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letter
. 2012 May 4;109(18):338. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2012.0338b

Correspondence (letter to the editor): Useful Illness

Volker Baschek, Wilhelm Steinert *
PMCID: PMC3369381  PMID: 22679456

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).

Footnotes

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that no conflict of interest exists.

References

  • 1.Malleson A. Whiplash and other useful illnesses. NcGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, Kanada. 2004 [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Kaschka WP, Korczak D, Broich K. Burnout—a fashionable diagnosis. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2011;108(46):781–787. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2011.0781. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Deutsches Ärzteblatt International are provided here courtesy of Deutscher Arzte-Verlag GmbH

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