Burnout: Identifying the signs and what to do

After intense effort, you can recover from exhaustion by unwinding in the evening, on weekends, or during vacations. This allows the body to recover and your mind to relax. However, this doesn’t help in the case of burnout. In people affected by burnout, the body and mind have lost their ability to regenerate and regain energy. But how does burnout develop? Who is at risk of developing it? And how can you recognize the signs of burnout?

A Gradual Process

Burnout rarely happens overnight. Instead, it slowly creeps into a person’s life over the course of months or even years. Common causes include chronic overwork or underwork, constant time pressure, and ongoing conflicts both at work and home. Those most affected are often highly dedicated individuals who willingly take on extra tasks and responsibilities.

Burnout isn’t merely the result of working excessive hours. Rather, it is caused by prolonged periods of work that create a disconnect between a person and their own sense of self, leading to feelings of overwhelm. This occurs when individuals habitually neglect their own needs or values, or when their work environment constantly places them in conflict with their personal or social well-being.

Important: Burnout can affect anyone – whether it's overworked employees, executives, public figures, stressed students, caregivers, or stay-at-home parents. No one is immune to burnout.

Recognizing Burnout: Potential Warning Signs

On this and the following page, you will find a comprehensive list of common burnout symptoms.

Mental Changes
Burnout often manifests in an altered mental state. This might include emotional exhaustion, feelings of helplessness and overwhelm, unusual mood swings, sudden outbursts of anger, irritability, cynicism, negativity, a sense of losing control, fear of making mistakes, and difficulty making decisions.

Physical Symptoms
On a physical level, increasingly debilitating symptoms may appear, i.e. fatigue, lack of concentration and memory, restlessness, trouble sleeping, or even sudden onset symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, chronic fatigue, trembling, or in severe cases, symptoms resembling a heart attack.

Changes in Behavior Toward Others
A noticeable withdrawal from colleagues, customers, friends, and acquaintances is a typical hallmark of burnout. Individuals experiencing burnout may increasingly find themselves feeling irritated or overwhelmed by others and often respond with cynicism and sarcasm.

Social Isolation
As work demands increasingly intrude on personal time, individuals may find themselves subtly withdrawing from social interactions. This can lead to fewer opportunities for new connections and a gradual loss of existing relationships. Such social detachment often extends to intimate relationships, where growing aggressivity may foster emotional distance between partners. Those affected generally remain oblivious to their gradual descent into isolation.

Shift in Personal Values
The things that once held significance in one’s life may fade into oblivion, giving way to new values. Signs of this shift include increased perfectionism, excessive self-criticism, and an intense focus on performance, where to-do lists and deadlines dictate daily life. Enthusiasm diminishes and is overshadowed by a pervasive sense of obligation, reflected in thoughts such as "I have to" or "There isn’t another way.”

What to do

Are you worried that you or someone else may be struggling with burnout? Here are a few tips that may help you respond appropriately.

If you notice warning signs of burnout…

… in yourself:

• Talk to people you trust, your partner, or close work colleagues about it.
• Ask those close to you whether they have noticed any changes in you.
• Avoid interpreting your observations and self-diagnosing
• Contact your general practitioner.

… in others:

• Do not ignore the warning signs, step up and take action.
• If you have a good relationship with the person, approach them with your concerns in an objective and friendly manner.
• Be clear that you are wanting to help and are expressing genuine concern, not criticism or accusations
• If you do not have a close relationship to the person, consider asking a better suited person to reach out to them.