Distraction helps with initial burnout signs

Burnout: Counteract with distraction at first signs

06/08/2012

Exhausted and feeling burned out can be the first signs of burnout. Those affected should try to distract themselves with recreational activities such as sports, a movie visit or meeting friends. However, if the depression persists, experts strongly recommend taking professional therapeutic help.

Create new energy against burnout with sports and social activities
„When you feel burned out, it helps to play sports, to go to the cinema or to the theater, or to talk to colleagues and friends about the topic“, said Rainer Richter, President of the Federal Psychotherapeutic Chamber (BptK). A conversation with the family doctor is also helpful. However, if exhaustion persists for a long time, sufferers should seek professional help, advises Richter. The first signs of burnout included depression, difficulty concentrating, chronic fatigue and an emotional distance from work. „The problem with burnout is that there are no specific symptoms like other mental illnesses“, explained the BptK president. Those affected would report many different complaints. „It is exhaustion that makes you dissatisfied and hindered at work. Also, the sufferer feels that he does not come out alone, mentally turns in a circle and is listless“, so judge. Nevertheless, burnout is not a disease.

According to Richter, those affected can be cured or recover from exhaustion. „A complete decline of the symptoms is possible“, said the expert. In some cases, however, those affected will also be advised to change jobs.

Burnout becomes a social problem
Burnout is increasingly becoming a societal problem. The German Society for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Neurology (DGPPN) discusses this problem in its current position paper. Federal Minister of Labor Ursula von der Leyen demands in a welcoming speech to the professional society that employers and trade unions fulfill their duty to counter excessive demands in the workplace. The health system is hardly able to absorb the social consequences of sick leave and early retirement due to mental illness. (Ag)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann, Pixelio