Work without end

She still remembers the Friday evening when she first felt that tingling sensation in her stomach, a chirping cricket that meant: Now you have to say no. But her boss desperately asked her to come to the meeting of the field staff of the insurance company the next morning: another sick leave, just now, who would welcome the 300 participants tomorrow? Eva Schürmann * stood in the cold light of the open-plan office, it was already dark outside, no one else there. She stayed hard for three minutes, then she heard herself say, "Sure, if it's just an hour to be there tomorrow morning, no problem."

Saturday was like clockwork. As if the marketing expert had used a pull-up mechanism, she made a perfect appearance. The tiredness just pushed her aside. At the same time, Eva Schürmann was so exhausted at the time that she was often awake at night, even though she was tired. She had a constant stomachache, felt depressed, and after work wanted only one thing: her peace. But when her favorite colleague told her at lunch that she looked ill, she fended off, "Look at my diary, there's no time to go to the doctor this year."



Working until you drop is common

Today, Eva Schürmann knows that it was a momentous mistake to ignore the alarm signals of her body. It's like sitting in a room where the smoke detector beeps. A year later she had a breakdown at work, could not walk, was even too weak to tie up her shoes. Her colleague, who himself experienced a burnout, drove her to the doctor.

After that, she spent a full year in regeneration and psychotherapy, not uncommon in such exhaustion. And perhaps for the first time in her life, Eva Schürmann took care of herself. In the clinic she got cards and bouquets from her colleagues. Previously, such greetings during a disease would have caused her above all remorse: How it would probably run without them in the company now? She would have given anything to get back to work as soon as possible. Now she was almost indifferent to the fact that her boss asked carefully, then openly, how long she would likely "fail." Her strength just returned, very slowly. It would not have been enough for a working day.

The work-to-fall is widespread - especially in times of crisis, as we are currently experiencing. In Germany, about 10.6 percent of sick days are attributed to mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, according to a recent DAK study. For women, the share is even higher at 13.1 percent. The number of sick days due to depression only falls in the case of over-45s - but that is also because some of those affected are already retired. Much of the mental health problems arise from fatigue. The cause: overwork and frustration in the workplace.



"The term burnout is confusing, however, and it's the endpoint of a process that sometimes takes years," Dr. Hans-Peter Unger. The Hamburg doctor and depression expert prefers to speak of a fatigue spiral, on which many people constantly move up and down. Sometimes they feel strong, sometimes they go on the gums. As long as they still manage to recover, that's no reason to worry.

We all know unfocused phases in which we call ourselves ready for vacation. It pays to give in to the need for rest. Often, a short break or an inventory is enough in a quiet hour, which is so stressful at work and in everyday life to recharge your batteries.

Burnout symptoms: irritability, insomnia, fatigue

However, those who go beyond their own limits develop symptoms such as irritability, physical ailments, insomnia and the feeling of constant fatigue, even right after a vacation or a quiet weekend. This is an alarm signal and actually the request, but now stop for a few weeks to pull out of everything.



Learning to feel your own limits.

But this is often unrealistic for people who need to work - and actually want, but not so much. "When depression threatens, it's important that something happens right away, and those affected need tools that help them deal with the stresses so they do not get sick," says Hans-Peter Unger. The chief physician of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy of the Asklepios Clinic in Hamburg-Harburg has therefore developed an outpatient group therapy. The participants practice mindfulness and relaxation techniques.They learn to feel their own limits - and to respect them.

Renate Ege speaks devoutly of the "seminar". The 42-year-old controller at an automotive supplier just passed the burnout - because she pulled the emergency brake on time. In the group meetings in the evening after work she learned within a few months to pay more attention to herself. "It was an adjustment crisis," says Renate Ege today, a year later. "Since the birth of my two children, my life has changed fundamentally and I could not do my job as well as I did before." But not only her marital status was different. After parental leave, she was facing another superior. Her former boss, type "maternal mentor," had retired. And the new was not only extremely performance-oriented, but also difficult human. "An uncomfortable mix, I had more work, I always tried to do everything, but at the same time, my boss did not see how I did it."

On the contrary, when she took files home and occasionally even sat at the computer in the office at night, he took this as an opportunity to question her expertise. Renate Ege recalls, "That was a huge offense, I felt like he'd stabbed me with a knife." With today's distance she sees: At that time she was already very thin-skinned, was too dependent on the judgment of the superior.

Time pressure and uncertainty shape the corporate climate

"By the amount of work alone nobody gets into an exhaustion depression and almost always there is a lack of recognition in the game", explains Unger. Burnout, the work accident of the modern age: time pressure and uncertainty characterize the climate in the companies. Teams are formed arbitrarily and stay together only briefly. Grown-up, respectful relationships with superiors break away, and one's own workplace is suddenly threatened despite its outstanding performance. It is therefore all the more important to rejoice in your private life, in your free time, and to find peace and quiet. Renate Ege has discovered: If she is overwrought and tired, she also sees many problems. On the other hand, when she is at peace with herself, she still finds her boss snobby - but his condescending remarks do not hurt her. She helps the principle of mindfulness in everyday life: she meets regularly with her friends again, has hired a babysitter and her hobby, riding again. And she relaxes with yoga. Earlier, in the crisis, she could only switch off when she drank alcohol. It's over. The work has remained the same, but Renate Ege has changed. Tips for coping with stress sound slightly cynical. After all, companies also bear responsibility when they work with so few staff, that the workload can only be achieved with overtime and unpaid overtime, and that they are constantly expecting top performance. But there are companies that care about the mental health of their employees. The food company in which Julia Keune works as an assistant to the management has, for example, a contract with the Fürstenberg Institute in Berlin. Employees can seek advice from a psychologist or therapist at the employer's expense.

Several hundred emails daily

When the 45-year-old suffered a similar severe collapse as Eva Schürmann, the adviser of the Fürstenberg Institute helped her find a place in a rehab clinic. In addition, the two women talked several times a week. They found out together what made Julia Keune so stressful: several hundred e-mails a day, the ever-changing demands of the supervisor and the ever-increasing number of tasks she had at some point just rolled over. The job made her sick. That's bad - but in the crisis Julia Keune did not feel left alone by her employer. And she is sure that her illness has caused a rethinking of her boss. Immediately after her return from rehab, he addressed her and asked her to name the tasks she would like to hand over in the future.

Julia Keune did not hesitate long, counted five tasks and also announced that she was no longer available for foreign appointments. The boss seemed confused, then said, "Okay, I'm learning too, and we can do it together." This sentence is still one of the reasons why Julia Keune succeeded in returning to the company.

Eva Schürmann, on the other hand, had reliable allies in her colleagues. But apart from that, the workplace was a minefield. The boss quoted employees with phrases like "Now come and get your spanking" in his office. It was unnecessarily built pressure and bullied. When Eva Schürmann was already quite exhausted, she was denied an annual bonus on the grounds that she was "a big disappointment" to the company.

"Today, Eva's work is done by two and a half employees," says the former colleague. "That was a difficult environment," says her psychotherapist. In addition, according to the expert, Eva Schürmann did not have the strength to delineate in time."I have signaled with my attitude that you can exploit me," she says today. "Whenever I've been charged with a new project, I felt honored and thought: If they trust me, I'll be fine."

Even to her therapy hours she was styled top

Why does a smart woman, who has already achieved so much, manipulate herself in this way? In therapy, Eva Schürmann found the answer: she has spent her whole life trying to gain recognition. From authorities, teachers, supervisors. A characteristic of her family: work was everything for her father. Those who rested were considered lazy. The crux: You get very far with this nursery. Eva was an elementary student and graduated from university. She is charming, thinks, takes initiative, works precisely and quickly. Every boss would gladly hire her right away.

"Everything was always flown to me," recalls Eva Schürmann. She has always been passionate about work. It's fitting that she married a man who is very similar to her in the point. Children never wanted the couple, both lived mainly in their professional world. Even after her therapy sessions after the collapse, Eva Schürmann was styled as if she had an important business appointment. When she sat in front of the therapist for the first time in jeans and a T-shirt after months, that was a real breakthrough.

A second big step forward: the decision not to return to the insurance. Eva Schürmann felt for a long time as a failure, wanted to prove the opposite at work all. "When I could accept that I did not have to, it suddenly became easier for me to get back on my feet."

She became self-employed, working today in her own rhythm. And she has an office overlooking her garden, on rose bushes. This reminds her of a first-time experience after the collapse: When she saw a Christmas rose in a florist, she suddenly had to cry. Because for years she had never taken the time to look at a flower, to look forward to it. That was a first contact with life, with beauty, with ease. With a world that she now recaptures step by step.

Prevent burnout

Above all, large companies offer assistancesuch as seminars dealing with congestion or confidential conversations with a social worker, volunteers, specially trained colleagues (possibly also in the works council) or in an external consulting institute. Company doctors can also help and are also obliged to maintain secrecy vis-à-vis their superiors.

Doctors who have experience in the treatment of burnout, can be found on the competent State Medical Association. Addresses under www.bundesaerztekammer.de or via the Kassenärztliche associations. The telephone hotlines of the health insurance companies provide information.

Qualified psychotherapists calls the psychotherapy information service under the telephone number 030/209 16 63 30 (try several times!) Online-Datenbank under www.psychotherapiesuche.de. Inquiries by e-mail to the address pid@dpa-bdp.de Addresses of psychotherapists are also to be found on the search of the psychotherapist chambers, which is currently still under construction.

In many psychiatric and psychosomatic clinics there are therapy offers (also ambulatory) for people who are affected or threatened by burnout. If you want to get an overview, you can look online under search terms like "group therapy", "clinic" and "burnout".

Information about the mentioned in the text therapy group in Hamburg-Harburg under Tel. 040/18 18 86-32 54.

The Fürstenberg Institute currently offers "external staff consulting" at five locations. Companies conclude a contract with the institute, and the confidential discussions are then free of charge for employees. Occasionally, lectures are offered for all interested parties. More at www.fuerstenberg-institut.de.

Read on

Dr. Hans-Peter Unger, Carola Kleinschmidt: "Before the job makes you sick, how today's working world drives us into mental exhaustion and what you can do about it" (199 pp., 16,95 Euro, Kösel) Jörg-Peter Schröder: "Ways out of Burnout - Possibilities of Sustainable Change" (136 pp., 6.95 Euro, Cornelsen) Axel Koch, Stefan Kühn: "Puffed-Away" Helps with Burnout, Stress, Inner Termination "(120 p. , 17.90 euros, Gabal) Dagmar Ruhwandl: "Top job - Without burnout through working life" (155 p., 12.90 euros, Klett-Cotta) Thomas MH Bergner: "Burnout Prevention - The 9-step program for self-help "(292 p., 29.95 euros, Schattauer)

Don't Fear Work Without End | Rich Roll Podcast (March 2024).



Burnout, crisis, Fürstenberg, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany, DAK, occupation, stress, burnout, burnout treatment, burnout treat