Research shows that this -how surprising- varies from person to person and situation to situation.
One of the most frequently asked questions by people who have just become overworked – or have suffered burnout – is, “How long does burnout or overwork last? How long will it take before I am ‘normal’ again? And: when will I be able to do all the things I love again?” In this article we tell you how long recovering from burnout takes and how you can significantly reduce your recovery time
Burnout lasts the longest of all work-related psychological complaints. Also striking is the wide spread in duration of burnout: from three months to more than a year. Why does recovery sometimes take so long? People don’t look sick, but they may not function normally for months, sometimes years. At home or in the work environment, people don’t understand it, the doctors and therapists often don’t understand it and neither does the patient himself. The only thing you know for sure as a patient is that you can’t (handle) anything and can’t stand anything anymore. Current guidelines provide no insights and no solutions for stagnant recovery or relapse after failed reintegration
But how do I know exactly how long it will take in my case?
There is a very rough calculation you can use to figure this out. To do this, walk through the following steps:
Step 1: Consider when you started your “way down. Since when are you exhausting yourself? Be honest. When was the last time life didn’t go “too fast” for you? When was the last time you found life relaxing? You could really relax and enjoy that instead of feeling guilty? And you felt you had complete control over life?
Step 2: So now think about how long you have been walking downhill. Is that six months? A year? Three years?
Step 3: The time you need to recover is 1/3rd of the time you found at point 2 (But note: this is a lollygagging indication, nothing more). So when you have been exhausting yourself for one year, you need months of months to recover. If you have exhausted yourself for six months, you need two months.
Are you climbing out of the valley alone or looking for help?
Is there any way to shorten my recovery time?
Sure. Your recovery time depends on two factors:
Factor 1: The time you ran “downhill.
Factor 2: The effectiveness of your recovery.
There is nothing you can do about the first point: that is a given. But on point two you can do lol. The effectiveness of your recovery time can make the difference between two months of recovery or two years.
So how do I do that?
Most people think they can recover from overwork or burnout on their own. But that’s about the same as saying you can recover from a broken leg on your own. With a broken leg, it really is much more convenient to go to the hospital for a while. In fact, in the hospital, the doctors help your recovery process and give you a recovery or rehabilitation plan. The doctors give you a cast to walk on and they tell you what you should and should not do during your recovery. That way, your broken leg will recover many times faster than if you had not gone to the hospital. With burnout, the same is true: adequate support, time, regularity, outdoor exercise and feeling useful are elements that can help your recovery. The difference between a broken leg and burnout is visibility: your environment cannot perceive burnout. So you will have to tell this yourself.
Isn’t it enough to take some time off and take it easy?
No. Not if you want to recover quickly, at least. Recovery from overwork or burnout must also be “unlocked” by meeting the conditions for recovery. If you do not meet these conditions, you will not recover or will recover much more slowly. In addition, overwork and burnout also require a customized plan of action. So that you know how to make the most of your recovery period, and recover in the shortest time possible.
So what can Panthion do for me?
We can listen to your story and create a customized plan of action based on it. We have a lot of experience working with people in a similar situation and offer a pleasant and effective approach. Want to meet or learn more? If so, please contact us: 085-4018200 or hoekanikjehelpen@panthion.nl
