Identify the state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion, in which a person experiences anxiety, hopelessness and helplessness.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Burnout
Option (1) Burnout — Correct. When stress is prolonged and little support is available, people become exhausted. Physical exhaustion shows as chronic fatigue, weakness and low energy; mental exhaustion as irritability, anxiety, helplessness and hopelessness. This state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion is known as burnout.
Option (2) Eustress — Incorrect. Eustress is the level of stress that is good for a person, one of the best assets for peak performance and for managing minor crises. It energises; it does not exhaust.
Option (3) Strain — Incorrect. Strain is the name for the reaction to external stressors such as noise, crowding or daily commuting. It is a general term for any stress reaction, not the worn-out state that follows long, unrelieved stress.
Option (4) Frustration — Incorrect. Frustration results when needs and motives are blocked by something or someone that hinders us from reaching a goal. It is a source of stress, not the exhaustion that prolonged stress produces.
Note: A similar question was also asked in CUET (UG) 2023 on 08-06-2023 (Slot 1), and in CUET (UG) 2026 on 31-05-2026 (Slot 1).
NCERT (2025-26): “Stress and Health … When stress is prolonged, it affects physical health and impairs psychological functioning. People experience exhaustion and attitudinal problems when the stress due to demands from the environment and constraints are too high and little support is available from family and friends. The physical exhaustion is seen in the signs of chronic fatigue, weakness and low energy. The mental exhaustion appears in the form of irritability, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. This state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion is known as burnout.…” |