Symptoms of mental exhaustion at work that you should not ignore!

Have you become the grinch of the office? Have you become too critical of everything, or too cynical? Do you no longer have any motivation to go to the office and you almost drag yourself to your desk? Do you have many arguments with your team? Do you find it impossible to concentrate or to finish a task? Do you no longer have expectations at work? You do not sleep well? Do you consume alcohol or any addictive substance? Does your head or stomach hurt? Are you complaining all day? Can you not stand yourself anymore?

The affirmative answer to several of these questions marks a very specific state of mind of boredom and disappointment, almost always around professional or work life. These questions and similar ones are designed to detect a kind of mental fatigue specific to work and professional environments, circumstances that, when not tackled in time, can trigger a longer syndrome with more complex symptoms called the syndrome of burn out.

Job burnout caused by work can be the result of several factors. One of them is the lack of control, the impossibility of influencing the decisions that affect your working life, or the lack of resources to be able to meet the objectives that are expected of you.

Unclear job expectations can also be a cause of mental burnout. When you are not clear about the degree of authority you have, or what is expected of you, it is likely that you do not feel valued. The dynamics that are usually created in offices and companies are sometimes not healthy. There may be disloyalty, betrayal, excessive authoritarianism or indifference and lack of cooperation. If the work is monotonous, you do not see stimulating results, you are not interested or you do not identify with what you do, can make you end up exhausted and stressed. Finally, the imbalance between personal and professional life is the icing on the cake. With these ingredients you have in your hands a time bomb that can explode in your face at any moment.

Before reaching this point there are several risk factors that act as warnings that something is wrong. For example, when the workload is very high and you work long hours, when you work in a caring profession such as health care, when despite your best efforts you are unable to have a satisfying personal life, or if you start to feel that you have no control over the outcome of your work.

Work burnout is so serious that it can make you sick in no time. At first you may be tired or start to have insomnia, in order to relax you may start consuming alcohol or other substances. This lifestyle triggers a certain cardiovascular risk, high blood pressure or vulnerability to develop type 2 diabetes.

Before getting to this point, it is worth evaluating your options to find a more rewarding and stimulating job and, in the meantime, seek support among your work colleagues. Setting clear goals of what you can achieve and not setting unrealistic goals for yourself can be a first step to recovery. It is interesting to start exploring relaxing activities, hobbies, passions and new interests that prevent you from becoming obsessed with work. Practices such as yoga, meditation and tai chi are a good gateway to start fighting stress.

Practicing some physical activity, even walking, can help you disconnect. Profesor Bruno Ribeiro, an expert in Cognitive Development at SHA Wellness Clinic, explains that conscious walking “being here and now” is a type of meditative act. “To achieve this, you must abstract yourself from thoughts of the past and the future and concentrate on the present. It is very difficult, but if achieved, the walk would provide all the benefits of a meditation. Sometimes people who have difficulty doing a proper meditation can instead do this during a walk.

Keep an open mind and don’t ignore mental exhaustion because, even if you don’t want to see it, sooner or later the body will start to protest and take its toll. All signs are useful. It’s a matter of paying attention and doing something about it.