Burnout is often defined as the physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion, the loss of interest or motivation in one's life due to excessive demands, self-imposed or imposed by others, on one's time.

Herbert Fredenberger, a German-born American Psychologist, penned the term burnout in the 1970’s.  In Fact, Freudenberg and his colleague North (Gail) theorised the process, breaking it down into 12 phases:-