Good news: you can do something.

1. Check yourself:

When looking at all the things stated in chapter 3, you might recognize some stuff. In addition you can fill in this self test:

Burnout Self-Test: Are You at Risk?

So how are you?

2. Be aware

You can start with dividing your life into different parts. Think of: family, work, colleagues, sports, hobby, voluntary work. Once you have a clear overview of all the different areas, think about whether it adds to your stress level and if there are ways to change things. Let's zoom in a bit further:

Private life

Maybe you are in the middle of moving into your dream house or you are trying to get your house sold. Maybe you become a mom or dad, or maybe you really want to. Maybe you just got married or you just went through a rough break up. Maybe you have a lot of debts which are hard to get rid off. Maybe you have an addiction you are struggling with. Maybe you lost someone you love. Whatever it is: it affects your meter and it adds up.

Mapping this out and being aware of this already helps. When becoming aware of a big thing which adds to our stress level, we can see if we can try to fix it. This will not work for everything — of course, life sucks sometimes. But when in the midst of moving to another house, why not take 2 weeks off and really get it done instead of doing it beside your demanding job? Even the harder obstacles can be worked on. Start by going to the doctor, marriage counseling or a psychologist. It won’t ‘fix’ the problem instantly of course, but it’s a start. And again: sometimes life sucks.