In 2025, the word burn-out is everywhere. On networks, in open spaces, in psychiatrist consultation. A kind of common code to say … that we are at the end. But behind this form of democratization can also hide a much more serious reality than a simple professional fed up.
When the heart drops under pressure
Burnout is a complete collapse, a major mental and physical disorder, which can lead to depression, isolation, even stopping social life. And in the most extreme cases, this discomfort can degenerate into an even more frightening syndrome: karōshi.
“Karōshi is a Japanese phenomenon designating sudden death by cardiac arrest, stroke or suicide, linked to excessive work overload“Explains Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of True Medical.
“”The term literally means death by going beyond work ‘. It was introduced in 1982 by three Japanese doctors who observed an increase in cardiovascular pathologies in workers accumulating endless weeks.“”
Work 60 hours a week, without break, without leave, under constant pressure: it is this infernal spiral which, in the 80s, has increased the number of deaths “by work”. Japan ended up officially recognizing dozens, even hundreds of cases each year. In reality, we are talking about thousands of deaths potentially linked to overwork.
“”Karōshi is not limited to a heart attack. It also includes serious mental disorders, which can lead to suicide“Adds the doctor.
Yes, chronic stress can kill
For Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, this phenomenon reveals a ignorance of stress as a deep physiological process.
“”In Japan, it affects young people, without necessarily history. But with extended days. Zero break. Zero right to error. And above all, permanent pressure.“”
But can we really die of stress? “”Yes“, she replies.”When it is chronic, intense, daily … stress is not just a nervous state. He distinguishes everything: sleep, hormones, immune defenses. He triggers an inflammatory cascade that makes the bed of other pathologies. Sometimes until the irreparable. “
On the psychological side, the signals are there, long before the fall: insomnia, diffuse anxiety, loss of pleasure, social isolation … and this illusion that can still be held, still a little. Until the day when it is not the willingness, but the body.
Burn-out and Karōshi: same roots, different from
Burn-out and Karōshi thus share a common starting point: overwork, loss of bearings, uncomfortable stress. But their temporality differs. Burn-out installs slowly, gnaws from the inside. Karōshi strikes like a thunderclap, often without warning.
However, the two deserve extreme vigilance. What karōshi teaches us is the crucial importance of self -listening.
“”No, exhaustion is not normal. No, chronic anxiety is not trivial. “
To prevent Karōshi from coming to our lives, our alert: “You have to learn to recognize the signs of overwork before they become irreversible. Prevention involves balance of life, respect for rest times and recognition of psychic discomfort as a signal, and not weakness. “