Have you ever felt tired lately that you can’t find any other way to make yourself feel better? Some people tend to work too much, forgetting to have enough time to relax or socialize. It could result in excessive and prolonged mental, emotional, and physical stress when it persists. This overwhelming feeling can emotionally and physically drain anyone. Does it sound familiar? If you can relate to that description, you are most probably experiencing burnout.
What Is Burnout?
In today’s fast-paced world, people, specifically employees, are expected to show up when needed and do more work than necessary. Even the work-from-home setup has this implied requirement to be present and accessible at any time. With these factors and the different struggles that happen all around us, it is only natural that a lot of us feel swamped.
Coined by Dr. Herbert Freundenberger in the 1970s, “burnout” is a type of psychological condition. It shares the same symptoms as other mental health diseases like anxiety, PTSD, and depression. It also has three classifications. These are:
Overload Burnout - Characterized by complete physical and emotional exhaustion caused an intense drive to work hard for success
Lack of Development or Under-Challenge Burnout - Caused by the lack of opportunities for professional development or personal growth; often associated with cynicism about work
Neglect Burnout - Feeling ineffective, helpless, inadequate in the workplace, or having no accomplishment to be proud of
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Burnout?
Here are some signs that you are already experiencing burnout:
Physical Signs
Feeling drained and tired all the time
Frequent illness due to low immunity
Recurring muscle pain and headache
Changing sleeping habits
Changing appetite
Emotional Signs
Feeling like a failure
Feeling helpless and defeated
Feeling alone, detachment
Lacking motivation
Having a negative life outlook
Having decreased sense of accomplishment
Behavioral Signs
Isolating from others
Procrastinating
Withdrawing from responsibilities
Skipping work
Taking out frustrations to other people
Ketamine as an Effective Mental Health Treatment for Burnout
Instead of waiting for things to get better or for a new motivation to kick in (which is not a guaranteed method for a mental health situation), there is a new solution the experts in the field are looking into. Researchers are now eyeing ketamine treatment as an effective solution to treating burnout symptoms.
Ketamine therapy is now gaining popularity as the solution that can quickly reverse any symptoms caused by burnout. However, experts do not see it as a treatment that should be taken lightly. Still, it has shown remarkable results since its inception.
During the 2021 American Psychiatric Association Virtual Meeting, Richard C. Shelton, MD, explained how ketamine affects the brain’s functionality. According to him, when a person undergoes a stressful circumstance, they experience reduction and retraction on the neuronal spine and synapses. That makes it hard for the brain to control or even regulate the human’s emotional state.
When ketamine is administered to a person, it creates an immediate spike in the formation of the much-needed spine and synaptic proteins. Therefore, allowing a rapid return and restoration for the spine and synapses’ functionality.
That provides a much faster effect than what regular medications can give. Usually, prescribed antidepressants and other similar medications take weeks or months before they start to take effect.
Conclusion
Ketamine therapy is an efficacious treatment that has produced excellent results so far. It is not only good in treating burnout, anxiety, and depression. It is also considered a solution to alcoholism, substance use, and other related health and mental concerns. Since it is a relatively new treatment, it is still important to be cautious and make sure the treatment is right for you. Therefore, before deciding to have this therapy session, ensure that each session involves a trained physician and possibly a psychotherapist who knows what they are doing.
Dr. Stephanie Lyn Coleman, conducts a detailed medical intake and evaluation to determine the appropriateness of the procedure to the client. Our ketamine treatment is administered by a trained physician and involves an initial preparation session to talk about your procedure intentions for a careful assessment. If you are considering ketamine as a mental health treatment to explore, schedule a phone consultation with us.