Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan made important evaluations about the burnout syndrome, which is often on the agenda, and shared his recommendations.
Emphasizing that burnout syndrome has been talked about a lot in recent years and is now seen even in children, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan; He states that 'root cause analysis' is required to find the cause of the syndrome, which occurs in emotional, mental and physical dimensions. Noting that humor is a very good strategy against burnout syndrome, Tarhan said, “Being extrovert also reduces the syndrome. Burnout occurs later in people whose behaviors, feelings and thoughts are consistent. Burnout begins when a person loses hope. One of the reasons for the increase in burnout today is that people are constantly in the spotlight.” said.
Burnout syndrome is spreading globally
Stating that burnout syndrome has been talked about a lot in recent years, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “There is a global expansion. It was hardly spoken 30 years ago, but now we see it even in children. 'Why did it increase?, what do we mean when we say burnout syndrome?' It needs to be well evaluated. Every loss of energy should not be called burnout syndrome. Burnout syndrome was defined in the 80s. While being defined, it was defined as an occupational hazard related to the professional incompetence of the person. In other words, the situation is clear when a person consumes his work resources due to his professional inadequacy, such as not being able to perform professionally, being unsuccessful, being worn out, losing energy, and not being able to work efficiently.” used the phrase.
Reduces productivity at work
Expressing that other depression symptoms can be mentioned in case the person consumes his/her work resources, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Symptoms appear according to stages such as not being able to enjoy something, stagnation, joylessness or anger, irritability. If the burnout syndrome is organizational, that is, in the institution, it makes mistakes. If it happens in the workplace, it reduces quality and productivity. If it happens in society, it is a sign of great transformation. If it becomes widespread, it can also become a way of giving sociological reactions. If the burnout syndrome is common among people in a company, it is necessary to conduct a root cause analysis there and find the cause and produce solutions. This applies to both managers and individuals.” he said.
It happens on an emotional, physical and mental level.
Expressing that the burnout syndrome usually starts with the thought and rhetoric of "I can't do this job, I can't do it", Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Everything grows in one's eyes. On the way to work, it's like his feet are going wrong. It begins emotionally first and then reaches the physical dimension as a loss of energy. Then it becomes mental. The understanding and perception process of the brain is perceived as working slowly. If the person experiences stress that he cannot control, he acts unusually. Controllable stress sustains and develops so that the person does not see it as a danger.” said.
Hopelessness leads to extinction
prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said that the first alarm situation occurred in the stress, which seemed to be a danger, and continued as follows:
“In alarm, the brain gives a fight-or-flight response. If the brain responds to war, it pumps all the blood sugar, which increases the energy, from the fat stores in the body to the blood. Blood sugar rises. Or just how many times he falls and faints. This is how the body reacts physically. This is referred to as 'Sympathetic Activation' in the literature. The brain activates the sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system. It pumps back up energy stores for a few hours. However, if this lasts for a long time, it starts to stop responding after a while because the resources are depleted. Insensitivity begins. But when he activates his parasympathetic nervous system, he says, 'Relax, the danger is over, you are in this controllable state. If the person has a high sense of hope in the form of 'it will be overcome', resistance will increase. It becomes a stress alert. It won't run out. For exhaustion to occur, one has to lose hope. Exhaustion occurs when there are feelings that weaken trust, such as losing hope that his expectations from the institution he works for will not be met and that he will not be treated fairly there.”
Intelligent manager can develop motivational techniques
Stating that there is usually alarm and resistance, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “If a person overcomes the resistance, he will emerge stronger from the exceeded alarm. It even helps with stressors. We call these the developing stress. It strengthens the person by developing more. But as soon as it turns to exhaustion, destructive stress emerges. In order not to turn into exhaustion, one must not fall into despair. There is an implicit response in burnouts. There seems to be no exhaustion, but there is depersonalization. Indifferent, allusive attitudes, reluctance, disregard for work occur. The institution becomes a collection of intelligent and lazy people. When we say laziness, we are actually talking about the indifference and depersonalization in the resistance stage of the burnout syndrome. Burnout syndrome has now reduced work efficiency. In such a case, the smart manager immediately notices this and can find the reason and develop new motivational techniques.” used his statements.
Consistent people burn out later
Expressing that people can easily produce solutions individually, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “For example, if we hold a glass of water in our hands for 5-10 minutes, we will not notice it. But when half an hour or an hour passes, our arm starts to ache. When it takes too long, we become unable to hold the glass. When tired, the person asks for help from the other hand. This kind of approach also takes place in mental stresses. When he experiences an overload on a subject, the person thinks from another area of his brain and changes the focus of attention and interest. When he does this, the person immediately recovers the tired part of his brain. Burnout is more difficult and late in people who are emotionally consistent and know where to act, where to get angry, and where not to get angry. Of course, for this to happen, one needs to learn stress management from a young age. These people are emotionally stable and can withstand burnout.” said.
Stress is not eliminated, it is managed
Emphasizing that it is possible to manage stress, not to destroy it, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, “Stress is managed and converted into energy. Like riding a bike, it takes the person to their destination. But when you're overloaded, it somersaults. Generally, it happens more if the expectation level of the person is high and the expectation level of the institution is high from the person. If the family structure and social support are weak, it is more common. The new generation is a conformist generation not only in Turkey but also in the world. The older generations were maturing in poverty. They were exposed to stress at an early age, and despite that stress, they were able to survive in poverty. The present generations are maturing in being. This is more difficult. A person who has always been accustomed to comfort feels as if something he deserves is being taken away from him when his comfort is lost. In this case, it is unacceptable. Depersonalization and negative behaviors appear more.” used his statements.
Being an extrovert reduces the syndrome
Noting that being extroverted reduces the burnout syndrome, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, “Incompatible people more often have burnout syndrome. There are people fighting on the doorstep. Also, if the person is not open and transparent, if he/she does his/her work by cheating, if he/she cannot establish a safe area where he/she goes, if he/she does not feel safe at work, if he/she thinks that he/she will be tripped all the time, there is a lot of burnout. Fear prevails. Where fear increases, trust decreases. Where confidence falls, anxiety rises. As a result, peace is lost.” he said.
The motivation of the person who feels safe increases
Expressing that the productivity in the workplace increases in an environment of honesty, transparent relationship and trust, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Feeling safe increases one's motivation. Job resources are used more. For this reason, it is not a coincidence that developed countries insistently emphasize open and transparent relations and freedom of expression, and focus on self-confidence rather than fear. There is a passive burnout in cultures of fear and oppression. It is lived in the form of laziness. Contrary speech is not excluded in communities where there is a high sense of trust. People feel more secure that they will not be wronged. It is easier to find solutions in such societies.” said.
Humor is a very good strategy against burnout
prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “One of the reasons for the increase in burnout today is that people are always in the spotlight” and concluded his words as follows:
“Since people are in the spotlight, their ideals and expectations in society are high. They also tend to be conformist. Being pointed at in a society requires constant vigilance in order not to make mistakes. Because this feeling is dangerous, people cannot relax. They cannot go out and roam freely. They suddenly feel exhausted by the slightest criticism. When it is the person who is taken into consideration and pointed out, that individual must also have the resistance to criticism. Fatigue, lack of energy, insomnia is a really difficult thing. Interestingly, humor is a very good strategy against burnout. We can say that humor increases endurance.”
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