Nature
People, especially professionals engaged in work demanding extensive personal commitment, are vulnerable to a complex syndrome characterized by: extreme fatigue, depression, psychosomatic illnesses, substance abuse, apathy, resignation and defensiveness.
Incidence
Whilst characteristic of extreme forms of executive stress amongst business executives faced with conditions of rivalry and competition, it appears in a different light in the case of people in the caring professions (health, social services, psychotherapy, relief).