I

T’Sthemiddleoftheyear,springstill

feelsfaraway.Andsummer?What’s

thatagain?

Manyofusstarteachyearfreshand

raringtogo,vowingtoexercisemore,

eatmorehealthily,drinkless,work

smarter– butbythetimeJulyand

Augustrollaroundit’shardtokeepup

themomentum.

Thedrive,passionandexcitementyou

hadinJanuaryhasslowlybeenreplaced

bya smoulderingresentmentofevery­

thingyoudoandeveryonearoundyou.

Youdon’tknowexactlywherethese

feelingscomefrombutyoudoknow

you’reexhaustedandfedup.

Soundfamiliar?Ifso,chancesare

you’resufferingfrommidyearburnout.

Andyou’renotalone.UKnewspaperThe

Guardian recentlyaskedreadersto

assesstheirmoodsandenergylevelsat

thispointintheyear– andtheresponse

wasoverwhelming.

Peoplewroteoffeelingasif theycould

fallasleepstandingup,ofwakingwitha

racingheartorcloudedmind,ofhaving

losttheirenergy,appetiteorlibido.

Theyfeltstretchedtoothin,bothat

workandathome.Somewereoftensur­

prisedtofindthemselvesirritableor

tearfulwhileothersfeltasif thejoyhad

beensuckedfromlife.If anyoftheirre ­

sponsesresonatedwithyou,midyear

burnoutcouldbetoblame.

BURNOUT:ARECAP

Expertsinsistit’simportanttodistin­

guishbetweenburnoutandmental

healthconditionssuchasdepression.

The World Health Organisation

(WHO)recentlyclassifiedburnoutasan

“occupationalphenomenon”,andit’s

officiallybeenrecognisedinthelatest

InternationalClassificationofDiseases

manual,whichisusedbydoctorsand

healthcareprovidersworldwide(YOU,

27 June).

Burnoutisdescribedinitasa “syn­

dromeconceptualisedasresultingfrom

chronicworkplacestressthathasn’t

beensuccessfullymanaged”.

AlthoughtheWHO’sdefinitionis con­

finedtoworkstress,Johannesburg­based

psychologistTamaraSosa says burnout

canspillintoyourpersonal life.

“Itcanbeclassifiedasany feelings of

prolongedlethargy,lackof motivation or

anhedonia[lossofjoyinpreviously en­

joyedactivities],”shesays. “It’s any per­

ceivedformof‘stuckness’or inability to

worktowardsgoals.”

Thefreneticpaceofmodern life is to

blameforthiscollectivefeelingofexhaus­

tion,saysLouisaNiehaus,a Gauteng­

based psychotherapist.

“Our workplaces have become far

more demanding and increasingly we’re

competing with the pace of digital com­

munication.

“We need to contend with shorter

deadlines and tighter budgets. Everyday

activities such as the daily commute to

work or getting children to school add to

the pressure.”

SO IS MIDYEAR BURNOUT

REALLY A THING?

Although you can experience burnout at

any time, there are many real reasons

why people might be struggling more at

this time of year, Sosa says.

“There’s a psychological significance to

the midway point of the year. It’s a logical

opportunity to take stock.

“People may be reminded of the opti­

mism they felt in the new year, or the

goals they set that they’re no closer to

achieving.

“In many ways the prospects of possi­

ble change die down, and it just becomes

a slog towards the end of the year so you

can start afresh.”

British life coach Karen Kwong says

Feelinganxious,disappointed

andoverwhelmed?Youcouldbe

sufferingfrommidyearburnout.

Herearetipsfor gettingyour

sparkback COMPILEDBYLINDSAYDEFREITAS

ROLL ON THE

HOLIDAYS

22 | 8 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za