Burnout and stress: between medicalization and psychologization

This article analyzes burnout from a sociocultural perspective, based on the theoretical frameworks of Loriol/Elias and Duarte/Dumont, investigating its diffusion by means of a conceptual association with the idea of work stress, which may also be associated to the processes of individualization and medicalization/psychologization. Despite its origins in the physical sciences, the category “ stress ” owes its strength less to its technical (theoretic) character than to its symbolic aspect. By promoting a common language between biologization and psychologization, the category stress is present in many different environments, from academic discussions to common sense conversation, integrating in a particular code psychologized and non-psychologized representations of the person and of physical and moral distress. It can therefore serve as a “ biopsychosocial ” category. These characteristics pave the way to burnout ’ s social diffusion, as far as it is conceived as a type of work stress - an experience that, nowadays, is regarded as part of normal life.
Source: Physis: Revista de Saude Coletiva - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research