Discover interesting facts about burnout that will surprise you.
What we hear most about burnout today, in various media, is almost always “more of the same”. On the other hand, there is important and surprising information about the phenomenon that few people know. Here are seven interesting facts about burnout:
- The term has been used since the 1950s in the United States and has become popular. By the 1980s it was already incorporated into everyday American language.
- For Freudenberger, considered the creator of the concept, distractions can lead someone to burnout if the person focuses too much on them. What distractions? Going for walks, watching TV, playing the lottery, smoking marijuana, etc. It’s all in his book “The High Cost of Great Achievements.”
- For Freudenberger, people with the profile of developing burnout have, among many other characteristics, that of being charismatic, powerful, invincible and capable of superhuman tasks. He even goes so far as to say that an average worker would never reach this state. He concludes that the profile of burnout candidates is that of absolutely extraordinary people and that very few would develop the “disease”.
- On the contrary, for Maslach, the psychologist who created the current concept of burnout, one hundred percent of people are diagnosed with it. At the very least, a mild burnout. In other words, the opposite of what Freudenberger stated.
- The current concept of burnout is given by the MBI, the Maslach Burnout Inventory. MBI, even if no one talks about it, is considered synonymous with burnout by the authors themselves, who state: “In practice the concept of burnout coincides with MBI and vice versa”. This is a questionnaire with twenty-two questions. Even if you answer Never you had problems with work, you will receive the label “mild burnout”.
- Contrary to what many believe, the World Health Organization says so Burnout is not a medical condition, it is not a disease and it is not a health condition. Search it on Google WHO Burnout 28 to check it for yourself on the official WHO page. This information is exactly the opposite of what is circulating around the world, according to which burnout is now classified as a disease in ICD 11. (WHO bears part of the responsibility for the misinformation that has taken over the issue.)
- The concept of burnout adopted by the World Health Organization is MBI (exhaustion, cynicism, professional effectiveness). The MBI is a private asset, that is, it has an owner and is strictly protected by copyright. Written authorization is required for use. Each sheet costs two dollars and fifty cents. Therefore, in order to carry out research on burnout according to the criteria adopted by the WHO, it is necessary to do so pay. Meaning what, the WHO ended up approving the first human phenomenon protected by copyright. Yes, that’s exactly what you read.
Amazed? Wait, there’s more!
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Seven more (surprising) facts about burnout!
- The concept of burnout emerged within the American Free Clinics in the 1960s. The Free Clinic was a movement that offered care to disadvantaged populations, primarily hippies. Burnout was a slang term they used among themselves to refer to some of them when they got into serious health conditions due to very heavy drug abuse. Subsequently, clinic volunteers began using the term among themselves when they felt distressed, depressed, overwhelmed, or frustrated. Freudenberger became interested in the phenomenon and began talking and writing about it. This is how it all started. Many think that the concept of burnout emerged recently or that it corresponds to the name of someone who invented the concept (Mr. Bourneaux, probably French…)
- Since it is an English term, many – including healthcare professionals – think that burnout is a diagnosis of American psychiatry. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no burnout in the DSM, including the latest one, DSM 5. To be precise and to leave no doubt, the word burnout appears once in DSM 5, in an Appendix entitled “Culture-Related Syndromes.” Here mental disorders specific to small ethnic groups are described and the term “burnout” appears like this, in quotation marks. In other words: the American Psychiatric Association (APA) itself treats the term as slang. (The DSM corresponds to our ICD and is produced by the APA.)
- Schaufeli, the main theorist in the field, has collected 132 symptoms of burnout in international literature (exactly: one hundred and thirty-two). With 132 symptoms, burnout would be the most bizarre and extraordinary disease known in the history of mankind.
- The largest epidemiological study on burnout that I know of was published in 2018 in JAMA – Journal of the American Medical Association. This is a systematic review of 182 publications on the prevalence of burnout among doctors, with a sample of 109,628 individuals, from 45 countries, covering a period of 27 years. Results: This study found a prevalence of burnout ranging from 0 to 80% and identified 142 definitions of burnout. Yes, if I asked you “how is it possible that there are 142 definitions for the same phenomenon?”, your question makes perfect sense…
- Schaufeli, the leading theorist in the field, proposes that the “diagnosis” of burnout be used only for “‘normal’ people, without psychopathologies” (sic). What do you mean, teacher?? Does this mean that a person who has or has had symptoms of anxiety, depression, phobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder and dozens of others can never be considered to have burnout? And how do we separate one from the other in burnout research? Furthermore, Schaufeli resolves in two lines one of the most complex and dynamic issues of psychopathology, separating the ‘normal’, without psychopathology, from the ‘abnormal’, with psychopathology. The literature on the topic is, unfortunately, full of bizarre and frivolous solutions like this.
- Neurasthenia is a diagnosis from 1863 that is now completely out of use and is only preserved in ICD 10 because it is still used in China. Schaufeli explains what neurasthenia is and proposes that “Work-related neurasthenia is the most appropriate psychiatric diagnostic label for burnout.” It’s impossible not to ask yourself once again: what does this mean, professor?? Burnout experts say it is a disease, a pathology, an illness, etc. and, suddenly, mr. goes to ICD 10 and arbitrarily chooses work-related neurasthenia as “the most appropriate psychiatric diagnostic label for burnout”. ?? Where is the disease they talk about so much? Is it just a matter of choosing “the most appropriate psychiatric label for burnout”? Is this how science works in burnout territory?
- Maslach has stated over time that burnout is not a clinical condition. It seems, however, that burnout advocates have been enchanted by the possibility of it being considered a medical condition. To be considered a medical diagnosis, Maslach proposes the following criteria: If a person has severe burnout in EE and also severe in one of its variables (DE or RP), this would characterize a medical diagnosis. Now, look… This implies, by simple logic, that a person can experience severe burnout in EE, moderate in DE, and mild in RP (or any other such situation). Here is another of the absurdities of this theory: the individual can have three clinical forms of the phenomenon within you… Imagine applying this idea to any health condition… Consider what you would think if you saw a doctor who said to you, “Well, you have mild, moderate, and severe dysentery.” Imagine the same for any medical diagnosis: diabetes, pneumonia, flu, depression, anxiety, meningitis, cancer…
Source: Estevam Vaz De Lima – Psychiatrist and Psychoanalyst |
Doctor of the Escola Paulista de Medicina (UNIFESP); psychiatrist of the Brazilian Association of Psychiatry/Brazilian Medical Association, psychoanalyst of the Brazilian Society of Psychoanalysis/International Psychoanalytic Association, Psychiatrist and Official Expert of the Regional Labor Court of the 2nd. Region; guest professor at the EMATRA2 judge training course; former student and guest professor of the “Work-related mental disorders” course of the SAMPO/Institute of Psychiatry/FMUSP group; Union technical assistant in Psychiatry.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
