"In the course of recent years, the physically frail blue-collar worker has been replaced by the mentally exhausted white-collar worker." (Author not known by name)
Burn-out describes the state of persistent mental exhaustion, usually resulting from a chronic stress load and excessive demands. This is accompanied by various psychological symptoms such as restlessness, concentration problems, sleep disorders, irritability, reduced performance, fatigue, depression and anxiety. The accompanying physical symptoms (e.g. palpitations, chest tightness, digestive complaints, pain sensitivity, etc.) not infrequently lead to misdiagnosis and overtreatment. On the other hand, of course, not every exhaustion syndrome is the result of chronic stress, but can also occur as an accompanying symptom of other diseases (e.g., Lyme disease or cancer). A careful differential diagnosis is therefore important.