People who experience great stress at work must able to set limits without feeling anxious or guilty.

They should take a good hard look at their desire for praise and appreciation and make sure they are not becoming too dependent on others. They should strengthen their self-confidence and distance themselves from exaggerated expectations they make on their own performance. In addition, they must learn to back away from the excessive demands others make of them.

One important requirement in this respect is learning to recognize the signs of exhaustion. Once we feel we are nearing our own breaking point, we can communicate this to our superiors and colleagues as well. We should communicate that we are presently not in the position to take on an endless amount of work.

Of course, this does demand a certain amount of openness and courage, since it means discussing how to focus solely on certain tasks, delay other projects or even surrender whole projects to others. But in the long term this strategy of setting limits for oneself and for one´s work environment proves rewarding.