Understanding and Mitigating Burnout in Helping Professions

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Introduction to the Repercussions of Burnout Herbert J. Freudenberger first coined the term burnout in 1974. His definition of burnout, “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one’s devotion to a cause or relationship, fails to produce the desired results.” According to a secondary source (Khan, 2014) citing Freudenbergers book: Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement, Freudenberger compared burnout of a person as mirrored to burnout in a building “a once throbbing structure… where once there had been activity, now only crumbling reminders of energy and life.” Although the idea of burnout can be seen in any profession, the purpose of this paper will focus on those in the helping profession. Those in the helping profession Physical repercussions such as insomnia and fatigue, and mental repercussions of anxiety and depression. In extreme situations, burnout can lead to death or suicide. Individuals in the helping professions experience high turnover rate due to the termination of employment, either from the helping professional themselves, from not taking care of burnout as it happens, or from their employer, if the burnout accidently leads to a mistakes made at work. Therefore exploring how burnout affects the world can help provide an understanding for importance of mitigating Physical symptoms can include, but not limited to: insomnia, increased illness, loss of appetite, and chronic fatigue. Psychological symptoms are symptoms of depression, guilt, feelings of worthlessness, anger, tension, isolation, pessimism, and anxiety (Carter, 2013). APA (2007) found that around ½ of Americans say that stress negatively impacts their professional and personal lives, 1/3rd of Americans have difficulties managing work and family responsibilities, and 54% of Americans have stated noticing a correlation of increased stress causing them to fight with those who are intimately close to them. In addition, 8% of Americans connected burnout from work as the cause of their divorce or separation. Experiancing difficulty falling asleep at night due to stress has impacted 48% of Americans, and over 50 million prescriptions were filled in 2008 for sleeping aids. Burnout appeared to cause havoc in at least 3/4th of working Americans. In comparison the leading cause of death of heart disease (covering all heart problems combined) causes 1 out of every 4 Americans deaths or 25% (Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Burnout can lead to physical cardiovascular problems and people

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