The psychologist named the differences between laziness and burnout

Modern people are increasingly faced with a condition where they do not have the strength and cannot force themselves to work. Nothing motivates, and no entertainment brings back vital energy. Ekaterina Yemelyanova, a psychologist, individual and couple therapist, supervisor, author of courses for women, and a lecturer at Moscow State University, told Izvestia on December 4 what this is about and how to overcome it.

"Attempts at self-diagnosis lead to false conclusions: "I'm lazy," which means fruitless attempts to stimulate myself and increase feelings of guilt. Meanwhile, there may be a serious psychological problem behind the described phenomenon, called burnout, which requires a fundamentally different approach in order not to do any more harm," she warned.

If we talk about laziness, then this is not a mental breakdown, but rather a signal of the existence of an unresolved internal conflict. When, given the availability of energy, a person does not find enough motivation, a response in the value system to perform an action. For example, he considers writing a report pointless and directs energy to perform those tasks that are meaningful and interesting to him. Alternatively, he starts reading a book or goes to a meeting with friends.

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In addition, laziness can be a way to resolve an internal dispute: one part of the personality longs for realization and recognition, the other is afraid not to endure potential failure. Unable to withstand the tension between these two parts, a person chooses to suppress one of them, and laziness in this process turns out to be an ideal mediator so as not to risk making mistakes.

Thus, the criterion of laziness is the presence of vitality, but their allocation to tasks that are not consistent with what "needs to be done."

"In order to process laziness as a signal from the body, it is useful to ask yourself questions: what need am I not admitting to, what decision am I avoiding, what responsibility do I not want to bear? Accompanied by an experienced specialist who helps to notice the truthful answers, the problem around laziness can be solved," explained the psychologist.

If we talk about burnout, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes it as a consequence of constant work stress that has not been overcome. In addition, burnout is a syndrome and a dynamic process, the distinctive features of which, from the point of view of ICD-11, is a feeling of depletion of energy or exhaustion.

There is also an increase in emotional detachment from work, a negative or cynical attitude towards it. You find that you start to be indifferent to your responsibilities and the people around you.

"In the case of helping professions, it may seem that clients/patients deserve their problems and suffering. Over time, this disparaging attitude unfolds to personal needs," said Yemelyanova.

Subjectively, it may seem that you have achieved nothing, and your work is not yielding results. This experience can be fueled by doubts about productivity, both personally and as a team. Moreover, the reasons for this may not be in actual inability, but in systemic problems: lack of positive feedback, constant excessive criticism, unclear criteria for success, or lack of positive examples among colleagues and management.

In such an environment, any difficulty is perceived as confirmation of one's own inadequacy, which definitively undermines self-confidence. In addition, burnout is affected by a sense of lack of equity between contribution, effort, and performance.

The "gold standard" for measuring burnout today is the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) questionnaire, which evaluates burnout syndrome in accordance with the International Classification of Diseases and is used according to various data in 78-90% of studies.

Unlike laziness, burnout is a condition that affects all areas of life: there is no interest in communication, hobbies, or what used to interest you, and any activity seems to require tremendous effort. Weekends don't help, and vacations don't either.

"Therefore, it is better than to solve burnout problems with specialists for a long time and possibly with the help of pharmacological support, and to deal with their prevention in a timely manner. Namely, to take on an adequate workload, to organize rest and request help in a timely manner, to reconsider your beliefs that encourage you to treat yourself functionally, ignoring feelings and needs," the specialist summed up.

On November 20, a study by scientists at St. Louis University showed that people over the age of 50 who suffer from both depression and insomnia are significantly more likely to experience Alzheimer's disease and various forms of dementia. The researchers analyzed the medical records of about 2 million patients.

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