The term "emotional burnout during war" is common in the media and social networks. However, scientific psychology does not yet have such a term. In fact, behind it lies emotional fatigue or exhaustion, which develops against the background of events and news about the war.

The main signs of emotional exhaustion during the war:

• irritability from news;
• unwillingness to read the news;
• fatigue from war-related content;
• apathy;
• decrease in intensity of action. For example, if at the beginning of the war a person actively donated and joined volunteer initiatives, now all these actions are less intense;
• emotional swing;
• manifestation of pessimistic attitudes.

At the beginning of the war, Ukrainians rallied, engaged all their forces in volunteer activities, donated, and were emotionally included in the news. Subsequently, they adapted to the situation. Volunteer involvement and the frequency of donations gradually decreased.

For some people, this was accompanied by fatigue, reduced consumption of content about the war, or even avoidance of the topic. For example, a person reduced the number of news channels in Telegram and began to consume more entertainment or educational content. 

"This is a normal process. War is a very difficult subject. It is impossible to be constantly emotionally involved in grief, pain, problems and uncertainty."

Each of us is at risk of developing emotional fatigue during war.

 However, there are people who are more prone to its manifestations:

• vulnerable people who react emotionally to events;
• empathetic individuals who cannot control this trait and very quickly and emotionally enter into various situations and events;
• people whose professional activities are closely related to the events: police, emergency services, military, journalists, diplomats, doctors, psychologists, volunteers, etc. 
• people who do not observe information hygiene. 

Ways to overcome emotional burnout:

It is important to develop reflection. It is thanks to self-awareness that we begin to orientate ourselves better, and therefore monitor our mood, thoughts, and condition in a timely manner. We can notice the changes happening in our inner world.

Pay attention to your body's signals. Very often, pain is the signal your body sends when you're burned out. The body is always talking to us - but we don't listen.

Let's relax, change the environment. Planning a vacation always improves mood and zest for life.

Do your favorite thing more often. A hobby helps to avoid burnout, the main thing in this process is to learn to restore strength and recharge with energy.

Remember the people who support you. When you're stressed, you want to distance yourself from people, but they can actually be an effective weapon against burnout. Relatives and friends are always able to support. Spend more time with them, it will help reduce stress and anxiety.

Determine your priorities and life values. Burnout is a sign that something important in your life is not working. Take time to think about your hopes, goals, and dreams.

Praise yourself. Remind yourself of your own achievements.

Exercise. Although exercise is the last thing you want to do when you're feeling burned out, it's powerful medicine. Besides, it's something you can do right now.

Aim to exercise 30 minutes a day: preferably

break this activity into 10-minute segments.