The npf’s stress handling: “It’s not selfish to put yourself first”

Behavioral scientist, psychotherapist, and researcher Giorgio Grossi, familiar with the book Moving on after burnout – relapse prevention and management, worked for many years in a stress clinic in Stockholm, which receives patients called in from patients due to burnout syndrome, who require more specialized help than that provided by, for example, a health center or occupational health care. He doesn’t have exact numbers, but says that many patients with burnout often also have neuropsychiatric diagnoses such as ADHD and autism.

– Many of the patients who come to the stress clinic have a university education and have made a career. They don’t necessarily have to have formal diagnoses, but if you scratch the surface a bit, you’ll notice that features of ADHD and autism are by no means uncommon. It becomes a factor of weakness which means an increased risk of stress and burnout, but it is also something that can perpetuate difficulties and can cause burnout many times over, says Giorgio Grossi own nest.

It switches between two modes
Among patients with fatigue syndrome, regardless of whether they have a neuropsychiatric diagnosis or not, there is often a common behavior, says Giorgio Grossi. She often runs out of energy when she has energy, and then does absolutely nothing after she runs out of energy.

– So you can switch between two modes: you do a lot and then nothing at all, then a lot again and nothing at all again. This is a characteristic of everyone with fatigue syndrome, but if you have an npf on the bottom, that tendency seems to feed off. Then you turn on the iron and do a lot of things, only to have it crash, he says.

Stress and ADHD
In ADHD, it is not uncommon for an individual who is exhausted to take on a lot in school or work life, eg jumping into various projects at odds and saying yes to exciting commitments in the moment – but any of which they may not have the time or energy for. In reality.

It is associated with the impulsivity common in ADHD. In today’s working life, you must also be able to handle high cognitive demands and work under strong time pressure, and if you are having difficulties with attention and working memory, the tension is clearly building. Giorgio Grossi says that when you have difficulty getting things done, other things can be affected, such as sleep, and then the stress becomes overwhelming and the breakdown builds.

Stress and autism
In the case of cases on the autism spectrum, it is not uncommon for sensitivity to impressions and difficulties in social interaction — not least in the workplace — to lead to stress and thus an increased risk of burnout, he says. Static office landscapes without fixed locations and isolated environments, high expectations of “many balls in the air” multitasking and delicate social demands are among the drama’s culprits.

– In addition, people with autism are often meticulous, which is actually a good thing – but in many cases there is simply no time or resources for this in practical life. The word of honor is rather flexibility, skipping structure and improvisation, while at the same time much emphasis is placed on the ability to diplomatically communicate with people. All of this increases the risk of stress-related ill health for people with autism, and if not treated, they can crash again and again.

It is not built for prolonged stress
It sounds simple in theory, but to reduce the risk of burnout it is simply necessary to shorten the stress, in terms of minutes and hours. An important realization is that we were not created for prolonged stress.

Our bodies were developed to survive in the wilderness and deal with attacks from wild animals. When we lived as hunter-gatherers, we got a huge stress boost when we were chased by a bear, which is important for survival in danger, says Giorgio Grossi and continues:

In modern society we are rarely chased by bears, but now instead the pressure is more or less constant, not least in work life: firm deadlines, careful social expectations, screen use, etc. This means that the rational part of the brain becomes overloaded and this massive wear and tear occurs in our bodies. Finally, grit gets into the biological mechanism: you become angry, unfocused, angry.

Dare to say no
Especially for people with npf, who can often feel different and receive negative feedback from those around them who don’t understand, an important measure to reduce stress can be to say no more than once, to yourself and others. If you don’t want to go to AW with your colleagues, if you don’t want to visit that mingle, if you don’t have time right now to deal with another work task – try to say no.

– Many of those who entered the wall are ambitious, talented and sincere. They want to support others and do well in every way, which leads to them putting themselves and their own needs first. It’s often only when they emerge from the other side of burnout that they learn that putting yourself first isn’t scruffy or selfish. Then don’t say too much, take more rest and take care of your own needs. However, many don’t get to that point until after they’ve crashed, says Giorgio Grossi.

Planned days
Giorgio Grossi says he realizes it sounds like a platitude, but the truth is that recovery is an important protection against dangerous stress and burnout. Recovery is a pretty abstract word, but there’s a simple rule to follow, according to him: Try to create days off.

It simply means that some form of activity should always be followed by recovery. If you’ve done cognitive work for an hour and your head is starting to get tired, you shouldn’t – a common mistake – sit down, scroll in front of the screen and strain your brain even more. Then you should try to move a little, take a short walk or play sports. Sometimes the body is just tired and needs a break, he says and continues:

Creating planned days is about trying to find that variety and getting some air into planning rather than running from one thing to another all the time.

Another important piece of the puzzle is the ability to leave work after hours, but not everyone is afforded that.

– Some cannot do this due to organizational factors, such as staff shortages. If you are then a devoted person, and if you also have ADHD or autistic traits, this can lead to strong fatigue and feelings of inadequacy that cause you to think about work matters in the evenings, become irritable and experience physical symptoms. If the pattern repeats over a period of weeks or months, there is a risk of serious breakdown, and we see individuals who develop burnout often working in, for example, health care and schools, he says.

Usually with shorter working hours
Life after fatigue syndrome looks different for different people. First of all, many sufferers, as previously mentioned, become more aware of their own individual factors of vulnerability, and thus become better at meeting their own needs, setting boundaries and saying no.

– Some change jobs if it turns out that the employer does not provide any real support upon return, for example in the form of fit work assignments. Many also return to their workplaces, says Giorgio Grossi, but they often work part-time.