How to protect yourself from burnout, which has become a mass phenomenon

Recognize the early signs. Take frequent and real breaks. Don't give up spaces of physical and mental lightness.

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Feeling drained, due to constant pressure at work, and never having time to recover. burnout it is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, often related to work, study or ongoing responsibilities.

With the chronic rise in performance anxiety, and the increasingly stressful pace imposed by technology, we've reached, according to a Censis survey, one in three Italians declares themselves on the verge of burnout or exhibits symptoms. According to the latest INAIL data, the phenomenon will increase by 17 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year. Anna Sofia Tuccillo, a clinical psychologist at San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, comments: "With these numbers and this trend, we can no longer talk about isolated cases; we are facing a mass phenomenon."

There is no single formula for reducing chronic stress that leads to burnout, but some strategies should not be wasted and are likely to help preventatively:
  • Recognize the early signs: constant tiredness, irritability, cynicism towards work or commitments, difficulty concentrating, feeling of never “switching off”.
  • Set clear boundaries: set finishing times for work (or studying), limit out-of-hours notifications to a minimum, and learn to say “I can’t do it right now” when the workload is excessive.
  • Reduce overhead, not just time: often the problem is not just how many hours you put in, but the number of responsibilities, interruptions, and constant decisions.
  • Take real breaks: Short breaks throughout the day and recovery periods without productive goals help the brain recover.
  • Protect the physical bases: regular sleep, Exercise, adequate nutrition, and time spent outdoors greatly influence stress resilience.
  • Keep the habit of doing activities that are not “performance”: hobbies, friendships, creativity, or pleasant moments without a result to achieve. These are things that allow you to defend your personal space. lightness physical and mental.
  • Share the loadTalking to colleagues, family members, or trusted people can help put problems into perspective and find practical solutions.
  • Control perfectionism: Very high goals with no margin for error can consume a lot of energy.

The important thing is to be aware, at work as in school, of avoiding demands that, overall, could exceed the physical and mental stress we can handle without harm.

Also the Smart working can be a possible tool to reduce the risk of burnout, but It is not an automatic solution and can become a double-edged sword. It depends a lot on how it is organized.

It can help because:

  • reduces commuting time and stress;
  • allows for greater flexibility in managing your day;
  • can increase the sense of autonomy and control over one's work;
  • can facilitate a better work-life balance.

However, it can also promote burnout he:

  • leads to working longer hours without real breaks;
  • makes it difficult to separate home and work;
  • increases social isolation;
  • creates pressure to always be available online.

To be truly preventative, smart working should be accompanied by clear schedules and boundaries, realistic goals, regular breaks, contact and collaboration with the work team, and non-obsessive company controls.

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