Correspondence
Useful Illness
Dtsch Arztebl Int 2012; 109(18): 338 ; DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2012.0338b
;
The number of copycat cases of burnout is likely to be much higher than the number of those who are actually affected—similar to the situation with tinnitus patients.
The reason is Say’s law, which says that supply always creates demand and was ascribed to the French economist Jean Baptiste Say (1767–1832).
Many patients regard burnout with tinnitus as a solution to their problems and an opportunity to acquire a degree of disability while being physically healthy. From the patients’ point of view, burnout is a “useful illness” (1).
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.2012.0338b
Dr. med. Volker Baschek
Dr. med. Wilhelm Steinert
Gelsenkirchen
baschek-steinert@gmx.net
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.
1.
Malleson A: Whiplash and other usefull illnesses. NcGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, Kanada 2004.
2.
Kaschka WP, Korczak D, Broich K: Burnout—a fashionable diagnosis. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(46): 781–7. VOLLTEXT
