Burnout:  state of exhaustion that can occur in any occupation (retail, corporate work or parenting).  Adverse workplace factors and excessive hours are major contributors to burnout.  Burnout responds positively to ordinary relaxation techniques such as vacationing, yoga, television and entertainment.

Trauma:  stress that outstrips a person’s ability to cope.  Traumatic situations are crises that involve terror, apprehension, fear, anxiety, severe deprivation, illness, grief and/or loss.  Symptoms include flashbacks, emotional numbing, physiological hyperarousal, irritability, and relationship instability.  Vacation or time off work may not improve this condition.  Ordinary relaxation techniques such as television or yoga may in fact trigger symptoms.
 
Vicarious Traumatization: condition that occurs when working with traumatized populations and working in traumatizing environments.  Workers are vulnerable to neurobiological processes that result in detrimental cognitive, behavioral, physiological, occupational and interpersonal changes.  “Compassion fatigue” and “secondary traumatic stress” are closely related phenomena.