OUR BREAKING POINT(S)

 

A breaking point is a moment when there's so much stress or pressure that mental or physical strength just can't hold up.

A breaking point is a moment of greatest strain. Interestingly enough, the breaking points are the moments in which we need to stay calmer. Research shows that trying to control every event increases our stress.

A breaking point is a moment of stress in which we break down — it feels like you are never going to get back up again. We are more than under pressure — the situation becomes critical for our survival. Everyone faces a breaking point — we all get there in distinct ways.

A breakeven point is when total costs and total revenue are equal. It's the sales level you need to reach to cover all of your costs. Your business cannot be profitable until it has reached this point.

"Breaking point" refers to the stage where an individual's ability to cope with stress, pressure, or a difficult situation is overwhelmed, leading to a loss of control or a critical situation. It can manifest as a mental or emotional breakdown, or as a point where a situation becomes untenable and requires immediate change.

 

Situational stress:
A relationship, a job, or a challenging project could reach a breaking point where it becomes unsustainable.
Cumulative stress:
A breaking point can also be the result of prolonged, low-grade stress that gradually builds up over time, eventually reaching a threshold.

 
In essence, a breaking point is a point of no return where the individual or situation can no longer withstand the existing pressure or stress. It can be a catalyst for positive change, forcing a reevaluation of priorities and leading to necessary adjustments. 

When I hear the word breaking point I usually think that it's like a bomb that anytime might explode. For me, to be in my breaking point is the state of being exhausted in everything. Thinking that it's time to end something… Most people think that when we say we are in our breaking point it's easy to come up with a negative idea yet sometimes breaking point is not only to end something because you are exhausted, we can revise it in a positive thinking like breaking point can be a new beginning for us to be able to begin a new life with a weapon and that is our learning from our breaking point.

In human psychology, the breaking point is a moment of stress at which a person breaks down and is unable to cope with it. This obviously varies from individual to individual.

I got my first breaking point as a German expatriate in the Philippines as a result of culture shocks. This was a long time ago and very much different from today's situation.  Meanwhile I have been living here smooth and sound for several years.

Nowadays, many people are  experiencing mood changes. Indeed, the emotional effects of stress can have a serious impact on your day-to-day mood and mental health. Firstly, you may find that you’re feeling more irritated or pessimistic than usual. This mood change can then begin to affect your motivation to work, socialise with your loved ones or complete the things on your to-do list. If left unchecked, these feelings can threaten to completely overwhelm you, leaving you feeling apathetic, depressed, frustrated, panicky or trapped.

If you've been asking yourself, “How do I fix my relationship?,” you may already be at a breaking point. A breaking point is when an argument or disagreement starts to become invasive in your life. Is it impacting your other relationships? Is it impacting your work? Is it impacting your health?

A lot of people around me can’t seem to focus or concentrate properly. If you’re battling to concentrate, keep focused or remember certain things, this is a good indication that you’re feeling the effects of anxiety. These changes in thinking and memory (also known as “brain fog”) can occur when you’re trying to manage several stressful situations at once, which can make you confused and forgetful. These situations may include demanding jobs or emotionally-taxing tasks. Unregulated emotional exhaustion can really impact your attention, executive functioning (organising and planning), and memory.

A lot of people are expressing  difficulty with personal relationships. You’ll often notice emotional exhaustion from prolonged stress manifesting in your relationship and your capacity to connect with your family on a meaningful emotional level. You may find yourself picking fights over small things, feeling angry at or unsatisfied with your partner or being overly judgemental. Tension in your close relationships can cause you to feel anxious, detached, and withdrawn which can make it difficult to ask for emotional support when you need it or be there for those you love.

Low self-esteem is being reported a lot these days. If lately you’ve found your mind overwhelmed with negative thoughts, you’ve probably also noticed their impact on how you view yourself. Perhaps you’re feeling more cynical and hopeless than usual? Or maybe you’ve lacked confidence in situations where you would normally speak up. At times, you may even have found yourself wondering if what you’re doing even matters anymore. It is important to recognise these changes. If left unchecked, these feelings may progress into symptoms of depression.

To stay in balance you need to turn these behaviors around. The smallest changes make a difference, but pay attention to changes that aren't so small, like getting enough sleep (without drugs), dealing with your anger and anxiety before they erupt, moving around during the day, making time to play, eating sensibly and simply being with yourself.

I learned that prevention is the best medicine. Reaching your breaking point means that you've crossed into the red zone, from which it's hard to return. You won't get to your red zone if you apply the habits of self-care I've just listed. The choice is really yours. Medical research has abundantly validated that being in balance is the healthiest way to live. Spend the next two weeks getting back into balance. You'll be amazed and pleased with the results. I adopted a certain "Bahala-na"-emotion especially when it comes to "bad news". I enjoy playing my piano and listening to wonderful relaxing music. I enjoy staying together with my family. I talked to God... .

ASSERTIONS TO BEAR

 

By Klaus Döring

An assertion is a declaration that's made emphatically, especially as part of an argument or as if it's to be understood as a statement of fact. To assert is to state with force. So if someone makes an assertion, they're not.

Assertion is one of the central kinds of speech act, typically carried out by the utterance of a declarative sentence, such as the very sentences you are reading now. It might be defined as a speech act in which a proposition is presented as true or claimed to be true. Two of the central philosophical questions involving assertion concern its nature and its norms. From about the mid-20th century onward, philosophical work on assertion tended to focus on its nature: what it is to make an assertion and what distinguishes assertion from other kinds of speech act. Later work (especially beginning in the 1990s) concentrated more on the question of the norms of assertion: what factors, especially epistemic factors, govern when it is permissible to assert something. This bibliography focuses on those two questions, but it should be noted that many areas of philosophy of language will bear on assertion; discussions of implicature often concern implicatures of assertions, discussions of the content of assertions, and discussions of presupposition and (somewhat less often) the difference between assertion and presupposition.

We love to complain! Many times we don't have reasons at all to do so - but, we love to complain. Especially nowadays. Our world is full of mess - isn't it? Of course, somehow it is indeed if you look around.

We bring many more assertions to bear: first, in the past we have been thriftier and economical, more religious and devout, more patriotic, industrious, more hard-working, keen and obedient. And, second, above everything and all: in the past we had more idealists. Third, nowadays we have (mostly?) material things in mind - what a disgrace. 

Materialists or idealists? Materialism or Idealism? Whom or what do you love? Love most?

I just quoted Vox Populi... .

A "materialist" has indeed become a swear word. I don't mean with "material" the accumulated data out of which a writer creates a work of literary, historical, or scientific value. A materialist is being easily described as someone with an attitude, who ignores spiritual values, compared with an idealist, who has the tendency to seek the highest spiritual perfection.

Idealism means the doctrine that appearance is purely the perception, the idea of subjects, and that the world is to be regarded as consisting of mind. The coquetry of higher philosophy makes it difficult to bear the ups and downs in our daily life.

Sure, we all know that "our last earthly dress has no pockets  any more". Striving for earthly and terrestrial possession, property and estate might be the hit-man of idealism. That's how we have been taught. "Wine, women and song", having the unpleasant feeling of fullness, egoism and bragging as well as showing-off - are these the materialist's real attitudes?

Is the idealist, many times not being able to stand on earth with both feet, the only one who occupies himself with religion and virtuousness - so to speak, with celestial and heavenly things? Is that really so? Can we make such a distinction? Sure, it's easy to do so: it's manageable and comfortable. But well, why is the enjoyment of having a tasty meal BAD, and listening to a recital composed by Johann Sebastian Bach BETTER? Why should art be better than roasted pork and a bottle of wine? Value judgements and moral concepts... .

Owning a house and lot and a car  - or even more then one - are earthly properties, as well as bank saving accounts, profitable insurances, and invest advantageously in stocks. Is a terrible underpaid nurse or a book author an idealist, because he or she doesn't work for the filthy lure but for higher values? 

Has Jesus been an idealist, because He accepted renunciation and died without terrestrial possession? Has Jesus been a materialist, because He fed thousands of people on the breadline? Are we idealists, if we bequeath nothing to our families and might die without a single centavo, because earthly things are bad?

Worth to think about it ... .

Learning the art of sifting and discerning

 

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Chaplain

Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)

Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com

WITH the way the world us currently developing, with so many things coming out that can easily grab our attention and interest, we really would need to hone our skills at sifting and discerning, since these developments can easily give us a lot of dangers even if initially they can offer, or at least, promise to give us a lot of good.

These are skills that are urgently needed these days. With so many things competing for our attention, we need to know which ones we ought to give priority or which ones are truly God’s will for us. We cannot deny that there are many things that can look like they come from God but are not.

For this, the first thing to do is always to be guarded, and not just allow ourselves to be easily held captive by the many charms these new developments offer. We need to be clear about what the real and ultimate purpose of our life is, that is, to be properly anchored and focused, so that no matter how things go, we would not get lost or confused.

To be properly anchored and focused means to have God as the be-all and end-all in all our human activities and affairs. More specifically, to have love for God and for everybody else as the motivating principle of our life.

That’s when we would be able to distinguish what is essential from what is non-essential, what has absolute value from what only has relative value. We would have a proper sense of priority that would guard us from falling into self-indulgence which is actually the very opposite of true love.

Let’s never forget that we have a very strong tendency toward self-indulgence. That is why Christ clearly told us that for us to follow him, which is what is proper to us, we need to deny ourselves and to carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24)

We should not ignore this clear indication Christ gave his disciples. We have to strongly convince ourselves that such indication never undermines our humanity. What it would rather do is to purify our humanity, put it on the right path in pursuit of our ultimate goal, and eventually elevate it to the very life and nature of God himself as we are meant to have.

This habit of self-denial would enable us to do God’s work, which is actually meant for us as his children, sharers of his life and nature, while being easily flexible and adaptive to the varying challenges and circumstances of the times. We have to be wary of our tendency to be trapped into some closed system of routine, if not to be imprisoned in our comfort-zone.

Self-denial will obviously involve certain detachment from things. That is why we should intensify our union with Christ as we immerse ourselves in the things of this world. We can do that if we know how to pray always, converting everything into a form of prayer, a form of engaging ourselves with God.

For this, we certainly need to train ourselves and to acquire a certain discipline, so that our union with Christ would be kept alive. We have to realize that our life is supposed to be always a life with Christ and for Christ.

Only then can we learn how to bear all things to achieve the fruitfulness of Christ who gained our salvation through his passion, death and resurrection. The paradox of dying in order to be fruitful would become a reality in our life.

Eala's Wimbledon run ends after first-round doubles loss

 

Alex Eala's campaign at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships came to a close on Thursday, July 3, after she and German partner Eva Lys bowed out in the opening round of the Ladies' Doubles.

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Published Jul 3, 2025 10:00 pm

Alex Eala's campaign at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships came to a close on Thursday, July 3, after she and German partner Eva Lys bowed out in the opening round of the Ladies' Doubles.

Playing together for the first time, the Filipina-German duo put up a fight early on but eventually fell, 6-4, 6-2, to the Brazilian-American pair of Ingrid Martins and Quinn Gleason.

Eala and Lys opened the match on a high note, winning the first game of the opening set. However, Martins and Gleason quickly turned the tide, stringing together three straight games to take a 3-1 lead and never looking back.

In the second set, Eala and Lys once again started with a 1-0 edge, but the more experienced Martins and Gleason responded with five consecutive games to surge ahead, 5-1.

Although Eala and Lys managed to take the seventh game, it wasn’t enough to shift the momentum, as their opponents closed out the match in the eighth game to seal the victory.

The loss came just days after Eala’s first-round singles defeat to Czech defending champion Barbora Krejcikova. Lys also exited early in singles, losing in the second round to 30th seed Linda Noskova.

Das deutsche Bier droht zu verschwinden – doch es gibt zwei Hoffnungsträger

Von Carsten DierigWirtschaftskorrespondent

Quelle: Rainer Jensen/dpa

Der Biermarkt in Deutschland erlebt einen historischen Einbruch. Damit verschlimmert sich der Trend der vergangenen Jahre. Experten sagen nun eine Konsolidierung in der Branche voraus. Lediglich zwei Sorten machen noch ein wenig Hoffnung.

Die Deutschen trinken so wenig Bier wie noch nie. Einen Absatz von 34,1 Millionen Hektoliter meldet das Statistische Bundesamt für den Zeitraum Januar bis Mai, das ist der niedrigste Wert seit der Wiedervereinigung. 2,3 Millionen Hektoliter oder umgerechnet fast sieben Prozent hat der Markt in diesen fünf Monaten im Vergleich zum ohnehin schon schwachen Vorjahreszeitraum verloren. „Das ist historisch“, ordnet Volker Kuhl ein, der Geschäftsführer der Großbrauerei Veltins. „Das macht Sorge und bedeutet für viele Brauereien einen echten Kampf.“ Zumal dieser unerwartet hohe Rückschlag im weiteren Jahresverlauf nicht mehr aufzuholen sei.

Zwar schrumpft der Biermarkt hierzulande schon seit Jahrzehnten – aber nicht in diesem Tempo. Kuhl spricht von einer aktuell mehr als doppelt so hohen Geschwindigkeit. Und das trotz des eigentlich „biertauglichen Wetters“, wie der Manager es ausdrückt. „Viel Sonne, warum und trocken – das Wetter im ersten Halbjahr hätte den Brauern und der Gastronomie eigentlich helfen müssen. Hat es aber nicht.“ Zwar sei die Haushaltsabdeckung stabil geblieben, ergänzt Veltins-Vertriebschef Rainer Emig. „Die Basisabsätze für den täglichen Durst sind gleichgeblieben, es mangelt aber an den variablen i-Tüpfelchen, etwa dem Bier unterwegs, dem zweiten Bier beim Essen, dem dritten und vierten, je nachdem wie lustig man unterwegs ist.“

Den Hauptgrund sieht die Branche im anhaltend schwachen Konsumklima und der schlechten Verbraucherstimmung. Ein derart großes Minus könne man nicht mehr aufs Wetter schieben, sagt Holger Eichele, der Hauptgeschäftsführer des Deutschen Brauer-Bundes, gegenüber WELT. „Wie bei Gastronomie und Handel schlägt die schlechte Verbraucherstimmung voll aufs Geschäft der Brauereien durch.“ Weil zeitgleich aber auch die Kosten für zum Beispiel Rohstoffe, Energie, Personal und Logistik hoch sind und teils noch weiter steigen, macht er sich Sorgen ums Überleben von vielen der insgesamt rund 1500 Brauereien hierzulande. 

Veltins-Chef Kuhl sagt bereits eine schmerzliche Konsolidierung voraus. „Bei einem Marktminus, wie wir es aktuell haben, und zugleich zunehmenden Kosten, wird es Brauereien geben, die das nicht überleben“, prognostiziert der Experte sichtbare strukturelle Veränderungen. Die Zahlen seien so kritisch, dass es nicht mehr möglich ist, so weiter zu machen wie bisher. „Wir werden zwangsläufig sehen, dass Brauereien aufgeben oder verkauft werden“, sagt Kuhl. Veltins selbst gehört nicht in die Kategorie der gefährdeten Betriebe. Auch das zeigen die aktuellen Zahlen. Im ersten Halbjahr 2025 legte der Absatz des über 200 Jahre alten Familienunternehmens aus dem Sauerland um 2,3 Prozent auf knapp 1,8 Millionen Hektoliter zu. Verluste im Fassbiergeschäft und bei den Biermischgetränken wurden dabei überkompensiert von Zuwächsen beim klassischen Pils, vor allem aber beim Hellen Pülleken, mit dem Veltins den anhaltenden Hell-Bier-Trend bedient.   Bei 11,6 Prozent liegt mittlerweile der Marktanteil von Helles im Sortenmix in Deutschland, meldet Marktforscher NielsenIQ. Lediglich das klassische Pils ist mit einem stabilen Anteil von knapp 50 Prozent stärker. Zwar werden rund 60 Prozent des Hell-Biers allein in Bayern und Baden-Württemberg verkauft. Fünf Jahre zuvor lag dieser Anteil aber noch bei 74 Prozent. Und Branchenbeobachter rechnen mit weiteren Marktanteilsgewinnen in den kommenden Jahren, vor allem zulasten von Weizen, Export und Spezialitätenbieren. 

Zweite Ausnahme im krisengeschüttelten Biermarkt ist neben Helles das alkoholfreie Bier, das ebenfalls seit Jahren zulegen kann. Ein Rettungsanker ist dieses Feld nach Ansicht von Veltins-Chef Kuhl indes nicht für die Branche. Und tatsächlich liegt der Anteil im Sortenmix noch immer unter zehn Prozent. Noch dazu sei der Wettbewerb besonders intensiv. „Die Zahl der Neuprodukte bei den alkoholfreien Bieren ist so groß wie nie zuvor“, beschreibt Kuhl. Praktisch alle Brauereien würden sich mittlerweile auf diesen Markt stürzen. Entlastung sei damit aber kaum zu erreichen. „Alkoholfreie Biere sind allenfalls ein Pflaster, das die Schmerzen lindert. Ein Retter in der aktuellen strukturellen Krise der Brauwirtschaft sind sie nicht.“ Zumal alkoholfreies Bier weniger in Kisten verkauft werde, sondern vorrangig in Sixpacks. „Das stellt man sich nicht in den Keller, sondern kauft es eher zu, wenn man es braucht.“

Bei rund 4,4 Prozent liegt derzeit ganz grundsätzlich der Marktanteil von Sixpacks in Deutschland, weisen die Statistiken von NielsenIQ aus. Wichtigste Gebindeart ist mit weitem Abstand der klassische Kasten mit 20 Halbliterflaschen, dessen Marktanteil bei über 50 Prozent liegt. Gekauft werden die Kisten vornehmlich im Angebot: Vier von fünf Kästen bekannter Markenbiere kaufen die Deutschen in der Aktion, also im Angebot bei Supermärkten und Getränkemärkten. Und da ist ein Preis zwischen zehn und elf Euro gang und gäbe. Damit kostet Bier heute praktisch genauso viel wie zu D-Mark-Zeiten. Und dazwischenliegen Jahrzehnte mit merklicher Inflation und gestiegenen Kosten. „Bier ist ein Lockvogel-Artikel, um Kunden in die Läden zu locken“, erklärt Kuhl. „Unser Wunsch ist das nicht“, stellt der Veltins-Mann Kuhl klar. „Aber wir haben da keinen Einfluss. Die Preise macht der Handel.“

Kritik kommt auch von Marktführer Radeberger Gruppe. „Diese Entwicklung sehen wir mit Sorge, weil ein Bierpreis um die zehn Euro eben nicht den Wert widerspiegelt, der diesem mit viel Expertise und natürlichen Rohstoffen gebrauten Produkt gebührt“, sagt eine Sprecherin des Konzerns, zu dem rund 60 Biermarken aus Deutschland gehören, darunter Radeberger, Jever, Tucher oder Berliner Kindl. „Bier braucht eine andere Wertschätzung – und eine andere Wertschöpfung.“ Es gebe wohl kaum eine andere Produktkategorie, bei der sich der Preis so nachteilig und zerstörerisch entwickelt haben wie beim Bier.  

SIE HABEN BEREITS EIN KONTO?ZUR NEWSLETTERVERWALTUNG

Absehbar könnten aber auch die Aktionspreise steigen. Denn große Brauer wie Krombacher und Veltins haben für den Herbst Preiserhöhungen sowohl für Flaschen- als auch für Fassbier angekündigt, ohne jedoch die genaue Höhe öffentlich zu machen. Und üblicherweise ziehen viele kleine Konkurrenten dann nach. Radeberger und Warsteiner wiederum hatten schon im Frühjahr ihre Preise erhöht. Branchenbeobachter halten es für wahrscheinlich, dass sich die Kiste mit 20 Halbliterflaschen im Normalpreis um etwas einen Euro verteuern wird.

Zum Standardtarif werden aber ohnehin nur 20 Prozent der Bierkästen eingekauft, jedenfalls von den bekannten nationalen Pils-Marken. „Der Handel wird derzeit relativ aggressiv um die Gunst der Biertrinker“, beschreibt Marktforscher Marcus Strobl von NielsenIQ. „Konsumenten bieten sich seit Wochen so viele Gelegenheiten, Bier deutlich unter dem Regalpreis einzukaufen, wie schon lange nicht.“

Carsten Dierig ist Wirtschaftsredakteur in Düsseldorf. Er berichtet über Handel und Konsumgüter, Maschinenbau und die Stahlindustrie sowie Mittelstandsunternehmen.