WHAT IS WORRY BURNOUT?

With so many devastating events happening in the world, it's normal to feel overwhelmed

- Amber Bramble

From the pandemic to war and natural disasters, it feels like everywhere we look we are seeing distressing news. While the world has certainly seen terrible things before, the sheer number of devastating events has put our coping skills to the test.

"We tend to have a finite number of resources to cope," explains Vikki Knott, a clinical psychologist from the Australian College of Applied Psychology.

"Many of us are operating on reduced resources post-pandemic. With so many stressful and sad things happening, it's easy to feel overwhelmed."

ARE WE BURNT OUT?

If you're feeling tired, you're definitely not alone. "There are generally two main forms of stress," says Vikki. “These are acute stress, which comes from a one-off incident, as well as chronic stress, which is longer term and ongoing.”

Unfortunately, many of us are currently experiencing a cocktail of both these feelings.

"At the moment we are exposed to both acute stressors (such as from the recent floods] as well as chronic stress," says Vikki. “For many people the stress has gone on for so long that it's possible to develop a sense of burnout or learned helplessness, which is having a sense that nothing we do matters."

Not all events have to affect us personally to have an impact. The tragic early death of Shane Warne recently hit a profound nerve for many Aussies, including those who had never met him.