Burnout is a pivotal part of esports, as the constant demand of training, travel and performance are key factors that can cause players to experience burnout.
When trying to reach the top in esports players are often told to keep practicing and keep grinding to go through the needles eye and become one of the few that make it at a pro level. When having a dedicated work ethic to become the very best within your field no matter what, esport athletes often forget to be aware of the dangers this constant grind contains, like burnout.
The dedication to keep grinding in order to reach the top can become a blessing and a curse, as players are told it is the only way to reach the top, but at the same time it can be the exact reason why they don’t reach the top, as the burnout caused by the constant grind makes the players fatigued and unable to perform.
In this video you are introduced to burnout, as well as what causes burnout and how burnout affects your mental well-being and everyday life. It is important to deal with burnout early in the process, as it can take its toll on esports athletes’ careers, forcing some in to early retirement from the esport they love, as well as affecting their overall well-being.
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The “burnout syndrome” is caused by chronic occupational stress. So stress related to your work.
When suffering from burnout, you can experience an overwhelming fatigue and loss of motivation, a cynical view of one’s job, and a sense of ineffectiveness and failure.
The World Health Organization has added burnout to its diagnostic manual International Classification of Diseases.
Here’s how they are defining it:
“Burnout is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress, that has not been successfully managed.”
It is characterized by three dimensions:
- feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion
- increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job and
- reduced professional efficacy.
Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.
As mentioned before it has been up for debate whether it should be a diagnosis or not. The reason is that burnout has been linked to depression, and due to the fact that burnout might not only relate to your work but also other areas of our lives.
While burnout does not appear in the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [(DSM-5), but it has been established as a legitimate justification for sick leave in several countries, for instance Sweden.
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Remember that you can find many resources on our website, and learn much more about mental health.
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