For ten years, Svetlana (name changed) worked in one of the large companies. She called her job “pure stress” due to the constant emotional stress. The salary was quite high, but this meant that it had to be available around the clock, 365 days a year. In addition, her husband and two children were waiting for her at home. She did not have a specific daily routine and was often late at work. She often heard from friends and relatives: “You have a job that one can only dream of. With such a salary you can afford everything.” Then a breakdown occurred: “This state came out of nowhere, it came without warning. I became unbalanced, I could start yelling at my children or my husband over some little thing.” She realized that something was wrong with her. “I simply could not recover on free days. There were not enough weekends or vacations for rest. I constantly felt tired. I could wake up at night from a feeling of fear. It became difficult for me to sleep. Everything began to irritate me.” Svetlana’s strength was completely exhausted. her work. In addition, Svetlana was afraid of failing at work and she felt a constant feeling of guilt that she could not give the children due attention. She suspected her husband of cheating, but she did not even have time to talk about it with him. properly” to talk. The workload and pressure on Svetlana at work grew steadily. In addition to these increased demands, her personal characteristics also contributed to burnout. People with pronounced perfectionism, helper syndrome and painfully high ambitions appear at the very beginning. a diffuse feeling that something is wrong. This may be accompanied by unreasonable anxiety and a certain physical discomfort. The first concrete signs of impending or incipient burnout may be a feeling of being indispensable at work, an increased sense of responsibility, a feeling that there will never really be time again. for oneself, that is, a person “forgets” about his own needs. Then feelings such as anger, dissatisfaction, irritability and the feeling that you are being used or deceived are added. Physical symptoms increase. People with burnout complain of exhaustion, apathy, depression, fears, as well as sleep disturbances, sexual problems, headaches and back pain, tinnitus, rapid heartbeat, stomach cramps and other physical ailments. As it progresses further, a person becomes exhausted very quickly, they mechanize their life as much as possible and fall into depression. When you set too high goals, place too high demands on yourself, take responsibility for the actions of others, you expose yourself to the risk of burnout. Relaxation, communication with loved ones, hobbies, enjoying life - we need this as well as a good Job. Rest and work are like two hands, they are both irreplaceable. Sincerely, Candidate of Psychological Sciences Oksana Shishkina.