Maintaining Resilience in Burnout Prone Occupations

Recently I received the following request:

“Dear Dr. LeCrone:

I work in an occupation serving individuals who are often abused and neglected. The work is very stressful and I sometimes feel exhausted and burned out. I think that much of the problem stems from the fact that I am a perfectionist and control freak. I feel that I must be of help in every situation which, of course, is impossible. Can you please tell me how I can be more effective in coping with stress and burnout in my job?”

Dear Reader:
Most service occupations are fertile grounds for to stress and burnout. Prolonged occupational stress often leads to burnout where chronic fatigue, frequent feelings of exhaustion, and eventually depression emerge.

A complex set of factors make up the mosaic of burnout. You correctly pointed to one of the large pieces of this puzzle, the high need for control and perfection. Overly idealistic, and unrealistic beliefs and expectations about performance issues at work can lead to disappointment, disillusion and dissatisfaction. The perfectionist tends to focus on her less than successful outcomes and overlooks or quickly takes for granted her more positive endeavors. Also, believing that you should or must be able to help everyone is futile. This does not, however, imply that efforts should not be made to assist all of those needing help keeping in mind that you can not be everything for everyone.

Burnout prone individuals also have difficulties in separating their professional and personal lives. Instead of switching gears and turning work off at the end of the day and on weekends, burnout victims take work home in a briefcase or simply in their minds.

Individuals prone to burnout can also assist themselves and remain more resilient by:
• Seeking out someone to talk to about stress and obtain support in processing professional triumphs and tragedies. Debriefing with colleagues on a regular basis can also be very helpful.

• Striving to find humor and put an optimistic spin on the professional problems that they encounter.

• Seeking variety in their daily work routine. Performing the same stressful activity over and over often leaves one in a rut and leads to burnout. Remember, resilient individuals began practicing healthy habits early in their careers in order to reduce the risk of burnout. Remaining resistant in high stress occupations is a worthy and achievable goal.


Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 2003