Why society needs burn out.
And why Shiatsu is the best method to deal with it. 

Core topics of the course:
– Energetics of Burn Out based on the twelve-phases-model developed by Herbert Freudenberger
– Exaggerated ambition, stagnation, frustration, depression: the four main phases of Burn Out and the Shiatsu approach
– Special treatment techniques in relation to the core symptoms
– Picking and using tsubos and the energetics involved

Course description
Burn Out is often called the grand finale of total exhaustion, which manifests on the physical as well as on the emotional level. Plus: Burn Out seems to be spreading within our globally linked multimedia society like a wildfire. Stress is en vogue. As well as time pressure. Many different therapies pick up on this trend, mainly concentrating on the patterns of stress. In Shiatsu the focus also often lies on relieving tension and calming the mind, when dealing with Burn Out patients. But the more pressing question should be: Why do we burn all our energy?

We can learn something from every disease. And Burn Out is “the” disease of modern society. According to the most recent studies on the spread of the Burn Out syndrome, almost every fourth person will suffer from mild to severe Burn Out symptoms during their life span. The economic damage goes into billions. The individual dissatisfaction is beyond being measurable. It’s time to think about the lesson Burn Out can teach us.

The American educational scientist Howard Earl Gardner has found a starting point that has proven to be effective in overcoming burnout.
To put it simply: We are the captain of our ship, but do we always have hold of the steering wheel? Do we set the course? Do we cruise at the speed we like to?
It is all about conscious self-control, when Gardner asks the following three questions:
– Who am I?
– What do I want?
– How can I efficiently accomplish my goals?

We can only put out the fire of energetic self-devouring behavior efficiently, when we manage to stop nurturing it. In order to do so, we have to be willing to not only see the obvious stress or fatigue that goes along with the Burn Out syndrome, but see what lies beneath the surface. In my opinion, Burn Out is a gift. A gift for the individual. A gift for society. We need Burn Out. Burn Out confronts us with the most important questions we should ask ourselves: Who am I? What do I want? Burn Out has a spiritual aspect and if we really lack something in modern society, it’s the courage to ask ourselves big questions concerning our personal quest and the meaning of life. If we ask big questions, we get big answers. Those answers can be a crucial turning point in everyone’s life. This approach picks up on the understanding of health, as the WHO defined it already in the year 1948: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.“

As a truly holistic method Shiatsu is a perfect tool to accompany Burn Out clients. The touch can address and treat many symptoms that go along with the Burn Out syndrome, from excessive tension, sleeping disorders, anxiety or panic. But Shiatsu has much more to offer. We can be guides for our clients to support themselves in their self discovery process. We can connect them with their core. We can address the roots of the Burn Out syndrome.

In more than seven years of study I developed a approach, that goes along with the Burn Out model of Herbert Freudenberger, who developed the Burn Out scale. This scale can be divided in four quarters. Each quarter has a major topic to address, that goes along with the Five Element circle. If we integrate this approach in the individual diagnosis, we can make huge steps forward with Burn Out clients.