When work causes illness

Burn-out - the suffering of a modern society. Why the number of burned-growing.
The "Center for Disease Management" in Munich is - despite its somewhat odd name - for years a deserving institution: we study, for example, the question of why patients do not take as often as her pills, and promotes the rehabilitation of the mentally ill by "therapeutic Climbing" .

Since last year, however, have the "disease manager" (actually a department of the Klinikum rechts der Isar) to do almost more than they can deliver. For the team led by senior consultant Werner Kissling company also offers training and advice on mental disorders in the workplace "to. "The suicide series in France, many began to roll," says Kissling's assistant Rosmarie Mendel. There, for example, had the head of France Télécom go after within two years had taken 35 of his subordinates life. Mendel adds, was after the death of the soccer goalkeeper Robert Enke, the interest in the work of the "Center" better than ever before. The highpoint was the week before a conference to which of them gathered 450 representatives of companies and authorities from all over Germany in Munich. More than 200 applications had Rosmarie Mendel refuse for reasons of space.



Is it genuine concern - or just the fear of bad headlines, the German boss suddenly discover the mental health of their employees can? On the stage was always a word: burnout. What preventive measures can be, how can you identify affected employees how to help them? Not only the wide dissemination of the "Burnt One" is amazing, but also that it is the only anguish is going to seem like the people to the public. Especially in the ranks of celebrities and half-celebrities, it seems de rigueur among, to come out accordingly. This did early last year as the pop singer Peter Plate, male half of the duo Rosenstolz (including song title: "The whores are tired"). Supposedly it is he is doing better, but Rosey paused nor the whole of 2010.

"I could not go on as before," explains the Catalan kitchen artist Ferran Adrià (see interview), talks about "tired", and to want to lead "normal lives". Bruce Darnell, eccentric judge a known model casting show, stated that to have a few years ago suffered a burn-out and even made a suicide attempt.

The political scientist Miriam Meckel, partner of the TV Journalist Anne Will came to pass, even in a hospital - and wrote a book about their treatment ("Letter to my life") that appears in those days. Meckel in 2007 had warned in her previous book before rapid electronic communication and "the happiness of inaccessibility" summoned - but apparently not tackled head on. And bestselling author Frank Schätzing known already, "the keyboard of self-doubt, including burn-out" to know, "There were times when I was all too much"