The term Burnout Syndrome was coined by American psychologist Christina Maslach in 1976.
She defined it according to three criteria:
- emotional exhaustion
- depersonalisation
- a diminished sense of personal accomplishement.
Originally it was thought that it was primarily people in the caring professions who were affected by burnout syndrome, e.g.nursing staff, social workers, teachers and doctors. Nowadays it is becoming ever more clear that burnout syndrome has become a problem in almost every profession. The causes include the constantly increasing pressure of work combined with a reduced chance of making an impact.
In our private clinic, therefore, we offer our patients with burnout syndrome the opportunity, in a short course of therapy, to deal with their own situation intensively, discreetly and anonymously through individual therapy in a relaxed holiday environment. This includes:
- analysis of the working situation;
- analysis of personal resources;
- reactivation of the healthy areas of life that have been neglected;
- learning techniques for relaxation and demarcation.
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If you are interested in our therapy, please take a few seconds to fill out our contact form. We will set up a preliminary phone interview at your convenience to determine your individual therapy:
The World Economic Forum estimates the global costs of burnout around the world per year at 322 billion euros.
The following aspects have a particular affect on health or sickness in the workplace: volume of work, no influence on processes, lack of reward and recognition, working climate and cameraderie, transparency and fairness, usefulness and value creation.
Because of the increasing pressure of work in our society, the risk of suffering burnout is significantly heightened. The dangerous thing about this illness is that it develops gradually in phases, in a similar way to alcohol addiction.
Those affected define themselve first and foremost through their work; they consider other values such as family and leisure activities to be secondary. After years of overwork, they reach the point that they can no longer go on. They lack the strength to live. They may perhaps still have the will to work, but their body, psyche and spirit fail to function. Even a holiday of several weeks’ duration fails to bring about long-term recovery. Withdrawal from the social environment is also typical. Symptoms of a burnout also include a breakdown of the immune system, chronic backache, depression and pain syndrome, escaping into addiction, use of alcohol, drugs, medication, etc.
Burnout syndrome is not yet a classified diagnosis; it is planned to include it in the coming edition of the ICD (International Clasification of Deseases). Burnout is a process diagnosis; a gradual process that eventually leads to the disease patterns listed above. Therein, however, also lies the chance for the individual to reveal himself. Even people in the caring professions often find it hard to seek help for themselves and to receive psychotherapy. The concept of burnout contains an ostensible justification: “I’m only ill because I have put so much energy into my work”. It is easier to confess to this to one’s own self-image than to have depression and pain.
Despite this, many of those affected come to treatment very late. The earlier individual therapy can be started, the shorter the duration of the course of therapy. It is often barely possible for patients to engage in therapy alongside their stressful everyday working life. On the other hand, in-patient treatment lasts so long that social and professional drawbacks can be anticipated.
Are you vulnerable to burnout, or even already suffering from it? The following self-test will provide an indication:
A self-test can only ever give an indication and does not provide a definitive diagnosis!
Contact us now if you are interested in our therapy.