Many signs

40% of adult Austrians suffer from burn-out

While counseling and coaching are the main focus of care in the first two stages, antidepressants and psychotherapy are often necessary in stage 3.

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40 percent of adult Austrians show signs of burn-out syndrome. Women and men are affected in roughly equal numbers. Women are better able to cope with heavy workloads than men, but often have double workloads.

In stage 1 of burnout, without the intensity of a psychiatric illness, the main symptoms are a reduction in performance and feelings of alienation. "You feel alienated from your colleagues, from your work and ultimately from yourself.

It often affects those who are particularly eager to perform, those who are particularly precise. They take work home with them, their free time becomes increasingly 'thinner'. Relationship problems often follow. Added to this is increased irritability. What used to make us angry suddenly makes us very angry," says the psychiatrist.

Stage 2: "Everyday doping" and severe irritability
In stage 2, burnout is already accompanied by physically verifiable changes. These are primarily increased blood pressure and states of tension, including severe irritability as a result of constant overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system. "At this stage, people often try to get by with 'everyday doping'. Naturally, depressant substances are 'optimal' - and the most easily accessible 'tranquilizer' in our country is alcohol," explained Musalek. Cocaine and amphetamines are also often taken by those affected.

Burn-out "not a fad"

Burn-out is not a "fad", but a serious problem. Those affected in stages 1 and 2 are roughly equally common. Eight percent of people are in stage 3 and are already mentally ill as part of their burnout. In the international disease classification system ICD, the syndrome is listed as a condition that ultimately leads to increased use of medical services.

Stage 3: Exhaustion and depressive states
Stage 3 ultimately has disease significance because it leads to severe and long-lasting states of exhaustion, which can turn into severe depression. "These people suffer from everything that we associate with 'looseness' - joylessness, sleeplessness, lack of interest, etc. While in the first two stages, counseling and coaching are the main focus of care, antidepressants and psychotherapy are often necessary in stage 3," emphasized the expert.

Simple "overwork" does not mean burnout, by the way. "A lot of work alone does not lead to burnout. It is the lack of positive feedback, a poor working atmosphere and perceived unfair treatment that are causally involved. Especially if your own value system cannot be reconciled with the value system at work." But the often unloving treatment in everyday life also plays a major role. Prevention is important, says Musalek, especially in the workplace.

Burnout also an issue for children
According to the psychiatrist, children and young people can also be affected: "There are a number of young people who slip into a state of exhaustion and a reduction in their performance due to the pressure to succeed.

They then get poor grades at school, which means even more stress and can lead to a negative spiral." Those affected become estranged from their classmates, no longer want to go to school and refuse to attend.