- Professional burnout,
- Chronic fatigue,
- Low self worth.
As Mind Owners we are declaring an open war to CST, and our goal is a total annihilation of the problems staying behind it, so You can become the true owner of Your own mind – in this fight, we don’t take any prisoners!
Professional Burnout
Professional burnout is a state of emotional, physical and psychical fatigue, caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It is characterized by a sense of being overwhelmed, lack of motivation, and decreased work efficiency, oftenly resulting from a lack of balance between demands of work environment and the employee’s personal resources. High levels of professional stress, lack of social support and ability to regenerate is leading to chronic stress, which eventually will develop into burnout.
In context of Corporate Stress Triangle, professional burnout is a key factor, which oftenly initiates a cycle of highly destructive symptoms. It may lead do depression, alcoholism, personal relationships devastation, and even suicide attempts. Employees, who are experiencing professional burnout might feel exhausted, isolated and incapable of meeting even simple expectations of working environment.
Chronic fatigue
Chronic fatigue is a direct consequence of professional burnout. Constant stress and work overload leads to overproduction of stress hormones, such as cortisol. It interrupts a natural cycle of sleeping and wakefulness, causing problems in falling asleep, interrupted dreaming, early awakenings, and even insomnia, which are a natural body response for prolonged stress. On the other hand, lack of sleep intensifies feeling of exhaustion and decreases the capabilities of dealing with stress, pushing the person into a spiral of fatigue from which it is difficult to break out.
People who are suffering from chronic fatigue experience a decline in cognitive abilities, as well as problems with concentration and memory, which is further increased by the stress associated with work and daily responsibilities.
Low self worth
Low self worth is a state, in which an individual has a negative convictions about himself/herself (oftenly without any specific evidences), feeling insufficient and not good enough. Low self worth might be a cause of work overload and chronic stress. Employees, who feels overwhelmed and exhausted, might start to doubt in their own abilities and their value either on the market or in their current workplace. People with low self worth might feel less competent and less capable to meet the demands of their work, which further increases stress and anxiety.
In context of Corporate Stress Triangle, people with low sleep hygiene oftenly do not have enough strength to counteract their low self worth, to develop their career or skillsets (for example by attending additional courses). Additionally, being burnt-out deepens the sense of meaninglessness and helplessness, which oftenly leads to feeling insufficient, which turns into increased stress level – and so the circle closes.
Additional Elements:
Corporate stress triangle might be also connected to other side symptoms, such as:
- Panic attacks – panic attacks are sudden episodes of intense anxiety and fear, oftenly linked to physical sensations, such as heart palpitations, shortness of breath, sweating and dizziness. People experiencing a professional burnout and chronic fatigue are more vulnerable for panic attacks, as because their nervous system is overloaded and their stress tolerance is significantly decreased. Lack of sleep and constant stress causes nervous system to be more sensitive, which leads to sudden episodes of intense anxiety and fear;
- Depression – people who had experienced burnout oftenly are incapable of finding a healthy alternative or an exit from their life situation, therefore exposing to risk of falling into depressive states;
- Workaholism – people who has experienced professional burnout oftenly attempt to compensate their lacks by increasing the engagement in their work, which leads into spiral of workaholism. Workaholism on the other hands increases chronic fatigue, trouble sleeping and increases risks of experiencing panick attacks.
- Impostor syndrome – it is a state in which an individual has a constant feeling of not deserving his/her own achievements, which makes them live in constant fear of being “caught as a cheater or fraud”. In context of Corporate Stress Triangle, impostor syndrome might be caused by chronic stress and burnout. Employees with low self worth might feel that their successes are a result of accident of fraud, which leads to even deeper stress and anxiety, while also increasing symptoms of burnout, exhaustion, and panic attacks. Impostor syndrome significantly increases chronic exhaustion and fatigue, as because people suffering from this syndrome oftenly works over their limits, in order to prove their worth, which leads to workaholism and manifies other symptoms of Corporate Stress Triangle.