Four Types of Stress that Contribute to Social Work Burnout

We do not wake up one morning announcing that we are burned out. We often live with the condition for a period. Then one morning we realize that we are physically, emotionally, and mentally unable to get out of bed. We can no longer function, feeling emotionally drained, physically exhausted, and hopeless.

Burnout is another word for distress. Distress is the response to extreme pressure and chronic overwhelming stress. Social workers and those in social service professions experience burnout. Mothers who are sandwiched between the demands of their families and aging parents also experience symptoms of burnout. Entrepreneurs who work full-time while growing a part-time business become so overwhelmed by stress that they quit pursuing their goal.

Preventing burnout begins by understanding the different ways stress presents. This blog will review the four types of stress that contribute to burnout.

Aggravating Little Things

A stressor is something that causes tension or initiates the stress response. We often experience many different stressors throughout the day. These are small events or interactions that create a demand or change. I refer to them as “aggravating little things.” They are like sand gnats.

Sand gnats are prevalent in Florida, Coastal Southeast Georgia, and South Carolina. I live in Southeast Georgia and can tell you that they are awful. Sand gnats are like mosquitoes because they bite and leave itchy, welt marks on unprotected skin. Sand gnats swarm. This tiny bug gets in your nose, mouth, ears, or eyes.

They find ways to get under clothes. No type or large amount of insect repellent keeps them away. Smoke seems to be the only thing that keeps them away. We have learned to burn incense to deter them. The downside is that sometimes the incense smoke chokes.

Aggravating little things are the annoying occurrences we live through. Depending on our reactions, they provide repeated bursts of the stress response. The following scenario describes aggravating little things that may cause you to feel stressed. Your supervisor scheduled an important meeting with you. You prepared to arrive at work early.

Before you leave your home, you spill coffee on yourself and must change clothes. Changing clothes caused you to leave later than usual. This put you in the heart of rush hour. Not wanting to be late, you chose to run through a light just as it was turning red. A police officer stopped you. He did not give you a ticket, but it made you even later. When you arrived at work, your stress level was high. You were shaking, trembling, and trying to hold things together.

You went straight to your supervisor’s office. The secretary shared that your meeting was postponed because your supervisor was called to another important meeting. She sent you an email over an hour ago.

Adrenaline, cortisol other stress related hormones were flowing from the moment you spilled the coffee. Now, you just want to cry or throw something to settle yourself.

Juggling

Activities and events that occur at the same time often require juggling. Imagine tossing one ball in the air and catching it. Most have mastered the game of catch with only one ball. Add another ball and it is still easy to keep both balls from falling. When a third ball is added, keeping them all in the air requires more skill, energy, and concentration.

Professional jugglers add different items like bowling pins or knives. This adds an element of danger and excitement to the act. A missed cue or distraction could cause serious injury. Our lives are not unlike the balls, bowling pins or knives that professional jugglers toss. We have learned to juggle schedules, activities, needs and wants of family and others.

Trying to keep everything functioning in one or more households falls on women who are sandwiched between their children and aging parents. In addition to juggling activities of various households, women also juggle the emotions of loved ones. They take on the responsibility of mediating other’s feelings. This role elevates stress.
Social workers must also juggle responsibilities at work. They constantly find themselves juggling clients’ reality with the truth of available services.

One Thing After Another

This leads to another type of stress that increases and compounds from life events. I use the following demonstration to illustrate my point. Hold a reference book in the palm of your hands as if you are holding a serving tray. After about five minutes, add another reference book without taking a break. If possible, add 2 – 3 additional books one at a time, in five-minute intervals.

DO NOT STACK MORE BOOKS THAN YOU CAN SAFELY HOLD

You will probably notice that your hands and arms begin to tire as you hold one book. When additional books are stacked, they begin to ache in pain. Your hands and arms may go numb, depending on the weight of the books and how long you hold them. At some point, you may drop the books from fatigue or consciously give in to the pressure.

One thing after another describes life situations that create pressure and extreme stress. These situations do not always have a quick resolution. As a result, we often deal with more than one major life event at a time. This means that we must carry compounding pressures of life for extended periods of time.

Constant Ongoing

This type of stress is demonstrated by chronic pressure that does not go away. Sometimes it appears as one major life event that is ongoing. It also appears as a combination of One Thing After Another, Juggling and Aggravating Little Things. A debilitating illness, financial instability, or legal concerns are examples of the situations that contribute to sustained pressure.

Constant ongoing stress often goes unnoticed. We become accustomed to the feeling and overlook our response until it becomes overwhelming.

One way to demonstrate this idea is to hold a glass of water in one hand. The glass of water is harmless. If you are thirsty, the water could provide refreshment. No support is used to help stabilize the glass of water. It can be held without thinking.

As the glass of water is held, the arm begins to tire. Your muscles will begin to burn and hurt. The arm will tense and begin to tremble. The longer the glass is held, the more difficult it will be to hold it steady. The glass of water has not changed, the body has become fatigued from holding it. Constant ongoing stress is not different.
The longer we carry it, the more difficult it becomes to maintain stability because we get tired. Tiredness progresses to fatigue and eventually failure.

“I want to be happy, whole, satisfied and successful. What about you?”

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