Overwork : an enemy of mental and physical well-being

---

Extract from the article: Overwork doesn't scream. It doesn't manifest itself with a bang. It quietly creeps into life, week after week, camouflaged behind productivity, responsibility and dedication. It settles into daily life like a discreet guest, until the day it becomes

---

Overwork doesn't scream. It doesn't manifest itself with a bang. It quietly creeps into life, week after week, camouflaged behind productivity, responsibility and dedication. It settles into daily life like a discreet guest, until the day it becomes too much to bear. And that's where its danger lies : it builds up silently

In our performance-driven society, overload often becomes the norm. Meetings, deadlines and notifications come thick and fast, all the while juggling our personal lives: children, housework, errands, appointments. The sum total of tasks, demands and responsibilities is what we call mental workload. The brain is in an almost constant state of alert, compelled to anticipate and control everything. As a result, the nervous system becomes exhausted, without us necessarily realizing it. This commitment to work is necessary. If work wasn't important to you, you probably wouldn't be able to push yourself beyond your limits. Here's the paradox: it's often the most committed, the most conscientious, who silently burn out. Overwork affects those who want to do well, who want above all to do everything, until they collapse.

Signals from body and mind

Overwork is not a simple case of fatigue. It's a progressive saturation of the human being that expresses itself on three levels: the body, the mind and the emotions.

On the physical level, the signs are varied, including muscular tension, particularly in the back, neck or jaw, headaches, digestive problems and sleep disturbances. The body tries to resist, but runs out of steam. Instead of stimulating, stress becomes a factor of wear and tear. Chronic stress weakens the immune system and can even lead to illness.

Cognitively, the overworked person has difficulty concentrating, loses short-term memory (working memory), feels mentally fuzzy or subjectively confused, and has difficulty thinking clearly. The mental load becomes foggy. Decisions take longer to make, efficiency plummets. This pushes people to compensate by working harder, prolonging the vicious circle.

Emotionally, irritability rises. Sensitivity runs high. The prone person overreacts to details, and feels on edge for seemingly minor reasons. The overworked may feel misunderstood, alone, sometimes even guilty for “not getting on”.

A silent but destructive spiral

The trap of overwork is that it sets in gradually. Warning signs are often trivialized. We tell ourselves that “it'll pass”, that “it's just a bad patch, that we've got to hang in there”. Gradually, the individual adapts, pushing back his or her limits. He silences his body and his emotions, until one day everything collapses.

After six months of continuous stress, the risk of exhaustion becomes real. It's no longer a passing fatigue, but a deep emotional collapse. And the longer it takes to react, the longer and more difficult it will be to recover.

Breaking out of overwork: break the routine

When faced with a loved one in overdrive, the natural reflex is to advise them to “get some rest”. But this is a common mistake. Overwork not only tires, it devitalizes. Simply returning to a “work-sleep” routine after a break is not enough. You need to reconnect with yourself, with what really energizes you. Change your environment, rediscover pleasurable activities, disconnect mentally from work, air out your mind. These are the first steps towards healing. A walk in the woods, a weekend without screens, a session of sport can have more effect than a long sleep. Then there's the importance of a healthy lifestyle. You need a balanced diet, good sleep, regular physical activity and, above all, the ability to set limits. Learn to say no, to delegate, to protect yourself.

Overwork these days is referred to under the terminology “Burnout”, is recognized by the WHO in the ICD-11 published in 2019 as an occupational syndrome, but as a mental illness.

Raymond DZAKPATA

Article validated by Dr Zinsou Selom Degboe, Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist at the Clinique de Psychiatrie et de Psychologie Médicale (CPPM) at CHU Campus de Lomé.