Stress and Burnout Are at Epidemic Proportions Among Physicians, Especially Surgeons

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Most American physicians are overworked, which contributes to the widespread burnout within the medical profession. Care-giving and goal-oriented professions, such as medicine have prolonged exposure to critical decision making, trauma and patient complaints as well as overwhelming stressors such as excessive workload, increasing overhead, and night and weekend work.

The cumulative effect of this high-stress environment can lead to sleep disturbance, family problems, irritability, withdrawal, overworking, procrastination, alcohol use and overeating. This causes physicians to experience dissatisfaction with their personal and professional lives. These negative relationships combined with the emotional toll of their work are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and related events.

Physicians and attendant staff that regularly encounter trauma or life-threatening crises may benefit from access to behavioral-health specialists with extensive stress management training. Preventative stress management approaches such as cognitive restructuring, biofeedback, relaxation, or exercise aim to alter the individual’s response to stress.

Research has shown that the most powerful antidotes to burnout and emotional exhaustion are personal relationships, such as with a spouse, family or social support system or through positive communication. A spouse that is available and willing to listen during periods of emotional exhaustion is a great preventative resource and buffer for burnout and emotional exhaustion.

Biofeedback is an international, interdisciplinary newsmagazine devoted to the study of physiological systems, cognition, social and environmental parameters, and health from the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB).

Source: Allen Press

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