
Tags: Self Care, Humanitarian, Burnout, Mental Health

To make the spectrum work, we need to think about what behavioral or emotional habits tell us that we are inching towards the red. My first indicator that I’m moving towards red is that I become forgetful. Before my last leave, I forgot my computer at one office while I traveled to the other (8 hours away), I forgot my purse in a restaurant (thankfully it was still there) and I tend to have to return home a lot more frequently as I forget my phone or the keys, etc… The more frequently this happens, the further towards the red I go. Emotionally, while I’m becoming more forgetful, I’m also becoming more easily frustrated.

Next, my attention span decreases. Wherein, just after a break I can watch a movie, once I get into the red, I can barely watch a 30-minute show. Even writing this article, it’s been in my brain for 3 weeks. But 3 weeks ago, I was one week away from leave, and I couldn’t write it. All of my attention is taken up in my counseling work. Everything else takes significantly longer to do than it would if I were feeling less burnt-out, and my after-work life is a flight of brief ideas and superficial conversations. Emotionally, I generally become more sensitive at this phase of the spectrum, I start taking things too personally or getting defensive.

Ideally, I will have listened to my early warning indicator once the forgetfulness becomes frequent, or at the very least once my attention span decreases. If I push too far past that, my empathy decreases. Empathy is a key component to the work I do and to my internal values. I lose a part of myself when I can’t access empathy anymore. And my clients don’t get my best.

Is any of this resonating with you? As you read, are you thinking of times that you’ve perhaps over-reacted or done something out of character? Is it due to stress? Like many people, I started working with refugees and others who have experienced forced migration because I felt compelled to help. I often say that I can’t change what has happened in people’s past, but I can help with what comes next. But, I can only do that, if I’m my best (least burnt-out) self. If I work too much, the very reason for doing the work begins to fray. It’s too big a sacrifice to give up that quality of work or sense of purpose in order to add just one more thing on the ‘to do’ list.

Most of us think we are putting our clients first when we ignore ‘self-care’ or tell ourselves we’re too busy to take a break, but everybody loses when we do that.

To create your own early warning indicator begin by thinking about how you know when you’re stressed. What’s the first thing you notice? People often tell me that they notice they can’t sleep, or have frequent headaches. Within relationships, people often notice that they are arguing with their partner more frequently. Once you identify the first thing you notice, take it back one more step…. What happens just before you start struggling to sleep. How do you feel? What’s your very first indicator that you’re going to have a tough night sleeping? Sometimes people will say it’s the drive home, they notice they were on autopilot, their thoughts filled with client’s needs and their exhaustive ‘to do’ list.

In the example above, auto-pilot is the first indicator high stress (in mid yellow range). Headaches and sleep disturbances tell you it’s getting worse (yellow towards red range). As soon as you notice your burnout indicator, begin to think about what you need, when you’re stressed, to feel more relaxed and more grounded. What do you need to get out of your head (take your mind off of your clients and off of your ‘to do’ list) and into your body, so you can enjoy the life you have, and recharge for the challenges to come. Then find a way to include that in your day! Maybe it means planning a vacation or taking a regular yoga class, or maybe it means spending more quality time with friends or family.

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Definitions

Burnout-The criteria for burnout are met when a person working in human services experiences emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of accomplishment (Maslach, Schaufeli, & Leiter, 2001).

Vicarious trauma is the change in worldview that takes place as the result of hearing an accumulation of traumatic stories over time. Arising from the helper’s engagement with the traumatized client, vicarious trauma involves distress, specifically a change in the worker’s cognitive schemata (Nimmo & Huggard, 2013). As with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the change in worldview seen with people suffering from vicarious trauma may be a shift from altruism into pessimism.

Secondary traumatic stress) symptoms are very similar to those of PTSD, such as hypervigilance and intrusive thoughts, except that the exposure to trauma is secondary rather than primary (Bride, Robinson, Yegidis, & Figley, 2004).

Compassion Fatigue- is physical, mental exhaustion, emotional withdrawal experienced by those who care for sick or traumatized people over an extended period of time. Compassion fatigue encompasses apathy or indifference towards the suffering of others (Mirriam-Webster).

References

1. Bride, B. E., Robinson, M. M., Yegidis, B., & Figley, C. R. (2004). Development and validation of the secondary traumatic stress scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 14, 27–35. doi: 34Thttps://doi.org/10.1177/104973150325410634T

2. Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W., & Leiter, M (2001). Job burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397–422. doi: 34Thttps://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.39734T

3. Mathieu, F. (2012). Routledge psychosocial stress series. The compassion fatigue workbook: Creative tools for transforming compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization. New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

4. Merriam-Webster online dictiontary. Retrieved on 8/22/19 from: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compassion%20fatigue

5. Nimmo, A., & Huggard, P. (2013). A systematic review of the measurement of compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, and secondary traumatic stress in physicians. Australasian Journal of Disaster and Trauma Studies, 1, 37–44.

** Kristen Guskovict is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and the founder of Humanitarian Empathy & Refugee Trauma (HEART) of Aid Work. She specializes in work with refugees and refugee service providers. More information about her can be found at www.heartofaidwork.com

[1] Mathieu, F. (2012). Routledge psychosocial stress series. The compassion fatigue workbook: Creative tools for transforming compassion fatigue and vicarious traumatization. New York, NY, US: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

[2] For the purposes of this discussion, I will use burnout as the catch all for: burnout, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and secondary trauma. There’s a brief list of definitions at the end of this article for those who are interested in the nuanced differences.