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  • Writer's pictureClaire Timmermans

Burn-out or bore-out: what is it and how to recover from it?


Burnout literally means being "burned out." If you have a burnout, you feel physically, psychologically and emotionally exhausted, which means that you are no longer able to function normally in your daily work or your family. As a counterpart to the burnout where excessive workload and prolonged exposure to stress leads to overwork and/or fatigue, the bore-out ensures the same result through boredom, disinterest and lack of challenge.


Getting sick from boredom, is that possible? Yes, because lying about the nature of and the amount of work you do can cause as much stress as taking on too much. Boredom is taboo in the workplace, so someone with bore-out will soon develop strategies to hide that. The symptoms of a bore-out are almost the same as those of burnout: insomnia, fatigue, frustration, irritation, depression.


But what's the difference between burnout and bore-out?

If you are an above average perfectionist, you are prone to burnout. You don't want to disappoint others, you have trouble setting boundaries and you like to meet expectations. As a result, you become a little further away from what you think is important. If you constantly doubt your own abilities and are afraid to make mistakes, it causes chronic stress. And if that stress persists, you end up burning up.


If you're struggling with a bore-out, you probably have as little puff to go to work as someone with burnout. Yet there is a substantial difference. Where burnout finds a breeding ground in a perfectionist and uncertain personality, a bore-out is often attributed to external factors. If your work is not challenging for a longer period of time, a bore-out is lurking. It may seem relaxed to function at half strength, but ultimately it can seriously undermine your confidence.


Determining the right cause:

Fighting a burnout requires a different approach than a bore-out. That is why it is important that the right cause is determined, so that the situation is solved in the right way and for the long term. If you are bored, you need a different approach than when you experience continuous work stress. So you will have to take other actions to get more pleasure in your (work) life.


Proven effective treatment methods for stress complaints and burnout are aimed at finding the balance, learning to deal with stress and gaining more insight into the own ability to prevent a relapse in complaints. This is often done through cognitive behavioral therapy. Do you not live according to your true inner motivations, do you find too little variety and challenge in areas that interest you and/or do you not do enough activities that bring you satisfaction and pleasure? Then get acquainted with counselling. Counselling brings you into deeper contact with yourself, so you discover what you really want. Counselling often focuses first on setting goals and then on achieving those goals.


Do you recognize yourself in the above symptoms of a bore-out or burnout and do you need help with this? As an online psychologist and online counsellor, we offer online cognitive behavioral therapy and online counselling for bore-out or burnout complaints. Online therapy has many advantages over therapy in the treatment room and has been proven to be equally effective. Are you interested in online therapy and our treatment options? Visit our website www.nostraforza.com and contact us without obligation via our contact form. We are happy to explain how we can help you.



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