ABSTRACT
This chapter details that burnout is not a recent arrival, with a similar condition having been described in centuries past. The term ‘acedia’ (fifth century AD) corresponds to modern descriptions of burnout. It manifested as mental and physical exhaustion—weariness, torpor, apathy, lethargy, non-productive activity, as well as sleepiness, irritability, cognitive impairment and feelings of hopelessness. The combination, by Pope Gregory the Great (sixth century AD) of tristitia (depression) and acedia incorrectly joined depression with burnout, beginning a long debate as to whether burnout is a synonym for depression. Over time ‘acedia’ broadened to mean disillusionment, existential angst and despair. This chapter distinguishes burnout from historic and more contemporary maladies such as neurasthenia and chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, post-viral syndrome and, more recently, systemic exertion intolerance disease). It examines facets of the, as yet unclear, concept of ‘adrenal fatigue’ and the link to ‘compassion fatigue’.
