8 Summary of Session 1

The main learning points of this first session are:

• Three broad dimensions are used to define burnout. These, derived from Raedeke and Smith (2001), are:
  • emotional and physical exhaustion,
  • a reduced sense of accomplishment, and
  • sport devaluation.
• Athletes, such as Ellie Simmonds, who only display some or part of these dimensions might be described as being at risk of burnout.
• There is an overlap of burnout experiences with mental health and depression; some authors have attempted to clarify the differences.
• Dropout from sport is only sometimes an outcome of burnout; they are separate concepts.
• Prolonged, long-term stress is a key factor in burnout with varied stress sources possible: internal (to an individual), external and/or physical.
• Overtraining is often a precursor to burnout.
• Numerous other factors may also contribute to burnout.

In the next session, you will discover the varied perspectives researchers have used to look at burnout and how it might be measured. You will also look more closely at the wide range of factors that contribute to it. How many contributory factors do you think there are?

You can now go to Session 2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .