Burnout in Mental Health Fields (Essay Sample)

Burnout in mental health fields
Name
Institution
Date
Burnout in Mental Health fields
Causes, Prevention and Remedies
Burnout is the feeling of either emotional or physical exhaustion that may result from various stresses because of people (clients, peers, or supervisors) being difficult to handle or working in conditions which are overly demanding (Korczak 2013). Burnout may be because of overworking and overwhelming oneself with too much work and for longer durations than is healthy. Some of the strategies that one may know when someone is experiencing burnouts are through exhaustion one lacks the energy to carry on the work. One also experiences low immunity to some illnesses such as flu, colds and other minimal illnesses. Interpersonal relationships are in this case, influenced and one tends to withdraw attention from oneself and other people. Additionally, one tends to increase pessimistic stance and may lose the value of things around him or her, people experiencing burnout are likely to do work inefficiently, and absenteeism is higher since one becomes overwhelmed very fast. Some of the causes, prevention and remedies due to the influence of a person are looked in the context below.
Available statistics indicates that burnout among health professionals has become a critical problem. Burnout is considered an occupational hazard not only specific to mental health professionals but to every working employee (Gatchel & Schultz, 2012). Mental health professionals include counselors, therapist, psychologists, psychiatrists, and occupational therapists that provide mental health care to clients, as well as clinical and administrative supervisors. Research shows that burnout is not only reserved to the seasoned-older therapists but can also strike therapists who are in their earlier ages of careers. Research indicates that Burnout in Mental Health fields contributes greatly to job dissatisfaction as the health professional feels wasted (Malinowski, 2014).
Experts argue that burnout makes health professionals susceptible to secondary trauma and other stress related complications. Statistics indicates that about 67% of mental health professionals experience a very high degree of burnout. I have chosen to discuss Burnout in Mental Health fields because there is a great assumption that mental health professionals are fine and do not undergo serious work-related burnout.
Causes of burnout in Mental Health fields
Many factors are taunted as causes of burnout in mental health fields (Gatchel & Schultz, 2012). Some of the factors include;
Enthusiasm: Extreme levels of enthusiasm in which mental health professionals have a tendency of being overly available to their clients are primary causes of burnout.
Job Stagnation: Everyone in the working environment expects to climb the ladder of job promotion. In the event that this is not realized, frustrations creep in. Workers who are not promoted at their workplace over a long period are primary candidates of burnout.
Strained relationships: It is the joy of every worker to have good relationships with his colleagues and his superiors. Strained relationships present an opportunity for burnout, as workers try everything possible to please peers and supervisors (Mollica & Harvard, 2011).
Physical fatigue: Although many experts argue that physical fatigue is not a major factor leading to burnout, statistics indicates that it is one of the leading causes (Malinowski, 2014). Anyone who is physically fatigued can easily exhibit effects of burnout.
Emotional exhaustion: Research indicates that the emotional state of individuals determines their work output. Anyone who experiences emotional exhaustion is highly likely to be less productive in his duty, thereby being prone to burnout (Malinowski, 2014).
Prevention
There are many ways in which burnout can be prevented in mental health fields. Some of the ways include:
Practice of personal restoration and self-care: Experts argue that workers in the mental health field need to consider applying the practice of personal restoration and self-care in order to help handle burnout. Some of the methods of personal restoration and self-care include spiritual practice, proper sleep, exercise, and spending times with loved ones.
Consulting and getting peer support: Many professionals in the mental health field believe that they can self -medicate in times of burnout. It is advisable for one to seek consultation from experts or colleagues rather than struggling with difficult moments in burnout. Having some creative outlets and getting support from wherever one may find it plays a vital role in the prevention of burnout. Having someone close with who to discuss matters with reduces chances of aggressiveness and stress thus, feeling relieved after a talk (McPherson et al., 2006). Increasing the positive emotions that build ones creativity, resilience, as well as being solution-focused. Being hard on yourself yields less results than when taking things easy and doing with a moderate sure way (Fredrickson, 2009).
Setting clear personal and professional goals: It is imperative for individuals to set very clear boundaries between personal and professional goals and find a way of balancing the two. If this is undone, chances of experiencing burnout are very high (Malinowski, 2014). Burnout is preventable and some of the ways to prevent could be monitoring ones habits and motivations as a very crucial aspect. Increasing ones self-efficiency by having the belief in one’s ability to accomplish the goals and tasks and relieving stress at the individual level then the burnout will occur rarely (Noworol, et al., 1993).
Remedies for burnouts
Self-actualization and becoming selfish in a way enables one to express him/herself in achieving their potential. By recognizing the best potential one has and starting with the demands that are less stressing and your own rather than starting over with peoples demands. On realizing the importance of self- actualization, the goals ...