The best approach and treatment of burnout

I regularly get concrete questions about the best approach to a burnout. Now I assume that if you have followed the structures that lead to a burnout for years, you yourself do not know what is and is not effective. A client told me that he had asked colleagues if they had seen it coming. They said they really did not see it and expected it from him. That is because you are going back very slowly. You will slowly look worse and unhealthier. Your behavior is slowly becoming more negative. You do not notice it yourself and others do not.

That is why it is necessary for a quick and definitive recovery to call in a specialist. Someone who really knows what it is about. Preferably someone who has already had a burnout and actually got rid of it himself. That can be a specialized coach, psychologist or therapist. A generalist (1st line psychologist, practice assistant or social worker) will rarely have the experience to carry out very specific interventions.


The approach to a burnout involves two steps:

The first step is to break through your energy-eating patterns. The best way is to keep it very close to yourself. After all, the causes of your burnout lie with yourself. So you do not need to put any extra energy into changing circumstances or other people. You only have to work on yourself. You only have to choose everything that strengthens and energizes you. Then you are soon a whole lot fitter, but not ready ...

The second step is that you develop your personal strength and self-leadership. It is all about getting back to yourself and developing the spring shaft to stay close to yourself and in your power. You release the patterns that led to your burnout. You learn how to use your energy in an effective way and communicate to yourself and your environment. By tackling the underlying management, your recovery will be definitive.



If you are still in an orientation phase or want to work independently on your burnout, I will answer in this article some frequently asked questions regarding the approach and treatment of burnout. But beware: It may not be the answers you want to read. You only get a burnout if you structurally do nothing with all the signals and advice! With burnout, the first step is to break through the patterns that led to your burnout. If we do that together in a coaching session, you experience it differently (milder) than it is written below.
Correct balance in recovery burnout

Question: I collapsed 2 years ago and ended up in a burnout. I often feel tired, energy-free at the moment. Also in my relationship it does not go well and this costs a lot of energy. This is mainly in communication and talking to each other. My process of burnout has changed this. The search for a new balance is not easy. How do I deal with this?

Answer:
Staying in a burnout for two years is really too long. Earlier, when little was known about burnout, that still happened (I myself have 3 years of resident). Now you are reasonably fit with the right approach in a few weeks. The most important step you can take is REALLY CHOOSE YOURSELF NOW. Breaking old patterns rigorously. Stop all energy-consuming situations and only do things that generate your energy. THIS IS THE FIRST STEP. If you are not ready yet, it is not bad enough. Then you continue on the old foot until you really fall over.
Ps. The reason people stay in a burnout for a long time is because they do not take the first step!
Must be the cause of burnout

Question: I have my own business and can not afford to have a burnout. I absolutely can not fall over and I have to keep working! I still draw it but I am totally exhausted in the evening and at weekends and have no social contacts at all. My wife and my children have NOS to me. What should I do?

Answer:
Entrepreneurship should actually be fun and give you energy. When you are totally exhausted, you are more surviving than living. Then you do the wrong things. You write that you MUST have a lot of yourself. This false security does not work and if you continue in this way you automatically collapse once, then you can no longer work and your company goes bankrupt, then your wife runs away (and takes the children with you) and everything you build up have lost. Is this worth it to continue on the old foot?
What you can not see at this moment (because of the stress and burnout, your thinking capacity deteriorates sharply and you get into a kind of negative focus) is that it is very easy to do otherwise. Almost all of my clients tell me these kinds of stories. And almost all of them take decisions that immediately give them space and energy. With you it will probably be zo go. So my question is: Which decision (which you postpone for a long time) can you take NOW, which will give you space and energy immediately?
Ps. Talk to your wife about what she sees as the biggest problem with you, listen to her and do it immediately!
Sports and recovery from burnout

Question: I read that sports helps. When I exercise, I feel better, but after that I often suffer from muscle pain, neck pain and a brakiness. This makes it impossible to continue to do sports, as I also need a lot of energy for my work. The balance between relaxation and relaxation remains a point of attention. Do you have tips regarding sports?

Answer:
Sports and exercise are an important part of the recovery process. However, the essence is that you do not play sports for the performance or because it has to be, but nice to relax because you like it. Many people with burnout (as with all other things) also cross their borders with sports. That is not the intention. Listen to your body and stop when you are tired. Also learn to exercise (move) to feel your limit and listen to your body. If you are too tired to exercise, do not do it and go for a walk or something. Of course you also have to find a balance between your work, relaxation, family, social contacts and sports. You may find everything else more important than your own health and well-being. Otherwise you would not have got a burnout! So make the choice for yourself and put your well-being and health first. If you do not accrue to other things then you leave them to expire. It is really about making choices now. Try to go outside often too. Especially the energy of a forest in very beneficial.

Another facet is the physical exhaustion that stands in the way of your recovery. Go to a mesologist, natural doctor or orthomolecular doctor and let yourself be measured. Due to the exhaustion of your body, you lose all kinds of substances, your organs function worse and you recover less quickly.
Ps. In case of total exhaustion, you do not play sports and experiment, but use professional help!
Burnout approach and treatment

Question: I am extremely tired, I have regular panic attacks and I do not see it once in a while. I have to keep working to generate income and keep the business going. Is there a way out? According to my general practitioner, I am depressed and he proposes to contract depression with a psychologist. However, I feel that I am burned out and not depressed. What do you think?

Answer:
With burnout it often happens that people develop anxiety symptoms and get panic attacks. If you are used to living an active life and you are confronted with this kind of elusive and inexplicable reactions, then I can imagine that you are getting depressed! Unfortunately, many people with burnout and anxiety symptoms are diagnosed with 'depression'. For that they are prescribed anti-depressants. However, that is the world upside down. The symptoms and approach of a burnout are completely different from a depression.
The correct order is: First start with the treatment of your burnout. Then the anxiety symptoms, panic attacks and depressive feelings disappear.
Ps. Try to avoid panic attacks by avoiding stressful situations. In a burnout, it takes several days before the stress response is out of your body again. Because of this extra exhaustion you will never recover from your burnout.
Ps. During your burnout treatment it is fine to stay well within your comfort zone!
Recovery period for burnout

Question: How long does the recovery period of a burnout last? Is it really the case that if you have built it in for example 5 years, that it takes 5 years to get rid of it again?

Answer:
These kind of myths from the past still do the rounds. Even GPs and psychologists still call this kind of nonsense. Every experienced burnout specialist will tell you that this is complete nonsense. The problem is that many people believe this and continue to muddle with far too long and costly therapies. Nice for employment, but it seems smarter to choose for yourself. With focused burnout coaching you are reasonably fit again in a few weeks. Then you are not done yet, but you are reasonably fit again. After this phase you will work on your personal development. This is necessary because the cause of your burnout lies in your own personality and behavior. In the group training Self-Leadership you work effectively on yourself. Take a look here how I approach it: Best approach to burnout

Here on my blog you can read many other articles that give you concrete tools to tackle your burnout.
Ps. The most important thing is that you take steps NOW, with all information going on and you choose NOW for yourself.