How do you get back to work after a burnout?
At some point, every burnout sufferer asks themselves the question: Will I be able to get back to work - and what can I do so that I don't exhaust myself again straight away?
When the most severe signs of exhaustion subside and the job becomes the focus of thoughts again, many burnout sufferers first fall into extremes. In the beginning, many patients feel they have to change their working life from the ground up. Clerks think about opening a hotel in the south and managers toy with the idea of becoming a naturopath.
However, experience shows that ultimately very few people actually change jobs completely after the crisis. "When people realize that they can make changes themselves, the idea of changing everything at work becomes less attractive," observes Nicole Plinz, therapeutic director at the Centre for Stress Medicine at the Asklepios Clinics in Hamburg. Returning to the old job becomes conceivable.
Systemic consultant Hans Dieter Gimbel from Duisburg has been helping people reintegrate into work for many years. An important tool in preparing for a return to work is a picture: Gimbel asks his clients to imagine a battery with a green light for lots of energy and a red light for little. There are all shades in between. "People have a very good sense of what their battery is currently showing," says Gimbel.
Get out of the victim role, is the motto
Sometimes it becomes clear at the first coaching appointment that you are not yet fit for the job. Then it's about looking: How can I regain my strength? Only when your energy levels are in the green zone are you ready to return. The motto here is: get out of the victim role. "Clients need to know: What do I want? And what can I do myself to make things go the way I want them to?" explains Gimbel. On this basis, it becomes possible to meet managers and colleagues on an equal footing and to stand up for oneself and be cooperative at the same time. Because one thing is clear: there are uncertainties on both sides.
In most cases, the "Hamburg model" is followed, with a few hours of work a day or half days. During this time, it is important to keep a clear eye on your energy levels: Is it getting fuller? The same level? Emptier? "If the client really wants to get back to work and also knows what they need to change, reintegration often works well," says Gimbel. If the battery occasionally slips into the red zone, you have to ask yourself: What could help me get back to green? What is stressing me out and how can I change it? Are my steps too big or perhaps too small? Who could help me? Gimbel: "The goal is not to become a different person. It's about shifting the regulator. How much do I give? How much do I do? How can I take good care of myself?"
Gradually, this initially often somewhat bumpy path becomes smoother and you regain a foothold in everyday working life. In the best case scenario, initial successes give you new strength. You feel comfortable in the team again and can feel your own performance returning. You manage to recognize old patterns and key stimuli, reflect on them - and deal with the stress differently than before. In this way, it is possible to work in a way in which self-care and commitment are no longer mutually exclusive.
Escape forwards instead of running away
Sometimes this also leads to fundamental changes in the job. One person gives up responsibility for personnel. Another reduces their working hours. Or you actually change companies or even jobs because you feel that it no longer suits you. These changes are coherent - because they are not an escape, but the logical consequence of inner change.
Escape behavior, on the other hand, is rather unfavorable. Mirriam Prieß, a doctor and coach who often advises managers after a burnout, therefore speaks clear words from time to time. For example, to the young manager who had taken on a project again after a burnout. The young man came to her and said that he would probably have to take sick leave again. Everything was becoming too much again. Prieß simply asked him: Why do you think that? The man explained that a time frame could not be adhered to and that he also lacked a specialist. Mirriam Prieß simply asked: "Why don't you talk to your boss about it and clarify the issues?" The manager himself then realized that he was about to slip into exhaustion instead of tackling the conflict. He approached his manager. They found a constructive solution. The man's symptoms of exhaustion disappeared. "In addition, the manager was rid of the stigma of being weak, which was still attached to him after the illness," explains Prieß.
Recommended reading:
Mirriam Prieß: Resilience. The secret of inner strength. Southwest 2015
