*The information in this podcast is intended for Healthcare Practitioners.

Almost half of working Australians report feeling burnt out. Similarly, many people can experience burnout from non-occupational pressures, such as being a carer. In this episode Nathan speaks to burnout researcher Gabriela Tavella on the science and management of this affliction. Gabriela discusses the psychological factors linked to burnout and the physiological effects of this stress state, how burnout can be confused with depression and chronic fatigue, as well as management strategies her research team have unveiled.

Discover some surprising factors that burnout sufferers have reported to be effective and ineffective in managing their allostatic overload. Additionally, Gabriela offers some simple and accessible tools that can help people experiencing burnout.

Gabriela Tavella is a PhD candidate in the UNSW School of Psychiatry and has a Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) from UNSW. Gabriela currently works alongside burnout pioneering researcher and founder of the Blackdog Institute Prof Gordon Parker AO. Gabriela has published numerous peer-reviewed papers on burnout and recently co-authored the book Burnout: A guide to identifying burnout and pathways to recover.

Links:

Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery

Bayes A, Tavella G, Parker G. The biology of burnout: Causes and consequences. World J Biol Psychiatry. 2021;22(9):686-698. doi:10.1080/15622975.2021.1907713

Parker G, Tavella G. Distinguishing burnout from clinical depression: A theoretical differentiation template. J Affect Disord. 2021;281:168-173. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.022

Tavella G, Hadzi-Pavlovic D, Parker G. Burnout: Redefining its key symptoms. Psychiatry Res. 2021;302:114023. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114023

Parker G, Tavella G. The Diagnosis of Burnout: Some Challenges. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2022;210(7):475-478. doi:10.1097/NMD.0000000000001492

Parker G, Tavella G. Is burnout simply a stress reaction?. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2022;56(9):1065-1067. doi:10.1177/00048674211070221