Burnout, depression, anxiety increase towards end of year – these are the signs

Experts expect burnout, depression and anxiety to heighten as people head towards the end of the year.

Dr Erica Munnik, clinical psychologist in the faculty of community and health sciences at the University of the Western Cape, said it was a stark reality that most people were tired nearing the end of the year.

Year-end burnout

Dr Erica Munnik said, “many individuals have given their all in terms of work, sacrificing a healthy work-life balance and become emotionally exhausted.

They may feel that “work is too demanding and there is a lack of a sense of personal fulfilment”, she said.

Symptoms of burnout

Munnik said core symptoms of burnout were feeling emotionally exhausted, a lack of a sense of personal accomplishment and feeling differently about a work situation.

“During the first three-quarters of the year, many individuals stop exercising, start to eat unhealthily, too much or too little, have difficulty sleeping, feel unenergetic, tired and worn out, engage in more drinking or substance use, some even take more over-the-counter medicine just to try to cope with the demands of everyday life,” she said.

Munnik said that if someone was aware they were smoking, or drinking more alcohol than usual, they should try to limit intake.

“To realise that you will most probably be in survival mode for the next three months up to the end of the year is important.

“Become aware of your thoughts, feelings and actions and how this impacts your ways of doing,” she said.

It has been a tough year

Dawie Lombard from Parys said it has been a rough year.

“It has been so hard on me that I quit my job last Monday. I just couldn’t take it any more,” he said.

“The pressure was too much to handle. When my boss lost her cool, I took my things and left,” he said.

Lombard said when the boss tore up his paperwork and threw it in his face, he realised he had to get out of there.

“I know every job has its challenges but this was a bit extreme and uncalled for,” he added.

Lombard said every year, the pressure increased around this time of the year.

“This past week at home I realised how out of balance my mental well-being was,” he said.

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What the experts say

Founder of Ithemba Foundation Prof Lizette Rabe from Stellenbosch University said as the year-end nears, already overwrought psyches were tensing up even more.

“It feels as if we are in the midst of a perfect storm, what with the governing party’s electoral conference experienced as a destabilising factor, the state of politics and the economy in general, crime and violence and our planet on the brink of a tipping point with regards to climate change,” she said.

SA College of Applied Psychology Work Integrated Learning coordinator Stacey Damonze said people were experiencing heightened levels of anxiety and disengagement from their work.

“The end of the year is typically characterised by increased pressure to produce results and to fulfil additional tasks outside of working hours, and even more so now considering the increase in inflation, which has seen increases in the cost of living,” she said.

How to avoid burnout

Damonze said a study conducted by IQbusiness revealed that over 66% of office-based employees were experiencing extreme stress, anxiety and depression.

Implementing boundaries such as sticking to a 40- to 45-hour work week, taking breaks, getting enough sleep, self-care and counselling could help avoid burnout.

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