Burnout in the workplace context
Long-term fatigue, losing enjoyment in work and irritability are topics I also encounter in consultations. Such a description alone is not enough to establish what is causing the difficulties.
The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies burnout in ICD-11 as an occupational phenomenon, not a mental illness. It describes it in relation to chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. This definition applies to the occupational context.
In the following cases, I describe work-related exhaustion as the clients spoke about it, and the course of my consultations. I am not equating their panic, anxiety or physical difficulties with the definition of burnout, nor automatically attributing their cause to work.
Pressure to perform and be perfect
A client came to see me with panic disorder and tetany. She said her problems had begun in a stressful work situation. Panic attacks then recurred and, for a time, restricted her so much that she was afraid to leave home. That period had passed, but severe anxiety remained. She also described depressive states and crying.
She no longer enjoyed work. She felt she had to perform exceptionally well to keep up with her colleagues. She was used to being among the best and found it hard when that was not the case. Even under stress, she wanted to appear perfect.
She linked her high expectations of herself to the way she had been brought up. She enjoyed challenges and pushing herself. It mattered to her to prove her abilities both to herself and to others.
Based on this account, I recommended the homeopathic remedy Molybdenum. After two months, she reported that the symptoms of anxiety and tetany had completely subsided. She also began reassessing her working life. She saw her condition as burnout and stopped putting herself under the same pressure. Work became 'just' work, and she said she no longer needed to keep proving herself.
The complete resolution of symptoms here describes this particular experience, not a general claim about the remedy's effect.
When saying no is difficult
Another client worked in a helping profession. He had been overworking for a long time, taking on more commitments than he could sustainably manage. His work brought him joy. He noticed increasing fatigue but thought he could sleep it off. He repeatedly worked for weeks without enough time off.
One morning, he was so exhausted that he could not get out of bed, and he burst into tears. At that moment he realised he could not carry on like this and promptly reduced his work commitments. Later, however, anxiety emerged that significantly affected his life. He described pressure around the solar plexus, fear of driving and reluctance to communicate with people.
When I asked what had driven him to work so hard, he said he kept telling himself: I will hold on a little longer, then ease off. But that 'little longer' lasted a very long time. He found it hard to turn people down, even when he felt he needed time off. Boundaries and the ability to say no were prominent themes in the conversation.
I recommended the homeopathic remedy Lac humanum. He subsequently described a marked reduction in anxiety and felt very well for several months, although occasional traces of it returned. Later, I recommended Rhodium metallicum; at a subsequent review, he reported that the anxiety had completely subsided. Looking back, he wondered how he had ignored the unsustainability of his working life for so long.
Again, this is the recorded course of events for one person who was also changing his workload. The sequence of events cannot isolate or confirm the effect of the homeopathic remedies themselves.
What I pay attention to in a consultation
In homeopathic thinking, I encounter several pictures of exhaustion. With Kalium carbonicum, I notice themes of responsibility, work performance and suppressing emotions. With Castanea vesca, I think about one-sided overexertion and someone who does not outwardly complain despite having no strength left. I give these as examples of the framework, not as remedies with proven efficacy for burnout.
Exhaustion from parenting, studying or caring for a loved one also deserves attention. It is not, however, automatically the same as the occupational phenomenon the WHO calls burnout.
What struck me in both stories was how long someone can keep going at a pace that exhausts them. One needs to keep being the best; another finds it difficult to refuse another request. These are precisely the differences I try to understand in conversation.