Don't ignore the symptoms, fix the cause

Being burnt out(Ref: SvD) is a terrible thing to happen to somebody. I have experience of seeing close friends go through this and it has had profound effects on them and their families.

One of my friends was off sick for about 2 months and luckily they were able to pull out of the downward spiral of depression which so often follows those who are burnt out. They were able to change jobs and get themselves back on their feet.

They were lucky...And even so they still have symptoms such as memory problems, low stress tolerance and anxiety.

What we really need to do is tackle the work environments which give rise to this condition in the first place. Poor working conditions, poor management and support, setting people unrealistic goals and then not giving them the tools needed to achieve them all add to the problem. This is the key to having less people off work due to being burnt out, not ingoring their symptoms and sending them back.

Being burnt out is not like catching a cold, it is like being hit by a car. It's not something you catch it is something which is done to you.

The fact that my friend was able to take those weeks off allowed them to recover. Taking this away will just drive more people into the ground and hide what is becoming a real social problem.

Get rid of the TV and Chill Out

The local Västerås newspaper has been running some features on lack of sleep, which is apparently a modern health hazard affecting ever more of us. In recent years sales of medication to help people sleep has increased dramatically.

It's the curse of our modern all connected information overload world. For example I am writing this at 10.00p.m in the evening when I should be winding down and getting ready for bed. Last night I stayed up watching Foyle's War till 22.30 and the night before it was the Midsommar Murders. A few years ago I would play computer games all evening so when I finally got to bed, laid down and closed my eyes I would still visualise Civilization units, or bad guys waiting to be shot at.

You don't need medication to fix this, you just need to disconnect from the buzz of modern life for a while and let the body relax.

I know this, being a caravan owner because when we are out with the caravan there is no TV, no computer or DVD player and instead we sit up and read or play cards, Yahtzee etc.. before going to bed at around 22.00 ready for the next day. After a few days of this you start to sleep like a brick and the lights in your head go out just as soon as your head hits the pillow.

I wonder how many people are stressed right now glued to their computer looking for on-line farmacitical sites where they can buy pills to help them sleep!

Most of the time it's not what goes on at work that makes us too stressed to sleep, it's what we do in the evenings that doesn't allow the brain the time it needs to cool off and relax.