Signs of Burnout

Burnout isn’t just feeling tired—it’s a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. Whether you’re overwhelmed at work, struggling with personal responsibilities, or feeling emotionally drained, burnout can take a serious toll on your well-being. Burnout is a form of extreme exhaustion, and can be caused by feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or as if we’re ‘drowning’. When we invest too much physical or mental energy, we begin to feel the exhaustion.

Some stressors that can contribute to or cause burnout:

• Chronic high stress

• Immense pressure to meet deadlines

• Confusing responsibilities at work

• Feeling unrecognized

• Boring or routined work

• Lack of sleep

• Lack of meaningful relationships

• Perfectionism, and a need for control

The Present Psychologist outlines 12 stages of burnout

Signs that you may be approaching, or in the midst of, burnout, may include: exhaustion and the inability to sleep well, alienation from activities you once enjoyed, and reduced performance. These signs overlap with other concerns like depression or anxiety, so how can we figure out the difference?

• First, burnout can lead to experiencing an episode of depression, however depression does not lead to burnout.

• Second, burnout often impacts certain careers (including teachers, social workers, doctors/nurses) and parents. Burnout is a 3-dimensional, made up of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced efficacy.

• Third, burnout is a hypocortisolemic disorder due to the ongoing unresolved stressors, whereas depression clinically requires additional depressive symptoms as well as specific time-frames of how long symptoms need to be experienced.

Recovering from burnout can be a difficult and lengthy process, and it’s important to try and catch it early.

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