How to Cope with Stress - Manifestation of Stress

An unexpected, sudden stress-producing event may produce symptoms of overload, but more often, it is the thousand, minor, daily hassles that accumulate to generate overwhelming stress and accelerate the downward spiral toward burn-out. Burn-out occurs when an ongoing confrontation with reality pits the human spirit against circumstances that are intractable to change, producing surrender to lack of power, disillusionment, resignation, apathy and exhaustion of caring energies. The burned-out employee feels stagnated in work and often in personal life as well. Caring becomes apathy, involvement produces distancing, openness turns into self-protectiveness and trust drifts toward suspicion. There is the feeling that no matter how hard the person tries to change the situation, he or she cannot. The burned-out worker may not even have the energy to reverse the process. He/she feels powerless to make the changes necessary to return to a position of control.

In this environment, major life changes such as divorce, abandonment of relationships, job loss can occur.

Inner strength is needed to battle burn-out, and yet, that is often lacking. The burned-out person may need to seek outside, perhaps professional assistance to reverse the downward spiral. Preventive care in the form of stress reduction is the best approach to the treatment of burn-out.

Stress and burn-out take a toll on body and spirit.

Next Page: Stress Recovery Cycle

by Joyce Henderson