Empathy and helpfulness are considered positive character traits.
It becomes dangerous when people forget themselves and "burn out".
Most people want to be recognized and liked by others.
This is often associated with the desire for harmony.
Some then follow the ideas of others, put their own needs aside and cannot say “no”.
It's often about acceptance, especially towards people you don't know well and towards whom you want to make a good impression, for example with colleagues.
The extent to which a person tends to be unselfish, helpful and particularly nice is certainly a characteristic of their character.
However, there are risk factors that can increase the risk of burnout due to such characteristics.
Risk of burnout: People who are too nice and self-sacrificing are more likely to suffer from exhaustion
+
People in so-called helper professions such as doctors belong to the risk group for burnout.
(icon picture)
© Mareen Fischinger/Imago
In addition to people in management positions, social workers, teachers, police officers and doctors are particularly at risk of developing burnout.
These are often people who place extremely high demands on themselves and do not want to admit weakness despite the double burden of family and work.
People at risk of burnout are usually:
Helpful
Committed
willing to perform
selfless
Highly motivated
Perfectionist
empathetic
in need of harmony
Idealistic
Don't miss anything: You can find everything to do with health in the regular newsletter from our partner 24vita.de.
But not every person with such character traits automatically suffers from burnout.
Various factors such as private and professional crises must be met and come together to increase the risk.
Mental health: ten tips on how to strengthen it
Mental health: ten tips on how to strengthen it
Nevertheless, it is not always easy to recognize a burnout.
Some doctors are more likely to diagnose depression than mental exhaustion syndrome.
In any case, "being burned out" should be taken seriously and treated early to prevent a more serious illness, as
reported by the science magazine
"Spectrum" .
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
List of rubrics: © Mareen Fischinger/Imago