
A burnout is a consequence of revision – and can meet pretty much everyone: n. If you don’t take the symptoms seriously, you run the risk of risking your own health. You should take these signs seriously.
Burnout: symptoms and signs
Not only typical workaholics can be affected by a burnout, but also parents, students, students: inside, unemployed or pensioners: inside. The range of those affected shows how important it is to be aware of the risk of burnout.
In order to be able to do something against an impending burnout in good time, you should know the signs. The warning signals are diverse and every person has an individual pattern. In addition, the symptoms of a burnout change depending on how far it has already progressed.
Burnout symptoms: First warning signals
At the beginning of the development of a burnout, symptoms still appear in very diffuse form. You may have the feeling that something is wrong. Sometimes there is afraid of groundless fear in the initial phase. Important signs at the beginning of a burnout are primarily first physical symptoms such as fatigue, gastrointestinal problems or sleep disorders.
Since these signals are difficult to recognize and are not always associated with a burnout, many people do not react to them in the first phase.
Specific signs of a threatening burnout

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The course of a burnout is individual, but according to the so-called Burian model, it can be resorted to 7 rough phases, according to the Medical Portal Netdoktor.
A starting burnout (phase 1 in the Burisch model) is initially associated with increased use for a specific task. This can affect, for example, the upbringing of one’s own children or responsibilities in the job. You should pay particular attention to these signs:
- You work almost non -stop without major interruptions
- You take on additional work
- You displace failures or disappointments
- You feel indispensable
- You have the feeling that you don’t have time for you anymore
- You deny your own needs
- You restrict interpersonal contacts
Physically, a burnout symptoms like the following can cause:
- exhaustion
- Lack of energy and sleep
- Susceptibility to infections
If you notice these first concrete signs with you, it is important to rethink your current work setting. Nobody holds out permanently high work workload. If you do not take regular breaks during this phase and take up recovery times at the weekend, the burnout symptoms can continue and worsen.
Symptoms of a progressive burnout

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While the initial phase of a burnout is still shaped by increased zeal for work, this over -engagement tilts later. The feeling spreads that you should finally get something back for your performance. Since this is usually not the case, people often react with “inner termination” and less commitment or retreat (phase 2 in the Burisch-Modell). They come too late, take longer breaks and only do the bare essentials
With a progressive burnout (phase 3 in the Burisch model) you often feel:
- Anyened, dissatisfied and irritated
- exploited and cheated
If a burnout has progressed very far, according to NetDoktor, the dwindling performance (phase 4), emotional withdrawal and disinterest (phase 5) occurs. Then, in addition to the symptoms already mentioned, the following often appear:
- poorer work performance (for example frequent careless mistakes)
- Detail of creative thinking
- Decision difficulties
In these advanced phases, feelings of deep exhaustion, senselessness and failure often occur. In addition, the loss of energy is so large that relaxation breaks on weekends or on vacation can no longer be sufficient to relax.
You should act in these burnout symptoms

(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / Lukasbieri)
According to the Burisch model, Phase 6 leads to strong psychosomatic reactions and physical symptoms are increasingly deteriorating. Important burnout symptoms in this stage are:
- Mattness and exhaustion
- restlessness
- Sleep disorders
- Muscle tension
- sexual problems
-
Headache and back pain
- increased blood pressure and racing heart
- Gastric cramps, nausea and indigestion
- Tinnitus
These symptoms of a burnout are clear signs that you should step down. Your body wants to tell you that his resources are slowly but surely exhausted. Keep in mind that you should also deal with your mental and physical forces.
Important: Burnout symptoms usually last over a long time, i.e. over weeks or months, and are different than temporary revision. So you should find this with yourself, get medical or psychological advice to talk about the suspicion of burnout. In the worst case, the collapse (phase 7) or the transition of symptoms into depression threatens.
Conclusion: take burnout symptoms seriously
Signs of burnout are diverse and express themselves differently in every person. Some show many of the symptoms, others only a few. In addition, the symptoms of burnout change when it progresses. The type and intensity of the symptoms are therefore a good indication of the stage of the burnout.
It is important that you counter a burnout as early as possible. The secret is to deal with your own psychological resources sustainably. Lower workload, less pressure to succeed, more breaks and sometimes “no” to say about an additional task.
Read more on utopia.de:
- Sleeping aid: practical tips to fall asleep faster
- Resilience: This is how you train your mental resilience
- Reduce stress: 7 tips on how to slow down your life
Revised by Philipp Multhaupt
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