ABSTRACT
As referred to in the previous chapter, the score on a burnout measure is only the first step in investigating whether burnout is present or not. In common with all measures of burnout, a high score on the SBM can give a ‘false positive’ diagnosis of burnout when other conditions such as depression, anxiety and other psychological as well as multiple physical states may be the real diagnosis. The chapter notes the debate from earlier times that circles around whether burnout is just depression by another name. This may stem partly from failing to delineate depression into ‘melancholic’ versus the more diffuse ‘non-melancholic’ depressive sub-type, thereby muddying research findings about the essential features of depression. However, burnout and depression have been distinguished as separate entities, further confirmed now by the Sydney studies that examined symptoms and features reported by those who suffered from each condition, and by the authors’ formal analyses. The different profiles are tabulated in this chapter, allowing the reader to clarify whether burnout is more likely as against one of the two principal sub-types of depression. In particular, depression is characterised by a drop in self-esteem, usually accompanied by feelings of self-criticism and hopelessness, while burnout is more likely to be associated with feelings of helplessness. We observe that, while separate conditions, burnout and depression are commonly associated in that those with a primary depressive condition can develop burnout, burnout can lead some to a depressed state, and those with a primary burnout syndrome are likely to have some depressive symptoms.
