Share This Article
If you have experienced a burnout, you know what it is. Simple tasks become terribly difficult, almost impossible to perform. Brushing your teeth feels like a marathon. Showering yourself feels like a victory and you can’t even think about those dirty dishes. But what if you notice that someone around you has suffered burnout or is depressed.
How can you help someone with a burnout? Because you really want to help someone, but you don’t really know what to do with it. Especially if you haven’t experienced it yourself. That is why you will find the tips below on how you can help someone with a burnout.
How can you help someone with a burnout?
1. He or she is not lazy
It’s hard to understand, but don’t tell someone to cheer themselves up, that it’s not all that bad and that we all get tired sometimes. Because someone with a burnout often has a burnout because he or she has boosted himself or herself so often. If you have kicked yourself in the ass often enough, that is often precisely the reason why someone has burned out. Therefore, understand that someone is really not lazy, but exhausted and needs time to recover.
Also read: Why Self-love Starts With Recognizing Your Limits
2. Listen
Listen to someone who has a burnout. Listen without judging. Let someone talk and show that you support her. That you don’t judge her and that she doesn’t have to be ashamed. She has become ill, there is nothing you can do about it, try to explain this to her.
3. Help
You cannot expect that you will ‘visit’ someone with a burnout. No, just come over and do the laundry, get groceries, do the dishes, take her young baby from her and let her rest. Don’t expect someone to make a cup of tea for you, but make a cup of tea for the other person.
Furthermore, there is no need to talk, if someone with a burnout wants to talk, she will do so automatically. When you visit, expect to get something to drink and try to strike up a conversation, there is a good chance that someone will withdraw. Because that costs way too much energy for someone with a burnout.
4. Make sure you are there
Someone with a burnout will find it difficult to stay in touch. Therefore, keep in touch, send a message every now and then, call or visit us. And don’t expect anyone to be interested in you or listen to you. Remember that this is not disinterest, someone with a burnout simply has more than enough on their own at that moment.
5. Walk together
If someone is feeling better, you can go for a walk together, but only if someone has the strength to do so. Because maybe she is still too tired and can only sleep, respect this. But if you do notice that someone is slowly gaining more energy, it is nice to go for a short walk together.
Also read: How haptotherapy helped me recover from my burnout
6. Have patience
A burnout often does not occur in a month, nor do you expect that someone will be better within a certain period of time. Someone can recover within a few months, but it can also take a few years. Try not to push things and notice small positive changes. See it as a very big step when someone looks neat again, the house looks neat or when someone can occasionally sleep at night again.
7. You are not a doctor or psychologist
You don’t have all the answers, you may also be at a loss at times. Just say this, you don’t have to know everything and try to have an answer to everything, no one expects this from you. There are professionals for this, help someone find a psychologist or go with them to the doctor.
P.S. Are you already following Gistinger.com on Facebook and Instagram ?
