Whether we call the problem burnout or depression, or if it is accompanied by anxiety, compulsion (OCD), or somatization, is mainly of interest to research or health insurance companies. This is because research and billing require pigeonholes or diagnoses where cases can be filed or studied.
These pigeonholes are of little help to the affected individual, and the boundaries between them are fluid in reality anyway. For the purpose of treatment, the focus is much more on recognizing and understanding the dysfunctional patterns that have contributed to the current problem. Based on this insight, training and learning can then take place, which, generally speaking, happens on 3 levels:
1) Exercises: Sport, relaxation methods, confrontation, etc., are all approaches that can be applied quickly and pragmatically. Comparable to exercises in sports.
2) Schemata: Over the course of our lives, we have developed certain perspectives and problem-solving patterns. Here, the dosage usually determines the poison. Perfectionism is a good example of such a schema.
3) Attachment: How we experienced attachment to and between our parents in childhood influences our trust in the world. Later traumas can also shake this trust. This can lead to persistent stress and must then be addressed.
Together, we look at which level we should focus our work on. Dysfunctional structures are identified and step-by-step replaced by functional ones through adequate learning processes. The art lies in adequately emotionally charging these learning processes, because emotion is fertilizer for the brain.