Physicians Burn Out - Silent Crisis

197 Volume No. 21 (4), December 2016 Life is getting tougher and busier with every passing day despite advancements in technology. The chain between demand and supply is pushing people to take an extra step forward, be it personal, professional or educational. The working class faces the dual responsibility of keeping home and profession go in harmony. In maintaining stability during this tussle, a stressful environment brings individuals to a point where they end up burning out. Burn out syndrome is a rising complex phenomenon first described in mid-1970s by Freudenberg and since then it has been the subject of discussion1. To date, neither a definition of burnout exists nor it succeeded to become part of medical diagnosis. Yet, it is an important process lacking attention and timely intervention is need of the hour. In general, burnout refers to exhaustion, listlessness and inability to cope with situations, which leads indirectly to feeling low, reduces performance and even negative attitude towards work and life. It can also be described as an imbalance between work demands and personal capabilities. More precisely, it is a psychological state resulting from prolonged exposure to job stressors.