An alarm symptom, usually occurring when the burnout is already at an advanced stage, is the increasing use of addictive drugs. Usually one uses alcohol, sleeping pills or other stimulants in an attempt to treat symptoms like: insomnia, depression, weakness and exhaustion symptoms.
The consequences usually are physical as well as psychological addiction which in the majority of cases needs to be treated in hospital.
If you consume one of the addictives mentioned above on a daily basis there is a simple test you can do in order to find out how far your addiction has progressed: Wait for a quiet week and abstain from the drugs!
- If you do not recognize any physical or psychological symptoms you are probably not addicted yet.
- In case you encounter the following symptoms within several days of your abdication which will weaken after some time you can consider yourself lucky. Insomnia, physical pain, shiver, nervousness and a strong urge for addictive substances are amongst the symptoms. RED ALERT: a change in your life style is essential at this point.
- If the symptoms mentioned above increase dramatically, if you encounter confusion or a strong urge for the addictive, you can be classified as highly addicted and a detoxination is recommended.
Generally it is not advised to consume more than 2 bottles of beer, 3/8l wine or 2-3 hard liquors. A behavior of this kind can lead towards addiction already after a couple of months.
Concerning sleeping pills it is advised to stop taking them after a period of 4 weeks. If insomnia still occurs please contact your doctor or psychologist.
Amphetamines should be avoided completely because they trigger a state of exhaustion very easily.
