Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Treatment of Burnout: Overlap of Diagnosis

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Burnout for Experts

Abstract

The burnout syndrome can cover a variety of somatic and psychological symptoms that may appear in very different clinical forms in the individual patient. Because many symptoms of burnout syndrome can be observed in other clearly classifiable disorders, according to ICD-10 or DSM IV, there is a substantial overlap with other diagnoses, particularly with a diagnosis on the anxiety–depression spectrum or related to chronic fatigue syndrome.

A symptom-orientated interdisciplinary approach should be applied in the treatment of burnout syndrome with respect to somatic complaints and the integration of strategies of occupational psychology and medicine. Treatment should specifically address the respective core symptoms, such as depression, sleep disturbance, pain or exhaustion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 89.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Afari, N., & Buchwald, D. (2003). Chronic fatigue syndrome: A review. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(2), 221–236.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ahola, K., Honkonen, T., Isometsä, E., Kalimo, R., Nykyri, E., Aromaa, A., & Lönnqvist, J. (2005). The relationship between job-related burnout and depressive disorders – Results from the Finnish health 2000 study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 88(1), 55–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ahola, K., Honkonen, T., Virtanen, M., Kivimäki, M., Isometsä, E., Aromaa, A., & Lönnqvist, J. (2007). Interventions in relation to occupational burnout: The population-based health 2000 study. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49(9), 943–952.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Appels, A. (1997). Exhausted subjects, exhausted systems. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum, 640, 153–154.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baglioni, C., Battagliese, G., Feige, B., Spiegelhalder, K., Nissen, C., Voderholzer, U., Lombardo, C., & Riemann, D. (2011). Insomnia as a predictor of depression: A meta-analytic evaluation of longitudinal epidemiological studies. Journal of Affective Disorders, 135(1–3), 10–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bandelow, B., Zohar, J., Hollander, E., Kasper, S., Möller, H. J. WFSBP Task Force on Treatment Guidelines for Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, Zohar, J., Hollander, E., Kasper, S., Möller, H. J., Bandelow, B., Allgulander, C., Ayuso-Gutierrez, J., Baldwin, D. S., Buenvicius, R., Cassano, G., Fineberg, N., Gabriels, L., Hindmarch, I., Kaiya, H., Klein, D. F., Lader, M., Lecrubier, Y., Lépine, J. P., Liebowitz, M. R., Lopez-Ibor, J. J., Marazziti, D., Miguel, E. C., Oh, K. S., Preter, M., Rupprecht, R., Sato, M., Starcevic, V., Stein, D. J., van Ameringen, M., Vega, J. (2008). World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for the pharmacological treatment of anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and post-traumatic stress disorders—first revision. World J Biol Psychiatry, 9(4), 248–312.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, M., Bschor, T., Pfennig, A., Whybrow, P. C., Angst, J., Versiani, M., Möller, H. J., & WFSBP Task Force on Unipolar Depressive Disorders. (2007). World Federation of Societies of Biological Psychiatry (WFSBP) guidelines for biological treatment of unipolar depressive disorders in primary care. The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 8(2), 67–104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, A. T., Rush, A. J., Shaw, B. F., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy for depression. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beck, J., Hemmeter, U., Brand, S., Muheim, F., Hatzinger, M., & Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2010). Modafinil reduces microsleep during partial sleep deprivation in depressed patients. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 44(13), 853–856.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, P. M. (2006). Treatment of sleep dysfunction and psychiatric disorders. Current Treatment Options in Neurology, 8(5), 367–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berking, M. (2010). Training emotionaler Kompetenzen (2nd ed.). Berlin/Heidelberg/New York: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Blythe, J., Doghramji, P. P., Jungquist, C. R., Landau, M. B., Valerio, T. D., Ancoli-Israel, S., & Auerbach, S. H. (2009). Screening & treating patients with sleep/wake disorders. JAAPA, (Suppl Sleep), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burisch, M. (2010). Das Burnout-syndrome (4th ed.). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cajochen, C. (2005). Sleep disruption in shift work and jet lag: The role of the circadian timing system. Schweizerische Rundschau für Medizin Praxis, 94(38), 1479–1483.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cajochen, C. (2007). Alerting effects of light. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 11(6), 453–464.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Demerouti, E., Bakker, A. B., Nachreiner, F., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). The job demands-resources model of burnout. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 499–512.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dilling, H., Mombour, W., & Schmidt, M. H. (Eds.). (2008). Internationale Klassifikation psychischer Störungen (ICD-10, Kapitel V [F)]) (6th ed.). Bern: Hans Huber, Hofgrefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doghramji, K. (2010). The evaluation and management of insomnia. Clinics in Chest Medicine, 31(2), 327–339.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Duman, R. S., Heninger, G. R., & Nestler, E. J. (1997). A molecular and cellular theory of depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 54(7), 597–606.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, A. L., Trivedi, M. H., Kampert, J. B., Clark, C. G., & Chambliss, H. O. (2005). Exercise treatment for depression: Efficacy and dose response. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(1), 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ekstedt, M., Söderström, M., Akerstedt, T., Nilsson, J., Søndergaard, H. P., & Aleksander, P. (2006). Disturbed sleep and fatigue in occupational burnout. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 32(2), 121–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fagin, L., Carson, J., Leary, J., De Villiers, N., Bartlett, H., O’Malley, P., West, M., McElfatrick, S., & Brown, D. (1996). Stress, coping and burnout in mental health nurses: Findings from three research studies. The International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 42(2), 102–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Freudenberger, H. J. (1982). Counseling and dynamics: Treating the endstage person. In J. W. Jones (Ed.), The burnout syndrome. Park Ridge: London House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaser, R., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1998). Stress-associated immune modulation: Relevance to viral infections and chronic fatigue syndrome. The American Journal of Medicine, 105(3A), 35S–42S.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Golombek, U. (2001). Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) according to Jacobson in a department of psychiatry and psychotherapy—empirical results. Psychiatrische Praxis, 28(8), 402–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, D. J., DeStefano, A. L., Foley, D. J., Mignot, E., Redline, S., Givelber, R. J., & Young, T. (2004). APOE epsilon4 is associated with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea: The Sleep Heart Health Study. Neurology, 63(4), 664–668.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gottlieb, D. J., Punjabi, N. M., Newman, A. B., Resnick, H. E., Redline, S., Baldwin, C. M., & Nieto, F. J. (2005). Association of sleep time with diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance. Archives of Internal Medicine, 165(8), 863–867.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grossi, G., Perski, A., Evengård, B., Blomkvist, V., & Orth-Gomér, K. (2003). Physiological correlates of burnout among women. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55(4), 309–316.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gründer, G., & Benkert, O. (Eds.). (2011). Handbuch der Psychopharmakologie (2nd ed.). Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmeter, U. (2000). Der Einfluss der Persönlichkeitsdisposition auf die Cortisolreaktion nach experimentellem Stress und Fasten—ein psycho-neuroendokrinologischer Ansatz der differentiellen Reagibilität der Persönlichkeit auf Stress. Dissertationsarbeit zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Philosophie, Studienreihe, Psychologische Forschungsergebnisse. Hamburg: Kovacs.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmeter, U. (2011). Management von Schlaf-Wach-Regulationsstörungen bei Alterserkrankungen. Schweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 162(03), 108–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hemmeter, U. M., & Thum, A. (2009). Treatment of insomnia. Therapeutische Umschau, 66(6), 441–448.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, J. P. (1992). Biological basis of the stress response. Integrative Physiological and Behavioral Science, 27(1), 66–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge, G. M., Jupp, J. J., & Taylor, A. J. (1994). Work stress, distress and burnout in music and mathematics teachers. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 64, 65–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holsboer, F. (2001). Stress, hypercortisolism and corticosteroid receptors in depression: Implications for therapy. Journal of Affective Disorders, 62, 77–91.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2009). Pharmacotherapy of depression in primary care – An update. Therapeutische Umschau, 66(6), 407–411.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Honkonen, T., Ahola, K., Pertovaara, M., Isometsä, E., Kalimo, R., Nykyri, E., Aromaa, A., & Lönnqvist, J. (2006). The association between burnout and physical illness in the general population – Results from the Finnish Health 2000 Study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 61(1), 59–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Janke, W. (1974). Psychophysiologische Grundlagen des Verhaltens. In M. von Kerekjarto (Ed.), Medizinische Psychologie. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd, L. L., Paulus, M. P., & Zeller, P. (1999). The role of residual subthreshold depressive symptoms in early episode relapse in unipolar major depressive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56(8), 764–765.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaluza, G. (2005). Stressbewältigung. Heidelberg: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamel, N. S., & Gammack, J. K. (2006). Insomnia in the elderly: Cause, approach, and treatment. The American Journal of Medicine, 119(6), 463–469.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaschka, W. P., Korczak, D., & Broich, K. (2011). Burnout: A fashionable diagnosis. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 108(46), 781–787.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Korczak, D., Huber, B., & Kister, C. (2010). Differential diagnostic of the burnout syndrome. GMS Health Technology Assessment, 6, Doc09.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, M. J. (2003). Bergin and Garfield’s handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (5th ed.). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. Berlin: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Legros, B., & Bazil, C. W. (2003). Effects of antiepileptic drugs on sleep architecture: A pilot study. Sleep Medicine, 4(1), 51–55.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leiter, M., & Durup, J. (1994). The discriminant validity of burnout and depression: A confirmatory factor analytic study. Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 7, 357–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linden, M., & Muschalla, B. (2007). Anxiety disorders and workplace-related anxieties. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 21(3), 467–474.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maslach, C., Jackson, S. E., & Leiter, M. P. (1996). Maslach burnout inventory manual (3rd ed.). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meier-Ewert, H. K., Ridker, P. M., Rifai, N., Regan, M. M., Price, N. J., Dinges, D. F., & Mullington, J. M. (2004). Effect of sleep loss on C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker of cardiovascular risk. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 43(4), 678–683.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melamed, S., Ugarten, U., Shirom, A., Kahana, L., Lerman, Y., & Froom, P. (1999). Chronic burnout, somatic arousal and elevated salivary cortisol levels. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 46(6), 591–598.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Melamed, S., Shirom, A., Toker, S., Berliner, S., & Shapira, I. (2006). Burnout and risk of cardiovascular disease: Evidence, possible causal paths, and promising research directions. Psychological Bulletin, 132(3), 327–353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murck, H. (2002). Magnesium and affective disorders. Nutritional Neuroscience, 5(6), 375–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Najib, J. (2006). Eszopiclone, a nonbenzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic agent for the treatment of transient and chronic insomnia. Clinical Therapeutics, 28(4), 491–516.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • National Institute of Excellence (NICE). (2007, August). Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy): Guidelines for diagnosis and management of CFS/ME in adults and children (CG53). London : National Collaborating Centre for Primary Care: Royal College of General Practitioners.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nil, R., Jacobshagen, N., Schächinger, H., Baumann, P., Höck, P., Hättenschwiler, J., Ramseier, F., Seifritz, E., & Holsboer-Trachsler, E. (2010). Burnout—eine Standortbestimmung. Schweizer Archiv für Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 161(2), 72–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyklícek, I., & Pop, V. J. (2005). Past and familial depression predict current symptoms of professional burnout. Journal of Affective Disorders, 88(1), 63–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pruessner, J. C., Hellhammer, D. H., & Kirschbaum, C. (1999). Burnout, perceived stress, and cortisol responses to awakening. Psychosomatic Medicine, 61(2), 197–204.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riemann, D., Berger, M., & Voderholzer, U. (2001). Sleep and depression – results from psychobiological studies: An overview. Biological Psychology, 57(1–3), 67–103.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Riemann, D., Fischer, J., Mayer, G., & Peter, H. J. (2003). The guidelines for “non-restorative sleep”. relevance for the diagnosis and therapy of insomnia. Somnologie, 7, 66–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, I. M., Gimotty, P. A., Shea, J. A., & Bellini, L. M. (2006). Evolution of sleep quantity, sleep deprivation, mood disturbances, empathy, and burnout among interns. Academic Medicine, 81(1), 82–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B., & Enzmann, D. (1998). The burnout companion to study and practice: A critical analysis. Washington, DC: Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1996). The MBI-general survey. In C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & M. P. Leiter (Eds.), Maslach burnout inventory manual (3rd ed., pp. 19–26). Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists.

    Google Scholar 

  • Selye, H. (1950). Das allgemeine Adaptationssyndrom als Grundlage für eine eineheitliche Theorie der Medizin. Med Wochenschr, 70(965–7), 1001–1003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shirom, A., Westman, M., Shamai, O., & Carel, R. S. (1997). Effects of work overload and burnout on cholesterol and triglycerides levels: The moderating effects of emotional reactivity among male and female employees. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2(4), 275–288.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shirom, A., Melamed, S., Toker, S., Berliner, S., & Shapira, E. (2005). Burnout, mental and physical health: A review of the evidence and a proposed explanatory model. International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 20, 269–309.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegrist, J. (1996). Adverse health effects of high-effort/low-reward conditions. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1, 27–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Söderström, M., Ekstedt, M., Akerstedt, T., Nilsson, J., & Axelsson, J. (2004). Sleep and sleepiness in young individuals with high burnout scores. Sleep, 27(7), 1369–1377.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sonnenschein, M., Sorbi, M. J., van Doornen, L. J., Schaufeli, W. B., & Maas, C. J. (2007). Evidence that impaired sleep recovery may complicate burnout improvement independently of depressive mood. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 62(4), 487–494.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, S. M. (2008). Stahl’s essential psychopharmacology. Neuroscientific Basis and Practical Applications (3rd ed.). Stephen M. Stahl, University of California, San Diego. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stenlund, T., Ahlgren, C., Lindahl, B., Burell, G., Knutsson, A., Stegmayr, B., & Birgander, L. S. (2007). Patients with burnout in relation to gender and a general population. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 35(5), 516–523.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tennant, C., Bebbington, P., & Hurry, J. (1981). The role of life events in depressive illness: Is there a substantial causal relation? Psychological Medicine, 11(2), 379–389.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Voderholzer, U., & Hohagen, F. (2010). Therapie psychiatrischer Erkrankungen—State of the art (5th ed.). Munich: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Von Känel, R. (2008). The burnout syndrome: A medical perspective. Praxis, 97, 477–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, A., & Jaekel-Reinhard, A. (2000). Burnout syndrome: A disease of modern societies? Occupational Medicine (London), 50(7), 512–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wessley, S., & Powell, R. (1989). Fatigue syndromes: A comparison of chronic postviral fatigue with neuromuscular and affective disorders. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 52, 940–948.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, M., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2007). The mindful way through depression: Freeing yourself from chronic unhappiness. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirz-Justice, A., Benedetti, F., & Terman, M. (2009). Chronotherapeutics for depression. A Clinician’s manual for light and wake therapy. Basel: Karger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittchen, H. U., Zhao, S., Kessler, R. C., Eaton, W. W. (1994). DSM-III-R generalized anxiety disorder in the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 51(5), 355–364.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychiatric Service, Canton St.Gallen-North, Zürcherstr. 30, 9500, Wil, Switzerland

    Ulrich-Michael Hemmeter

Authors
  1. Ulrich-Michael Hemmeter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ulrich-Michael Hemmeter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Peter-Merian-Str. 58, Basel, 4002, Switzerland

    Sabine Bährer-Kohler

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hemmeter, UM. (2013). Treatment of Burnout: Overlap of Diagnosis. In: Bährer-Kohler, S. (eds) Burnout for Experts. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4391-9_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation