Psychology - anxiety and burnout Flashcards
What is one of the main causes of stress?
Bullying
Which 5 things were chosen as most likely to cause stress in the bristol dental school stressor survey of 2010?
- Examination and grades
- Shortage of allocated clinical time
- Completing clinical requirements
- Fear of failing a course or year
- Amount of work assigned
Which 5 things were chosen as least likely to cause stress in the bristol dental school stressor survey of 2010?
- Approachability of teaching staff
- Romantic relationships
- Moving away from home
- Making friends
- Discrimination due to race, nationality, gender or social class
Which two words can be sued to describe stress?
- Dynamic (changes from day to day)
- Subjective (different for everyone)
What is stress?
An excess of demands over the individuals reasources to meet them
- Internal = from within e.g. got to be top of the class
- External = physical health, other people, equipment etc.
What is rustout?
No stress
No motivation to get out of bed and do anything = little performance
What is eustress?
When you are busier and have things to do (positive stress)
What is burnout?
When its too much
= no energy, dont get much done, cynicism, decrease in commitment (percieved low achiement) & unclear expectations
Where is the optimum level of stress?
A while before burnout so if get some more can still cope without burnout!
What is burnout?
- A depletion of personal energy (low productivity)
- A loss of vitality and spirit (cynicism = depersonalisation = critical of everything)
- Gradual decrease in commitment (due to percieved low achievement)
- Affected by environment at home or work (unclear expectations, lack of apprioriate reasources)
- Avoidable & reversible
What are the three primary factors of stress and work?
- The demands of work (long hours, work overload, poor conditions, lack of autonomy, isolated work patterns, responsibility for the lives of others, time pressure, emotional strain, role ambiguity, relationships, home-work spillage)
- The degree of control we have over it
- The amount of support we percieve in both our personal & professional lives
What are the 3 different types of bullying?
- Physical (push/hit)
- Verbal (name calling)
- Relational (ignore/freeze them out)
What different things are medics bullyed about?
- Sexually
- Racial
- Religious
- Sexual orientation
- Disability
- Psycological abuse (threat, isolation & destabilisation)
What is bullying?
A persistant behaviour against [an individual] that is intimidating, degrading, offensive or malicious and undermines the confidence and self-esteem of the recipient (also organisational/cultural)
What is harrassment?
Unwanted behaviour related to age, sex, race, disability, religion, sexuality or any personal characteristics of the individual
e.g. touching an individuals knee to be nice -> but if unwanted it is still harrassment
Who are the biggest bullys in the NHS?
Patients
What should you do if you feel you are being bullied?
- Talk to the perpetrator (explain how you feel, ask them to stop, warn them you may make a formal complaint)
- Talk to supervisor/tutor (support workers, counsellors, occupational health)
- Keep a diary = evidence (include dates, details, witnesses, correspondance)
Caring for the carers:
Increased rates of mental health problems (depression, anxiety & the more severe psychosis = pushed over thresholds) -> contributes to increased rate of suicide & premature retirement
Due to high rates of:
Work related stress, anxiety & depression, somatic & social dysfunction, & fatigue
How many times more likely are dentists to retire from ill health at the age of 45 years than doctors?
4 X
Due to: musculoskeletal disorders & stress-related illnesses
Causes of ill health in those that retire: 10% not work related, 42% partly work related, 48% completely work related
Why are dentists more at risk?
- Perfectionist (like things to be right)
- Conscientious (care about what we do)
- Committed to public service
- Ability to attend to detail in a confined space
- Not wanting to let colleagues down (perceiving sickness as failure -> struggle through or become patient yourself)
- Time spent training in non transferable skills
What is the impact of stress on a social and behavioural level?
- Increased use of tea, coffee, alcohol, drugs & prescription meds
- Impulsive emotional behaviour
- Irritability/aggression
- Rushing/hurrying
- Missing breaks/meals
- Difficulty making decisions
- Poor home/work relationships
- Emotional withdrawal (social isolation)
- Increased risk of suicide
What are the physical impacts of stress?
- Poor general health
- Insomnia (tiredness)
- Hyperventilation
- Palpitations
- Muscle tensions
- IBS
- Sweating
- Back pain
- Accidents
- Headaches
- Skin disorders
- Restlessness
- Nausea
- Hypertension/ cardiovascular disease
- Ulcers
- Tremor
What is the cognitive impact of stress?
- Anxiety
- Boredom
- Depression
- Poor memory
- Distractible (poor concentration)
- Apathy (lack of intrest, enthusiasm or concern)
- Loss of confidence
Key thing to remember…
Suffering from stress is not a sign of weakness!
Managing to cope with a high level of stress is no measure of a persons personal strength (it shows that you have good reasources in place)
What should we have a balance of in our lives?
Physical
Social
Intellectual
Emotional
Spiritual
What strategies should you follow?
Be aware of:
You -> personality, control & coping
Your own feelings
Your own stress levels
Levels of stress in others
Your own sources of support
TRY AND KEEP A BOUNDRY BETWEEN WORK AND HOME
