Opinion – Michael França: Mental exhaustion is one of the signs of illness in our way of life

The first rays of sunlight come through the window after another sleepless night. The day dawns, but the will is to stay in bed. Even the rest of a peaceful weekend is not enough to recover energy. Muscle aches appear here and there.

At work, it is difficult to maintain concentration. The venerated productivity diminishes and, gradually, procrastination becomes an ungrateful companion. Tasks that were once easy to accomplish become difficult to even start.

Patience goes away along with the ability to feel satisfaction from the smiles that life offers. Small everyday incidents often generate an irritation that is difficult to contain. This tends to become clearer in traffic. Loss of control is not uncommon. The impression of having crossed the line increases and, at the same time, a feeling of helplessness can begin to emerge.

The busy modern day makes everyone feel some level of tiredness at certain times. This is normal. Many are able to recover after a few days of rest. However, despite being one of the hallmarks of current times, the feeling of being perennially tired is not something natural.

Such tiredness can evolve into more serious cases of mental exhaustion, and is usually accompanied by several symptoms, which can even disable people from performing basic everyday tasks. There is a boundary across which, when it is crossed, the body begins to show signs of failure and its recovery tends to be time-consuming, as well as costly.

In Brazil, the proportion of people who have crossed their limits is high. According to the International Stress Management Association, about 32% of workers experience burnout.
The factors that contribute to this are diverse and many of them are related to our current way of life. There is too much focus on productivity and goals. Not infrequently, even ordinary social interactions have turned into working relationships. Pleasure and the pursuit of personal satisfaction tend to take a back seat. In many cases, the intention to continuously improve professional performance is, paradoxically, decreasing the results obtained not only at work, but in other relevant aspects of life.

Labor relations in various occupations are more fragile. In addition to the anguish generated by the uncertainty of positions with flexible ties, those who have a job are afraid of losing it. In turn, while low-income workers face several battles to ensure their livelihood, high-income workers are often addicted to the high returns that their occupations provide them, offering more and more of themselves in exchange for money and recognition. Sometimes, they forget to seek in their trajectories a fulfillment of purposes that go beyond those limited only to work relationships.

There are many challenges we need to face as a society. Of these, the mental health of the population should not be overlooked. In the case of exhaustion, its treatment is not simple. It is necessary to have the follow-up of a good mental health professional. Something that not everyone has access to.

In addition, it usually goes through a change in certain habits and even the redefinition of some values. It requires going beyond just looking at professional results, but also taking advantage of the path that leads to each achievement and seeking to see more clearly our essential needs as human beings.

The text is a tribute to the song “Num dia”, by Arnaldo Antunes, Chico Salem, Hélder Gonçalves and Manuela Azevedo, performed by Arnaldo Antunes. This column was designed to generate reflections in a month marked by the Yellow September suicide prevention campaign.