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M
otherhood is a demanding,
rewarding profession. No–
body - teacher, preacher,
psychologist- gets the same chance
to mold human minds and nurture
human bodies and emotions like a
mother. It can be a tremendously
satisfying job. and the resu lts of
truly competen! mothering can re–
verberate down through the genera–
tions.
But mothers. like other profes–
sionals. are prone to certain occupa–
tional hazards. Not just dishpan
hands. ei ther. but the same kind of
difficulties that plague other workers
such as doctors. lawyers and psychi–
atrists.
One such hazard that has come to
light lately is a phenomenon known
as "professional burnout." Social
workers. psychologists, ministers–
those who deal with people in–
timately and intensely day afler
day-may after a period of months
or years experience a common syn–
drome. The people and their prob–
lems finally "get to them." and
cause them to go into a negative
pattern of behavior known as
"burnout."
Symptoms may include a widen–
ing emotional detachment from
their patients or clients, a loss of
!ove and concern for them as total
human beings. unwarranted anger
or emotional outbursts, and various
stress-related physical and mental
difficulties.
But this phenomenon is not
st rictly limited to the "helping" pro–
fessions.
lt
can aff'ect
anybody
who
has to deal with people day after
day without a break. And while
motherhood does not normally in–
elude working with a case load of
300 clients or a group of patients
who habitually call for advice a t
3 a.m., it does at times mean a su–
perintense relationship with one or
more small human beings who may
call for service twenty-four hours a
day. And it's amazing how many
mothers exhibit exactly the same
behavior other professionals do
when confronted with too many
"people" demands.
Smoke Signals
For instance, tired professionals
may distance themselves emotion–
ally by various methods from those
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1977
they serve. Doctors. for example.
may refer to patients as "appendec–
tomies" or "coronaries" instead of
thinking of them as total human
beings. Social workers may avoid
involvement by withholding eye
contact. They may minimize physi–
cal contact by using various body–
language barriers like desks or
counters. They may stand beside
doors with their hand on the knob,
ready to escape if things become too
intense. Those who work with low–
income families may begin to think
of their clients in demeaning terms.
blaming clients for their plights. in–
stead of ernpathizing as they did
when they first went to work in the
field. Pros on the verge of a burnout
may find themselves lecturing or
shouting at clients for no logical rea–
son- and perhaps they are normally
kind people who would never think
of behaving this way.
Motherly Parallels
A burnt-out mother may exhibit
many of the same symptoms. In–
stead of dealing with each of her
children as an individual, she may
refuse eye contact. She may answer
questions with a mumble ora grunt,
busying herself with household
tasks that emotionally exclude her
off'spring. She may avoid touching.
hugging. or other forms of body
contact for lengthy periods of time.
And she may mention "the kids" in
the same tone of voice another pro
would refer to a "case load" or
"docket."
When she had her first child. she
probably was intensely aware of
him or her as a unique, precious
individual. But time and routine
may have taken a toll. The emo–
tional stress of constantly dealing
with a tiny human being who makes
noise, messes, and is continually un–
derfoot may havc caused a gradual
change to take place. Perhaps the
arrival of one or two brothers or
sisters took away the novelty and
added lo'the load.
Like a lawyer described by Dr.
Christina Maslach. she may one day
find herself screaming at her young
"clients" for no good reason cxcept
she has reached the end of her emo–
tional rope ("Burned-Out."
Human
Behavior,
September 1976. p. 16).
Or she may hold in her frustration
until it begins to exhibit itself as the
"housewife syndrome." Described
by sociologist Dr. Jesse Barnard,
symptoms can include nervousness.
inertia, insomnia. trembling hands,
nightmares, perspiring, fainting,
headaches, dizziness and heart pal–
pitation-all with no physical or
pathological explanation. Burnt-out
professionals like policemen, psychi–
atrists. and prison guards experiencc
the same deterioration in th eir
health, and the . list of symptoms is
remarkably similar: insomnia. ul–
cers. migraine. perspiration, ner–
vousness. and painful muscular
tension.
Mothers of small children have
been known to say things like. " ll's
not that 1 can't do what 1 want- 1
can
read a book,
1
can
listen to a
record. lt's just that
1
can never do it
when
1
want to" (Shirley
L.
Radl,
Mother's Day ls Over,
p.
190). Psy–
chiatrists who have gone from hos–
pital to prívate practice report
experiencing the same feelings.
They have difficulty finding time for
a little peace and quiet alone. be–
cause there's nobody else to go on
duty for them when the shift is over.
One minister complained of the
same imposition on his "down time"
at home: " 1 hate to hear the phone
ring- l'm afraid of who it's going to
be and what they' ll want."
Dr. Maslach noted that for social
workers the biggest sign of burnout
was that a creative person with orig–
inal thoughts and a fresh approach
to the job found himself trans–
formed into a "mechanical bureau–
crat." This is also a signa ! of
motherly burnout. One woman re–
ported listening to her neighbor in
an adjace nt apartment scream
"No!" lo her active toddler over and
over again in the course of a morn–
ing. Apparently all imagination
(give the child sorne unbreakable
goodies to play with; take him for a
walk; read him a story) had van–
ish ed before the need to be a good
bureaucrat (get the housework done
immediately at any cost).
Burnt-out psychologists may re–
sort to cutting down the time of
therapy sessions with clients. Burnt–
ou t mothers send the kids out–
side for lengthening periods of
time.
The parallels are endless.
17