Burnout prevention: This is how you get stress under control

Burnout prevention prevents you from burning out and putting your health at risk. We’ll tell you how to get stress under control in good time.

This is how you recognize burnout

Burnout translates to being burned out. If you are exposed to long-term stress and feel permanently exhausted, you can suffer from burnout. sleep disorders and difficulty concentrating are just a few Symptoms of burnout. According to the burnout expert Prof. Burisch there are seven phases leading to burnout:

1. Phase: You use a lot of energy and ambition.
2. Phase: The commitment drops and you withdraw.
3. Phase: There are assignments of blame, depression or even aggression.
4. Phase: The performance drops.
5. Phase: You feel disinterest and indifference.
6. Phase: You suffer from psychosomatic or physical illnesses.
7. Phase: In the end you are exposed to despair and burnout.

This is how you actively practice burnout prevention

(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / Pezibear)

Burnout prevention helps you not even get into one of the seven phases. With some methods you can get the stress under control even in exhausting life situations. You should generally make sure that you do not overwork yourself. In the long run, your everyday life shouldn’t just consist of stress. For burnout prevention, try to do what you do too fun makes and not only costs strength. This is sometimes difficult to set up at work.

But with various adjustments you can help yourself with active burnout prevention to get your inner health back into balance.

Burnout prevention in your lifestyle

• Make a list of things that are good for you.

This can be the morning coffee, a nice chat with work colleagues, a delicious cake or a phone call with a friend. So try to discover things in your everyday life that give you relaxation and do you good. If you save your list on your smartphone, you can call it up on the go even if you are not feeling well, you are feeling stressed and need a break. Then think about what you could do now to do yourself something good.

• A benevolent social environment helps you to recognize your exhaustion.

Get goodwill feedback from time to time as to whether you’re stressed out. Your friends or family will help you to recognize whether you are spending too much time at work and not having enough free time.

• Perceive your own needs and set limits.

Many find it difficult to recognize their own needs and set limits so as not to violate the limits of others. In order to stay true to yourself, it is essential to be on time to say no. Act proactively to avoid being dominated by other views. Make sure that you remain your own chairperson. In English there is the slogan: “Be your own chairman”. Only you alone know your needs and limits, so it is best to verbalize them.

(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / Simedblack)

• Question your motivation for things that you are very ambitious.

What are your inner guidelines that spur your ambition? These can be sentences like: “You are not good enough”, “You are stupid”, “You are lazy”.

Try to think if this sentence is true – preferably in writing. What are the pros? What speaks against it? If you notice that there is a lot going against this sentence, try to formulate a new sentence. It should help you to put the focus on your quirks into perspective. The new guiding principle can be, for example:

“I do my best, even if it does not meet all requirements”

“I have some gaps in this area, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.”

“I have limits and I’m not perfect, but in the end it is nobody.”

• Try to integrate relaxation exercises into your everyday life.

With the progressive muscle relaxation you relieve internal tensions. Simple Breathing exercises You can also use it anywhere on the go as soon as you feel stressed.

• Strengthen your inner resilience.

Resilience enables you to learn to deal with crises without suffering psychological damage. This is very important for burnout prevention, in order to get you an inner armor.

• Learn from your mistakes.

In moments when you feel very stressed and can’t find a way out, you have probably gone beyond your own limits. Think about where you should have drawn a line and what internal warning signals you have felt in advance. Try to learn from it and to act differently in a similar situation in the future.

Burnout prevention in the office

(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / Myriams Photos)

Burnout prevention is also necessary in the office. Create a pleasant working atmosphere there so that you feel comfortable and can concentrate. Above all, this includes forward-looking planning:

• Stress management: There is positive stress that is good for you and negative stress that harms you. Above all, try to expose yourself to positive stress at work. So focus primarily on doing things that you enjoy. With a diary, in which you note your perceived stress level, you can practice stress management and thus burnout prevention.

• Time management: Your daily planning should neither overwhelm nor underwhelm you. Take regular breaks in between. Divide your working day (without sleeping time) into three thirds: two thirds are reserved for working, the last third is for your free time. How you divide up your thirds during the day depends on your working hours. However, it is important that you optimally keep your third of your free time and fill it with activities in which you gain energy.

• Formulate aims: These should be clear and realistic, that’s the only way you can Reach goals too. In doing so, you also formulate your limits, because you don’t actually need to go beyond the goals.

Seek professional help in case of advanced burnout symptoms or high and constant overload.

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