As a result I had to stay at home and in bed. So I missed school for a week and I hadn’t the chance to take care of my blog.

After a week or so I felt well enough and thought about leaving a message on here, unfortunately I saw that I somehow managed to get a computer virus…which forced me to stay offline for another week.

Then I had no real time to write a proper post, but at the end I got the chance to write this message.

Well, now I have to see that I catch up with my original plan, not to mention that I have to update wordpress…

Some of the work I do in no time, other work takes a lot of time. And then there is the kind of work I put very (too?) much energy into. Like my “job” in the New Republic Navy.

About a year ago I had almost the same situation I’m in now. I’m feeling exhausted, not willing to do anything, except one or two things I really enjoy. I have no interest in finishing or continuing some of my work (like one or two of my own websites…) and overall I’d like to sleep all day although at the same time I want to sleep at all.

As I had the same situation about a year ago, I came across a Wikipedia article about the so-called Burnout-Syndrom. After reading about symptoms and other signs of this sickness I decided to cut my online activity and engagement in many other parts of my daily life. A month later I was ok again, full of energy and ready to do what ever I’d like to do.

Today, I see those symptoms again and I decided to cut my activity again. But what is Burnout and what kind of signs or symptoms should you be aware of?

Burnout in general

Burnout? I never heard about it before, is it dangerous? I can’t answer this question as I’m not a doctor. Maybe Slevi is able to give more details since he is the one studying medicine.

I can only sum up Wikipedia’s article and tell you about my experience.

Wikipedia describes Burnout as:

Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest (depersonalization or cynicism), usually in the work context. It is also used as an English slang term to mean exhaustion. Burnout is often construed as the result of a period of expending too much effort at work while having too little recovery, but it is sometimes argued that workers with particular personality traits are more prone to experiencing burnout.
Further, it appears that researchers disagree about the nature of burnout. While many researchers argue that burnout refers exclusively to a work-related syndrome of exhaustion and depersonalization / cynicism, others feel that burnout is a special case of the more general clinical depression or just a form of extreme fatigue / exhaustion (thus omitting the cynicism component).

In more common terms, you are suffering from long-term exhaustion, fatigue and lack of interesting. Everything together is pointing to some kind of depression or better, extreme fatigue / exhaustion.

Symptoms

How can you check if you are showing first signs of Burnout? One theory states that someone who burned out had to be burning before. Are you burning? Those symptoms can be possible signs of burnout. Please keep in mind that those symptoms are often also caused by other sicknesses. If a half or more of the listed symptoms apply to you, I suggest you speak with your doctor to make sure you are well.

Warning Symptoms at the Beginning

• increased engagement for certain goals
• working almost without breaks
• hyperactivity
• ignoring personal needs
• limiting social contacts to certain areas
• exhaustion
• chronic tiredness
• concentration disambiguation
• sleep disorder

Reduced Engagement

• stereotypes
• need for distance
• evading contacts
• negative attitude towards work
• neglecting work

There are way more symptoms, so I decided to stick with the one above because some of these I’m showing, at least that’s what I think after paying more attention to myself.

Prevention

After I discovered that I may show some symptoms of Burnout, I had a look on how to make sure it won’t become real burnout. Wikipedia says, basically you shall take your free time and make sure you have your regeneration/recreation. Also you shall seek compensation for the work you are doing, like doing sports, music or any other kind of hobby.

Wrap Up

What do I try to achieve with my article? First of all I want to get rid of my thoughts. Also, I want to increase the awareness about the Burnout-Syndrom. I believe my article is not the best one on this topic, but I hope it did reach its goal. Did you ever encounter Burnout? What is your own opinion on the whole story?

The project run by prizee.com has the astonishing goal of receiving 100 million visits. Once this goal is reached, prizee.com will put back 10,000 Euro (approx. 13,612 USD) to the environmental organization AQUAVERDE.

AQUAVERDE is a non-profit association founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2002.

Its goal is to promote and support all initiatives thriving to bring a new dimension to the interaction between human society and environement, in the perspective of sustainable development and dignity of People.

The association concentrates its efforts in priority to the safeguard of water ressources in the Amazon region, which constitute today one fourth of the fresh water reserves of our planet.

I believe we should support this project, either by donating to the association or by supporting the Ace4trees website and getting them their 100 million visits.

So what are you waiting for?

Well, let’s start at the beginning. On that day my parents drove to Lübeck which is at the Baltic Sea in the northern parts of Germany as they spent their vacations there, traveling by tandem bicycle to Bansin, that’s about 455km away. I traveled with them to Lübeck as I had to drive the car back home and pick them up again a week later after they reached Bansin.

So my parents went off for their vacation trip and I drove home. Everything was cool and I had quite some fun. It was my first time that I made such a long trip alone

I made a stop in Marienborn to have a short look at the memorial of the division of Germany because Marienborn was one of the crossings one could travel to the “German Democratic Republic” (DDR) and the “Federal Republic of Germany” (BRD) back before 1990.

I continued my way home as it was about one hour away from there. Unfortunately, or depending on the point of view fortunately, things got…uhm…bad after I passed the exit to Alleringersleben.

The car in front on me came to an emergency halt, so I had to hit the brakes. Luckily I got to a halt on time, same for the cars behind me. Since I was on the middle lane of the three lane highway, I pulled over to the left lane because it was free. I parked my car, grabbed my mobile phone as I saw smoke about 100m in front of me. I jumped out of the car, had a short look and saw fire. Without thinking I called 112 which is the German equivalent for 911 and reported the accident. I then grabbed the first aid box, locked the car and rushed for the accident to provide first aid.

As I arrived at the scene I saw already other people providing first aid. There were two unconscious persons on the ground, with two burning cars in the background. I approached the helpers trying to revive the unconscious persons and helped with the Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on one of the unconscious persons.

Meanwhile the cars kept burning and you could hear how the tires explode. I also learned some details about the accident and it turned out that the other helpers were quick enough to evacuate both cars before it was too late.

Soon paramedics, fire department, police and an emergency doctor arrived, taking over while we helper kept some distance, hanging on our own thoughts and talking with each other to make sure that everyone is fine. After maybe 20 minutes or so we were sure that the person I helped with the CPR didn’t survive. The other person was transported to a hospital by helicopter.

By then I also saw the other involved persons who had only minor injuries. They were also transported to a hospital.

I then asked a police officer if he needs me for something, like for a report or so. As I didn’t see how the accident happened, I could leave. The police officer said “thank you” before I could turn around and had for my car. After what just happened it cheered me up a little bit.
The police allowed us to turn around and drive the wrong direction to the previous (or “next”) exit and I headed home.

Back home I called my parents, telling them more detailed about what happened because I called them earlier so they won’t wonder why I’m later than expected at home. I also called my grandparents…which I regret a bit because my grandpa didn’t really listen to me and 5 minutes later he called me again just to tell me that the accident was on TV and they reported that one person died….hello? I know about it. I was there. Please, I don’t need to know about it, I have to deal with myself now…

As you can imagine I was a bit shocked after this and it took me a week to get over it. The first night I couldn’t sleep much, the next night was better, but it took me a bit to fall asleep as I still saw the scene in front of me.
Today I’m fine, although I “smell” the accident every now and then, like as I write this article, other than that…of course I think about it every now and then, but most of the time I forget about it and continue my life. After all I’m happy that I was able to provide help, even if it was unsuccessful in one case. I’m also glad that my reactions were fast enough that I didn’t crash into the car in front of me and that the driver behind me was as quick.

After thinking about what happened, I’m glad that every owner of a driver license in Germany must provide first aid. That’s why you have to attend a first aid course before you can get your license. Also, all cars must have a first aid box and I can tell it is a good thing. I just wish it was mandatory that all cars have a fire extinguisher. Unfortunately only some cars have them and only certain cars are forced to have one.

As I had to buy a new first aid box on Monday, I also bought a fire extinguisher. I think, after what I saw, it is not a mistake to have one in the car. Although chances are low that this happens to me again, I like the idea to be prepared.

What do you think? Did something like that happen to you? How are the regulations on first aid and fire extinguishers in your country, or what is your opinion? I think talking about this and sharing the thoughts and feelings helps a lot to deal with it.

I assume I had less problems with the heat than anyone else around me, that’s why I decided to tell you my secrets to stay cool and survive the day.

5 ways to stay cool on a hot day

1. Don’t drink cold or chilled drinks

Yes, you read it right. It is the worst thing you can do. If you drink something chilled, your body produces more heat to warm you up again.
It is better to drink something hot or at least at room temperature. That way you will sweat more which will keep you cool.

2. Drink a lot

You loose a lot of water because of sweating, so you need to fill your reserves up. Drinking about 3 liters a day is the best thing you can do, BUT don’t drink alcohol, coffee or tea as they prevent the body from storing the water.

3. Don’t eat heavy food

While digesting food, your body creates heat…which we don’t want, do we? Instead eat fresh stuff like fruits or salads. You can even eat the one or the other ice, but not en mass as my first point also applies for ice.

4. Stay in the shadow…

…or inside. If you are directly in the sun, you will transpire more sweat, loosing more water…which sums up to something not healthy for you
You also reduce the possibility to get skin cancer.

5. Only move as much as you have to

My favorite method. If you have work to do, only do the important work. See which work you can do later, when it is cooler.
Moving/working creates heat and we don’t want to get heated up more than we are already.

That’s it. I hope my tips are helpful.

Stay cool and be safe

As you most likely know I started this on June 18th, a day after my post about Computer / Gaming Addiction.
Although I planned to post a regular update on my progress, things turned out different as my real life kept me busy and didn’t allow me to spent time on updating my progress.

So, here they are…

The final results

As I said already, “RL” kept me quite busy, so I did manage to turn down my computer usage to a certain degree. Well, the last days kept me at my computer, but I was working on it to write a website for the German actor Thorsten Kramer. As soon as the page is done, I will give you an info on here

I still have minor problems with my parents, but everything else is ok now and the remaining problems will soon be solved, I’m sure

So far I had no luck with getting a job to keep me busy until my job education starts…but I keep on trying. The website for the actor is some kind of job…but not the one which will get me a lot of money…

I managed to stop skipping meals, except the one or the other time. But that should be ok, I guess

I still have a problem with my sleep pattern…but if you have nothing else to do each day, it should be understandable…anyway, I keep on working on it.

Well, that’s it.
After keeping an eye on all the things I decided to change I think I did well.

The results for Day 2

After sleeping a bit too long, I woke up at 10:00 local time and enjoyed a good breakfast. Then headed out into the real world to take care of some business. While I was in the “jungle” out there I also got something for lunch…but I don’t remember what it was…doh!
I was back home at 14:30 local time and, shame on me, I failed to stay away from the computer. In the evening I had dinner with my parents and then went back to the computer…stay up until 02:00.

I know, shame on me…but I’ll see to it that Day 3 end earlier.

The results for Day 3

I was up at 09:00 and had no breakfast as I had no time…and someone stole my breakfast…
For lunch I stopped by at SubWay to enjoy a nice 6 inch Chicken Teriyaki and a Coke. Then headed back home and read a book I bought earlier. I don’t know if you know it, but it is a Star Wars book: “Darth Bane. Path of Destruction” (It is not in English, but in German )
Anyway, now I’m online again and I better keep an eye on the time because I don’t want to stay up as long as yesterday.

Read the finale results

First of all let’s have a look at what I need to change to ensure that I won’t become addicted to computers:

1. Spend less time at the computer
2. Solving problems with my parents
3. Getting a job until my job education starts
4. Stop skipping meals
5. Stop failing to attend to personal hygiene
6. Get back to the regular sleep pattern

The results for Day 1

Yesterday I went to bed earlier than usual as preparation for my plans for the next (and the following days). My alarm clock woke me up at 08:30 local time, but I stayed in bed until 12:00…which was either a big mistake or I just had to catch the sleep I didn’t get for quite some while now. I will see what tomorrow going to bring on the terms of sleep. I then made me breakfast and lunch at the same time, no more skipping a meal!
The next 2 hours I spent trying to get a job, with no success
So I decided to switch my computer on and listen to some music while doing some cleanup. Worked well, especially because I did not log on with any messenger until 14:30 local time. Even then I spent the major time away from the keyboard (computer).
Now it is 18:00 and I think I can use the computer for a bit, AFTER I made me something to eat…no idea what it going to be, but I’m sure it will be tasty

As I’m talking about food…I’m hungry, so I better hurry up…

Right now I’m feeling a bit sleepy, so I’m sure I will go to bed as early as yesterday, maybe a bit earlier.

End of Day 1 – See you tomorrow or so, depending on the time I spent at the computer

However, I think this article is some kind of reflection for me. My mother keeps on saying that I’m a computer addict and that I should see a doc or one of the people at the addiction center. I think and I’m quite sure on this, that I’m not addicted. To prove this I better make a break down on how many hours I’m at the computer, what I do there and so on.

Activity Report

I’m using the instant messenger Xfire which tracks the time I’m playing games. My current amount for this week is 15 hours, feel free to have a look at my profile to see my last 7 days of gaming.
While I play computer games for 15h a week I also work on/with my computer, so add 21 hours for checking emails or visiting websites and 35 hours for working on my own and other websites. If you sum everything up its total is at 71h computer time a week.

Compare: a week has 168 hours

So, what do I do in the time left? Assume I sleep 9h per day, so I sleep 63 hours per week. That leaves 34 hours a week for other use, like eating and doing other real life things.
I’m not one of those people who enjoy going out to a party or something like that. I also don’t play table-tennis anymore but I do ride my bicycle almost everyday, like when I go shopping and don’t want to go by foot.

I believe I just covered the last 34 hours a week…but keep in mind that all these statistics are based on an average day of an average week. Times do vary, especially when I have my “gaming hunger” or “coding hunger”. If either of my “hungers” occur I can spend one hell of a time on either playing games or writing php/html code (also known as websites).

Compare with signs of addiction

Let’s compare myself with all these signs:

Psychological Symptoms

Having a sense of well-being or euphoria while at the computer
Sometimes, but who hasn’t? Most of the time I just think: “Man, I wish I could turn my computer down, but I have to finish that piece of work first…”

Inability to stop the activity
I’m able to stop it any time, but who likes to leave work unfinished? Maybe I should get used to that idea to convince my mum that I’m not addicted…

Craving more and more time at the computer
Ok, that’s true. These days I spent most of my time at the computer. BUT I have no work nor did my job education start, yet. So what can I do in my spare time?

Neglect of family and friends
I have some problems with my parents at the moment, mainly due to the fact that I have no job to keep myself busy and earning some money before my education starts. Friends…define friends. I have a lot of friends online, but I never had many friends in real life…maybe one or two… but these friends are now busy with studying or whatever so I lost contact. I’m really sorry about that but that’s the life, isn’t it?

Feeling empty, depressed, irritable when not at the computer
No. I’m actually happy when I’m not at the computer.

Lying to employers and family about activities
Don’t know…maybe? I would like to know which exact activities they think about…

Problems with school or job
No problem with either as I don’t go to school anymore and I don’t have a job…I wish I could go to school again or at least have a job…

Physical Symptoms

Carpal tunnel syndrome
I have no signs of this syndrome so far.

Dry eyes
Maybe they are a bit drier than usual…but I had dry eyes even before I started to use my computer as much as I do now.

Migraine headaches
No.

Back aches
No again.

Eating irregularities, such as skipping meals
Yes, unfortunately. But I intend to change that as soon as I published this article

Failure to attend to personal hygiene
uh….to a certain degree. I’m not failing completely, but I need to change that, too!

Sleep disturbances, change in sleep pattern
No disturbances, but my sleep pattern did change. Mainly because I’m a member of an international gaming club called New Republic Navy [NRN] and most people there are online when I’m supposed to sleep. So I stay up late and my sleep pattern changes.
That’s another thing I want to address as soon as I published this article.

Wrap up

I believe that I’m not yet addicted although I’m endangered. There are a lot of things I need to change and I better do it before I’m really addicted.

Now, as you read this article…do you think I’m addicted? Whatever you decide, please write your opinion as comment.
I really want to know what other people think about me / my computer usage.

Maybe you also use this article to review your own computer usage