How did you come up with the idea of trying an online psychology course?
Martin: After the diagnosis from my family doctor, I sought quick help. The waiting time for a therapy place was 6 months or more. When I googled online courses, I immediately found what I was looking for at HelloBetter.
At my next doctor’s visit I had the course prescribed, then received a code from my health insurance company and redeemed it at HelloBetter. The procedure only took 2 weeks.
What was your motivation for registering and what expectations did you have for the course?
Martin: After reading up on the topic of burnout, I had to accept that you can’t get out of it yourself and that you probably have to get help.
I wanted FAST relief from my symptoms (sleep problems, irritability, problems concentrating, hopelessness and fear of the future).
Please tell us more about your experiences with the HelloBetter course.
Martin: First of all, it’s easier for me to do an online course than to talk to a therapist about all the problems, because there’s a risk that the chemistry won’t be right and you’ll move on to the next one after a few sessions.
The course is structured very simply and you are encouraged to take short breaks even during the lessons. For me, the course was a kind of job replacement while I was on sick leave – except that I was working for myself.
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What was your greatest success or insight from the course?
Martin: My greatest sense of achievement after 12 years of working under constant electricity was realizing that I need breaks and how I have to structure them so that they are relaxing. As a media professional who has to be creative at the push of a button, this was a real insight for me! So far everything has only revolved around performance and success – I only saw my empty battery as a nuisance and ignored the warning signals from my body and my psyche.
It was also a milestone for me to slowly allow and perceive my feelings again. The fact that feelings are like waves and how you ride them and what they actually want to tell you opened my eyes.
What did you find difficult about it?
Martin: Especially at the beginning, the relaxation exercises were very difficult for me because I was still on constant electricity and actually wanted to go back to work. I had to learn to let go under stress and give myself a break.
Which course content made it into your everyday life?
Martin: Since you can continue to use the course after the lessons and I have installed the app, I use one of the exercises for relaxation and regeneration almost every day. It is also important to change your behavior and with the “Effective Self Support” exercise I can improve myself every day. Here I analyze a “bad” situation of the day and find the error for the future, then I recharge the battery by reliving a “good situation”. I think this mindfulness training is now necessary in our sensory-overloaded world, because otherwise you just live past yourself as if remotely controlled!
What is your conclusion after the end of the course and how do you feel now? Would you recommend the therapy program to others?
Martin: I would not only recommend the course, but also recommend it to everyone as a preventive measure before they fall into the burnout trap! If I had completed this course a year ago, I would never have become so seriously ill and would have been able to change my behavior in time. I’m really excited about the course overall, I continue to use it every day and can go through all the lessons again at any time if I feel like I need it!
Most of the symptoms I described above have completely disappeared or have improved significantly – in just a few weeks!
If you worked at HelloBetter for a day, what else would you want to change about the course?
Martin: The look and feel of the website and app is fantastic and the course is fun to see and use. But there are a few points that could be improved.
If I were to work at HelloBetter for a day, I would improve the sound quality of the videos and exercises to match the quality of the design.
Is there any advice you would like to give to other sufferers?
Martin: I advise anyone who feels stressed over a longer period of time to google “the stages of burnout” and, when they are halfway through, to react immediately!
Despite clear symptoms and very strong suffering, I continued for months as if nothing was happening because I simply didn’t know what was wrong with me.
Now I know exactly what’s going on with me when I recognize the early warning signs and can react.
15 july 2019