Work, stress, burnout: the invisible crisis

"You're not even alive anymore, " says Tom's best friend. Tom (name changed by the editor) would like to contradict him, but he can't. Firstly because he doesn't have the strength, and secondly because it's true. He never thought he would ever suffer a burnout. "I didn't have time for a burnout, " jokes the man in his late forties, letting it slip that there is a grain of truth in every joke.

Tom worked for the same department in the public sector for 15 years. During this time, he accumulated 700 hours of overtime, especially in the last few years, without wanting to. "I found it difficult to say 'no'. I was always seen as very reliable and helpful at work, which some colleagues took advantage of. And so I slipped into a spiral, " says the victim. Then one Sunday he was due to visit his family. Tom still travelled there. Once there, he couldn't get out of the car. He had a panic attack and felt paralysed. He was overwhelmed by thoughts of the upcoming start of the week.