Herbert Freudenberger was the first person to use the term “burnout.” He noticed that the staff at a clinic tended to exhibit the same suite of symptoms, including depression, irritability, trouble sleeping, and chronic headaches or digestive problems.

The World Health Organization (WHO) added “burn-out” to the International Classification of Diseases in 2019. However, it is still not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (aka the DSM-5), which is the standard for medical practitioners in the United States.

We most often talk about burnout in the workplace, but it can happen to students—even younger kids—as well as stay-at-home parents and caregivers of chronically ill loved ones. Burnout can happen to anyone, even people who aren’t in jobs that are traditionally seen as high stress.

- Honeymoon

- Balancing Act

- Chronic Symptoms

- Crisis

- Enmeshment