How do you get it and how do you get rid of it? Burn out...

What is a burn out? The word says it all: burned out. If you have burn out, your body is giving you a signal: stop, wait a minute, I can't follow you anymore. If you can no longer do your daily activities, you are always tired, and this has been going on for more than six months, then you have burn out.

So, what are the symptoms? You will undoubtedly recognize the tense muscles. Hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline remain constantly active in your body, consuming a lot of energy. You are unconsciously in a flight or fight mode.

What are the causes of burn out?

You can't compare it to depression. Burn out is generally caused by long periods of overwork, whereas with depression it is not. With depression, predisposition plays a bigger role than with burn out. Your mental suffering can last a long time, you are gloomy and it does not go away by itself. Negativity toward the outside world and yourself play a big role here.

The causes of feeling burned out include your work stress, your perfectionism or possibly parenthood. There are also other sources: personal characteristics, living conditions or your environment are also direct causes. I also look at physical exertion, social problems, chronic illnesses, insecurities in life and most importantly, a negative self-image. That's already a lot.

What always strikes me is that character traits such as perfectionism, dutifulness, not being able to say "no" or idealism play a role here. It is the perception of how we view tasks, for example, in the work environment. It is hard to sense for yourself when burnout sets in. You don`t get up in the morning and you`re burned out, it doesn`t work that way. The crazy thing is that shortly after employees go into burnout, they mention perceiving it "suddenly. Nothing could be further from the truth. Burnout builds up over months-and sometimes years. At first, one feels tired from time to time and thinks "just go to bed a little more often. The employee occasionally works overtime to get something done or spends evenings thinking about what needs to be done at work.

Unnoticed, every day, every week, every month there is a scoop. The employee feels more often and increasingly tired, he broods more often, his neck and shoulder muscles ache more often, he fails to finish his work more often, makes more and more mistakes and becomes more and more irritable. Until his body gives a clear, no longer to be ignored signal that the battery is dead. By then he can't move a step (sometimes literally).

So how long does burn out last?

I sometimes hear people say: oh my God, I have a burn out. I'm going to take it easy for a few weeks. A burn out can last from 3 months to a year. You have to remember that your body has not made an effort, but a ``overexertion``. And that is different from person to person. You have to be honest with yourself. When do you think you are walking down the road, that is step 1 to figure out how long a burn out, or your burn out can last. When was the last time you were relaxed without feeling guilty? From when did it all go too fast for you? When was the last time you could enjoy doing nothing without thinking about your work?

Was that six months, a year, three years or longer? You have to ask yourself that first. The time you need to recover is usually 1/3 from the point you think you went down. Note that this is a rough calculation, which we know from experience. For example, if you have been exhausting yourself for 3 years, you may well need a year to recover. If you have been at it for a year, then you need about 4 months, six months, then you need 2 months.

Compare it to the flu: if you have a mild flu, you can get rid of it quickly. Burn out is a very severe flu, so you will need much more time to recover.

How do you get through this? What can you do?

A broken arm cannot heal yourself. You go to the clinic and get help from a doctor, professionals to start the healing process. With burn out, it's just the same. Just taking a year's vacation and resting is not the solution, and doesn't work. You need a plan.

First, you are going to have to accept that you have burn out, and become aware that you have gone over your limits. What is also very important: accept that you need RUST. In the second phase we will explore what is stressing you out, what are the causes of your burn out. How can you cope with the lifestyle you have now, or what can you change or avoid.

In the third phase we are going to implement thoughtful solutions in your life that we are going to follow up and adjust by having conversations and taking action. It is a good idea for you to keep a diary or journal, what you do, how you do things, and what you feel about them.

5 good tips for recovering from burn out are:

- Exercise and move around: it activates the parasympathetic nervous system which releases happiness chemicals in your brain. Walking in nature is the best option.

- Sleep: the best thing a person can do. Horizontal doing nothing. Go to sleep at a set hour and don't watch TV for an hour before bedtime.

- Meditate: you can always find guided meditations on the Internet if you have a hard time getting into this on your own. It calms the brain, even if thoughts come through your head from time to time.

- Get bored: ordinary consciously doing nothing is harder than you think. After a while you even start to like this. You don't always have to be doing something.

- Brain-food: your brain is made up of water and fats. Make sure you drink lots of water, and take in healthy food. No alcohol or less alcohol, for example, is a good start. Omega 3, antioxidants, dietary fiber, choline and vitamins are also recommended. The brain is going to come back into balance faster.

- Vacation: an all-in vacation is also a really nice idea, at the end, eventually. You don't have to do anything, everything is there. I prefer a warm country with a beach and sea.