Dealing with stress

My name‿ is Peter. For three years‿ I had chronic stress│ and‿ I did not use that phrase,│ because‿ in my country stress‿ is treated‿ as‿ a personal weakness rather than‿ a working condition.

My typical coping mechanism was to work harder,│ which‿ is‿ a symptom rather than‿ a solution. I slep(t) badly,│ I los(t) weight,│ and‿ I began to make mistakes that were completely out of^outta character. What finally forced‿ a change was not‿ a decision but‿ a collapse:│ I could not get‿ out of^outta bed‿ on‿ a Monday morning,│ an(d) my wife took me to the doctor‿ instead‿ of to the office.

What‿ I have learned│ since then‿ is that resilience‿ is not the ability to absorb‿ unlimited pressure;│ it‿ is the ability to notice the warning signs‿ early. I now set boundaries│ that I^{thad I} do not renegotiate,│ I have‿ a fixed finish time,│ and‿ I am‿ honest│ when‿ a deadline‿ is‿ unrealistic. Burnout‿ is not cured by a holiday. It‿ is prevented by a workload that fits‿ a human being,│ and‿ if‿ a company cannot provide that,│ no amount‿ of personal resilience will compensate.