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Burnout

Also called: occupational burnout, exhaustion syndrome

A three-part syndrome — exhaustion, cynical detachment and a drop in the sense of efficacy — classified by the WHO as an occupational phenomenon, not a disease.

The model that matters is Christina Maslach's, with three distinct dimensions: emotional exhaustion (the tank is empty), depersonalisation or cynicism (distance from people, who become cases or tickets) and reduced personal accomplishment (the sense that nothing you do counts).

The practically important detail: the three do not arrive together. Exhaustion comes first, cynicism is a defence against it, and the loss of efficacy comes last and is the hardest to reverse. Intervening at the first sign is a far shorter road.

In ICD-11 the WHO classified burnout as an occupational phenomenon — not a medical condition. The distinction is not bureaucratic: it says the problem is located in the relationship with work, and an intervention treating only the person while leaving the context unchanged usually produces relapse.

Which is why serious recommendations include changes to workload, control over the work, recognition and fairness — not only relaxation techniques for the exhausted person.

What it is confused with

With depression. They overlap substantially, but burnout is tied to a context — it usually improves visibly on leave, whereas depression does not. If anhedonia and meaninglessness persist away from work, the assessment needs to go further.

With tiredness. Tiredness resolves with rest. Burnout does not — someone returning from two weeks' holiday just as empty is describing something else.

With stress. Stress is over-engagement; burnout is disengagement. From outside, a stressed person looks agitated, a burnt-out person looks indifferent.

Related terms

AnhedoniaExperiential avoidanceMaladaptive perfectionism

Methods that work with this

Cognitive behavioural therapyMindfulness-based cognitive therapy

These definitions are informational. They do not replace an assessment by a professional and are not enough for self-diagnosis.

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