Burnout is one of the most common occupational hazards for healthcare workers. It leads to a variety of symptoms, including chronic fatigue, sleep deprivation, and depression. It is important to know the signs and risk factors for burnout in order to prevent it. It is also important to take time off from work when necessary in order to recover from exhaustion or excessive stress.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout in Healthcare Providers?
The signs and symptoms of burnout are not always easy to spot. As a provider, you may feel tired, stressed, and burned out without even realizing it. Becoming too tired and burnt out can lead to neglecting your own health or even the health of your patients. This can lead to consequences such as decreased patient satisfaction, increased risk of mistakes, or worse. If you are burnt out, you may find yourself feeling like you are just going through the motions rather than truly caring for your patients.
How to Practice Self-Care While Working as a Healthcare Professional
Physical Self Care:
- Prioritize Sleep
- Working in a fast-paced healthcare environment takes a lot of energy physically.
- Eat Well
- Eat nutrient-dense foods, snack throughout the day and drink enough water.
- Exercise
- Exercising for at least 30 minutes daily reduces stress and provides so many health benefits from promoting healthy blood pressure to decreasing your risk of diabetes and heart disease
- Healthy movement releases endorphins that benefit the body in many ways such as reducing anxiety and promoting a positive mood.
Mental Self Care:
- Reduce Screen Time
- It might seem like a no-brainer, but taking breaks from your digital devices works wonders for your brain. While there is nothing wrong with staying connected, taking time to disconnect is essential.
- Write It Down
- Journaling is great for your psychological health. Even if it is just a couple of lines every day, getting it down on paper promotes mental wellness.
- Try Meditation
- Meditation can mean something different to each of us, but mainly consists of directing your focus onto your breathing and calming thoughts. Being able to step away and take a few moments for yourself to do so can greatly decrease your stress throughout the day and help you to focus on what is important.
Emotional Self Care:
- Practice Gratitude
- Identifying the things you are grateful for allows you to develop meaningful connections with others while also helping you to recognize what is truly important to you.
- Utilize Positive Affirmations
- Thinking positively and verbalizing those thoughts can help you to overcome non-helpful and negative thoughts. With practice, you will begin replacing those negative thoughts with positive ones.
- Ask for Help
- As a caregiver, you are most likely programmed to want to help and fix difficult things for others. This is a great quality to have, however, it is crucial that you understand when it would be best to reach out and ask for that same help from others.
Burnout is a serious problem in the medical profession. It is characterized by physical and emotional exhaustion, detachment from work, and a lack of motivation. It is one of the major reasons that medical professionals choose to leave their jobs.
In order to prevent burnout, it is essential to practice self-care and maintaining good healthy habits.
You can do this!
