The work environment at times becomes a space that affects people either mentally or psychologically. The difference between the two is that "mental" speaks to your mind and your thoughts while "psychological" speaks to how your mind affects other parts of your body (such as emotions).
Irrespective of the situation, everyone has to face this type of work-related stress and put in the effort to regain their balance so they can return to being productive.
This raises the question of how you identify when you're burnt out and how you then address the issue to fix your state of mind and consequently, your performance at work.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, psychologist Dr Salome Gichuri shared more on the signs to look out for when faced with a mental burnout.
With regards to facing mental fatigue, it occurs in different forms. These signs are further classified into three categories which are physical, emotional and behavioural signs.
Some of the physical signs noticed are frequent illnesses, feeling of exhaustion, a change in appetite or sleep habits and frequent headaches or muscle pain.
"At times you will find people experiencing headaches due to the pressure...others may experience High Blood Pressure which may arise as well,"
Looking at the emotional signs, they include detaching oneself from society, experiencing a sense of failure, self-doubt, loss of motivation and decreased satisfaction to accomplishments.
Behavioural effects noticed include; withdrawing from responsibilities, isolating yourself from others and procrastination.
"In certain circumstances, one may end up doing a job that they are not able to. This job, therefore, ends up giving you pressure because you may lack the knowledge on going about it," mentioned Gichuri.
Other behaviours include skipping work, arriving to work late and leaving early, using food or drugs to cope and taking out frustrations on others.
As one of the solutions, Salome Gichuri highlights the role of a psychiatrist in taking time to understand the situation their clients are in before focusing on the problem.
"The most important thing is to discover there is an issue. When you realize that, instead of seeking any alternatives, consult an expert in order for them to assist you," commented Gichuri
