What to do if there is nothing left to “burn” at work. Psychotherapist on how to recognize stress and what to do with it

Professional neuroses - what is it? Who gets them? How are they different from mental illness? How to treat professional neurosis? How to prevent it?

The modern world is a world of high speeds, multitasking and instability. Regardless of your job, you may encounter occupational hazards such as:

• Constant time pressure.
• Frequent conflicts with colleagues, subordinates, and superiors.
• Irregular working hours. You have to work outside of school hours.
• There is little time for rest, sleep, there is no time to even eat properly.
• The sword of Damocles constantly hanging over your head. For some this is a high responsibility due to their profession (doctors, police officers, firefighters, people who work with dangerous equipment in extreme conditions), for others it is a hot-tempered boss. Hired workers are afraid of layoffs, business owners are afraid of losing customers and bankruptcy.
• Low wages, worries about lack of money, looking for part-time jobs. As a result, even higher workload and lack of normal rest.

Let's add here family troubles, relationship and health problems, in general, all the sources of worries that await outside the workplace. As a result, many people have to live in a state of chronic stress. How can you maintain healthy nerves? WHO experts note that stress has become the most important problem for about a third of working residents of the European Union. The situation in Russia is no better. Unnecessary experiences, especially in people with certain personality and character characteristics, become the cause of neuroses.

Neurosis arising from work is called professional. The trouble is that many people ignore the “first signs” and continue to work selflessly in pursuit of a career and wealth. But this does not improve the health of the nervous system at all. Over time, the problem becomes more and more obvious.

Neurosis - what is it?

Calm down, this is not a mental illness. Neuroses are different, in general terms they represent disorders in the emotional-volitional sphere, disruption of relationships with society, problems with the autonomic nervous system (a typical example is heart pain of neurotic origin).

Hysteria, neurasthenia (“nervous weakness”), obsessive fears, thoughts, movements - all these are neuroses. But a person realizes that “something wrong” is happening to him and adequately perceives himself and the world around him. This is what distinguishes neurosis from psychosis: a mentally ill person firmly believes in his fictitious reality and believes that those around him are sick and wrong.

The right officeHow to stop being nervous at work

— In Russia, the practice of visiting a psychologist is not that common. What should a person do who, for some reason, cannot turn to a specialist and is forced to cope on his own?

Rest is a change from the main activity to a fundamentally opposite one.
It is very important not to forget that when we “use” only our head, the body begins to suffer. This is why it is important for people who work in an office to switch to physical labor from time to time. While worrying about work, a person may stop noticing the world around him. Example: I’m sitting in a cafe and answering questions, and at the same time I’m thinking about the client and, as a result, I’m not paying attention to the fact that I’m drinking delicious coffee, it’s summer outside, and there’s a beautiful flower on the windowsill. In such a situation, you need to regain your support in reality, in life here and now. There is a simple exercise for this: force yourself to notice objects in the room. This seems like a no-brainer, but when you're under extreme stress, it's difficult to do because the brain narrows your awareness to the point of alarm. It is important at every moment to be aware of how the body feels, what is seen and heard around. Over time, this exercise helps you stop being completely immersed in the problem.

— And if we are not talking about a protracted experience, but about a momentary outbreak of anxiety, what can you do to quickly bring yourself back to normal?

Firstly, it is important to get out of the situation in the literal sense. Leave the place where something bad happened so that there is a distance between what happened and your own experiences. Next, you need to give yourself the opportunity to cry, yell, and do what you want. If it is not possible to do this right away at the workplace, leave a notch as a souvenir so that you don’t forget to resolve this issue when you get home. Often a person thinks that he is strong and can handle everything on his own if he simply does not think about the problem, but after a while symptoms appear that indicate the opposite. From here grow the roots of the processes that we call neurosis.

— Is it true that neurotic processes and stress inevitably affect appearance?

— The face is something that a person does not hide (with the exception of Eastern cultures), it reflects what we want to say to the world. If your message is “I work hard, I earn my social status through hard work,” then this is instantly reflected on your face. There may be another scenario - a person does not take care of his appearance and sends the signal “I don’t want to accept myself.”

Who is most likely to experience professional neuroses?

Some people endure life's adversities with steadfastness, while others are unsettled by literally every little thing. The risks of neurosis depend on two factors: the force of external pressure and individual predisposition.

A person is made predisposed to neurosis by such personality traits as a tendency to worry, dramatize situations, an increased level of responsibility, inflated demands on oneself and others, anxiety, and suspiciousness. Sometimes genetic predisposition comes to the fore.

Poor health, frequent and chronic diseases, and low immunity play a certain role.

Usually, living in conditions of chronic stress, a person predisposed to neurosis resists for some time, but inside him, as they say, “accumulates.” One day a serious traumatic event occurs, and defense mechanisms do not work. The trigger can be anything: dismissal, a strong scolding from management, an emergency at work, a deadline for a large project, an event in your personal life.

What are the symptoms of professional neurosis?

There are “first signs” that you definitely need to pay attention to:

• Increased irritability, frequent and severe mood swings.
• Constant severe fatigue.
• There is no satisfaction from work, I often want to “give up everything.”
• Bad dream. I can’t sleep at night, but I want to sleep during the day.
• Violation of relationships with colleagues, friends, family.
• Headache.
• Chest pain.
• Feeling short of air.
• My head is constantly spinning with thoughts about work, unfinished projects, fears about possible dismissal or other negative events.
• After sleep there is no feeling of vigor, you still feel weak.
• It becomes difficult to maintain the same pace of life. It takes more time to do things and make decisions, fatigue sets in faster, and you constantly want to be distracted, lie down and relax.

How to treat neurosis?

First of all, you need to eliminate the cause of the disease. More on this below.

In order to quickly relieve the patient of symptoms, the doctor may prescribe antipsychotics, tranquilizers, and antidepressants.

The main type of treatment that produces long-term effects is individual, group and family psychotherapy.

Neuroses create many problems at work and in everyday life, often they simply plague and cause torment. But they respond well to treatment. It is important not to delay, but to consult a doctor as soon as you notice the first symptoms.

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Diagnosis and treatment

It will not be difficult for an experienced doctor - neurologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist - to identify asthenic neurosis, separating it from other pathological disorders. Taking into account all of the above, he needs to exclude the presence of somatic diseases, oncology and organic lesions of the central nervous system in the patient.

The specialist will collect anamnesis and talk with the patient. In the case of classic symptoms with a predominant arousal reaction

A diagnosis of hypersthenic neurasthenia is made. If there are more inhibitory reactions, including drowsiness, then there is reason to believe that this is hyposthenic neurasthenia.

Comprehensive treatment of the disorder involves, first of all, normalizing the patient’s life, as well as the use of psychotherapy and medications.

It should be noted right away that you cannot “prescribe” medications for yourself, especially psychostimulants - they can lead to addiction and increased manifestations of the disorder.

The doctor selects medications based on the presence and severity of certain symptoms (a form of neurasthenia); the dose and duration of administration are prescribed individually for each patient. These are tonic or sedatives that normalize the functioning of the cardiovascular system, tranquilizers. It is mandatory to include general strengthening, restorative body functions, metabolism-improving agents, as well as vitamins C and B, antioxidants, neurorubin, etc. Plant extracts won't hurt either.

Psychotherapy includes psychoanalysis, individual and group sessions, conversations with a psychotherapist, and trainings. This allows you to identify and eliminate the causes of the disorder, change the patient’s attitude towards them, gain skills in separating the main from the unimportant and the ability to enjoy life.

Autogenic training will teach self-education and self-hypnosis, and hypnosis will help normalize heartbeat, blood circulation, and muscle tone.

A disease such as neurasthenia does not require hospitalization. When conducting therapeutic and drug treatment, specialists usually give patients the following advice:

• change the environment, walk in the fresh air more often, have a good time, travel;
• take a vacation, don’t check your email, turn off your phone - get a good rest, do something you enjoy that brings you pleasure;
• reduce emotional stress that negatively affects the psyche;
• establish a daily routine with a clear schedule that allows enough time for rest and sleep;
• strengthen the immune system, introduce a balanced diet, take vitamins;
• restore autonomic function through massage, acupuncture, warm foot baths, hot aromatic baths.

A good option for treating neurasthenia is to use traditional methods, but before doing this, you should consult with your doctor. Among the most effective options that have a beneficial effect on the autonomic and central nervous systems, we can recommend the following:

1. Motherwort decoction. A tablespoon of herb is poured into a glass of boiling water, kept in a water bath for a quarter of an hour, allowed to cool and filtered. Take for a month 3 times a day.
2. Hawthorn decoction. Brew berries (1 tbsp) with boiling water (a glass), filter after 45 minutes.
3. Melissa and mint tea. Brewed like regular tea, this drink is soothing and promotes good sleep.
4. Valerian tincture alcohol - 30 drops added to a small amount of water and drunk before going to bed.
5. Lavender bath. Dried inflorescences (200 g) are placed in boiling water (5 l) and simmered for 7 minutes on fire. The broth is filtered and poured into a bathtub filled with warm water. You need to lie in it for 20 minutes.
6. General strengthening mixture with raspberries, calamus root, birch leaves, chicory, strawberries, rose hips, oregano.

How to prevent it?

The tips presented below relate to both the prevention and treatment of neurosis. So, in order to maintain the health of the nervous system, you need:

• Get more rest. And be sure to get a good night's sleep.
• Eat well, eat on time and as expected, and not on the go.
• Workout.
• Take up a hobby. It doesn’t matter what it is: the main thing is that it brings pleasure.

And the main advice: do not overload yourself at work, do not try to achieve everything at once. A healthy, emotionally balanced person will always achieve more over time and with fewer losses. And employers should know that an overworked, overworked employee always has a decrease in productivity, and this does not have the best effect on the work of the entire company. Sometimes this is even fraught with emergency situations and work-related injuries.

Annual medical examinations help you pay attention to your health in a timely manner. At the ProfMedLab clinic you can undergo a preventive examination, get advice and help from a good doctor. Contact us: +7 (495) 120-08-07.

Text: Artem Kabanov

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Stages of stress

The first stage of stress - the alarm stage, or the anxiety stage - is quite loved and respected in the business environment. With it, all the adaptive resources of the body are mobilized: attentiveness to the task, the so-called “return” becomes enviably high.

Again, psychosomatics pass - or fade into the background: migraines, gastritis, ulcers, allergies, etc. A person can “burn” at work, showing miracles of productivity, that is, be a management’s dream: don’t eat, don’t sleep, just work.

However, if the stress factor is too strong or prolonged (for example, the emergency at work has been prolonged), then the primary reaction to stress flows into the second stage - resistance (stability) .

Stimuli that caused increased reactions in the body are no longer considered significant. The person gets used to it and calms down as best he can.

Important! Your tasks at work may remain the same, but your reaction to them may change: it will become cooler, or, if you like, relaxed. It's all about the amount of resources:

1. Available for a specific nervous system.

2. Spent on adaptation to stress during its first stage.

If the work required – and still requires – extreme stress (deadlines are running out, suppliers fail, subcontractors break agreements), and physical and mental strength is scarce, then reducing the intensity of work effort is the body’s necessary response to the current situation. Sooner or later, “burning huts” become simply uninteresting. I want to pass by and not get involved in another adventure with an unclear ending.

Otherwise, if the adrenaline button is still working (and you cannot stop), the third stage of living stress begins - exhaustion. At the last stage of development of the general adaptation syndrome - this is what stress is scientifically called - physical and mental energies are exhausted. Those defenses that helped you adapt to stress in the initial stages of living with stress no longer work. There is nothing left to “burn” at work.

From the outside it looks like a complete loss of motivation. There is not even the strength to defend new rules of the game, change working conditions, or reformulate production tasks. Under certain conditions, this may even seem convenient: the employee is flexible and does not demand anything for himself.

However, low productivity will sooner or later make itself felt. Plus - which is a minus - indifference and defensive devaluation of work processes by one person, which negatively affects the general atmosphere in the entire team.