Is it Burnout, or Is It Depression?
Burnout vs Depression: What's Actually Draining Your Energy?
Introduction: The Exhaustion Epidemic
Ever found yourself staring at your computer screen, completely unable to summon the energy to type a single word? Or perhaps you've canceled plans with friends for the third time this month because the thought of socializing feels as overwhelming as climbing Mount Everest in flip-flops?
Here's a sobering reality check: while 77% of professionals report experiencing burnout at their current job, an estimated 21 million adults in the U.S. have had at least one major depressive episode. And here's where it gets tricky—these two conditions overlap in ways that make them frustratingly difficult to tell apart.
If you're exhausted, unmotivated, and wondering if you're burning out or slipping into depression (or dealing with both simultaneously), you're not alone. And more importantly, knowing the difference isn't just academic—it's crucial for your recovery.
How Do I Know if My Exhaustion is From Burnout or Depression?
The Burnout Blueprint
Imagine your nervous system as a car. Burnout is what happens when you've been driving in fifth gear for months on end without a pit stop. The check engine light has been blinking for weeks (hello, anxiety!), but you've covered it with duct tape and kept pushing forward.
Burnout symptoms can be surprising — mostly because we’ve normalized the experience of overly stressed bodies.
But some of the more classic burnout symptoms include:
Work-specific exhaustion: You can still enjoy your weekend hike, but the thought of opening your work email induces panic.
Cynicism about your job: "What's the point of this project anyway? No one appreciates my work."
Reduced professional efficacy: Tasks that used to take you 30 minutes now consume your entire day.
Hypervigilance: Your nervous system is stuck in "on," scanning for threats. That Slack notification sound? It might as well be a fire alarm.
Physical symptoms: Headaches, digestive issues, and insomnia that seem directly related to work stress.
From a polyvagal theory perspective — see also here — burnout represents a nervous system stuck in sympathetic "fight-or-flight" mode, eventually crashing into a dorsal vagal "freeze" state when your resources are depleted.
Polyvagal theory can help us understand why depression and acute burnout feel so similar — they’re both states of dorsal vagal shutdown from an utterly overwhelmed nervous system. Image credit to Dr. Christine Gibson (https://www.christinegibson.net/blog/polyvagal)
The states above correspond to the stages of burnout and also progression to depression:
Stage 1: Early Burnout and activated nervous system (fight or flight; things are exciting | Depression: can look like fluttery activation and anxiety)
Stage 2: Burnout and the freeze state (combined activation of fight/flight with dorsal freeze — you’re aware, anxious, but can’t really… move). In the progress towards a depressive episode, this is the morning dread, can’t get out of bed feeling, but also can’t rest or sleep because you’re so wired and anxious
Stage 3: Severe burnout and nervous system shut down (or the full depressive episode). A sense of giving up, hopelessness, why bother.
The nervous system states of polyvagal theory are a frame for both nurnotu stags (above) and progress towards a depressive episode
(I talk a lot about polyvagal theory in burnout recovery. If you want more, check out Deb Dana’s book Anchored, based on the development of polyvagal theory by Dr. Stephen Porges and others)
The Depression Dimension
Depression, by contrast, is like a heavy gray filter placed over every aspect of your life. It's not just about work—it's everywhere.
Depression typically shows up as:
Pervasive low mood: The emotional flatness extends beyond work to all areas of life.
Anhedonia: The inability to feel pleasure in activities you once enjoyed (including your favorite hobbies).
Changes in appetite and sleep: Either too much or too little of both.
Feelings of worthlessness: Not just about your job performance, but your value as a person.
Thoughts of death or suicide: One of the most serious symptoms that requires immediate professional attention.
Through the polyvagal lens, depression often represents a nervous system predominantly stuck in a dorsal vagal state—the shutdown, conservation mode that feels like being underwater.
What's the Difference Between Burnout and Depression?
Different Origins, Different Chemistry
Burnout and depression may share similar symptoms, but they stem from different sources:
Burnout is a response to prolonged, unresolved stress. It's essentially a state of chronic stress that hasn't been effectively managed, resulting in physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion.
But it’s also not your fault. Burnout sources come from all over the place: external systems that create truly unreachable standards; cultural forces that tell us we’re the problem if we don’t meet those standards; internalization of those double binds — we beat ourselves up, the inner critic is unleashed; plus neurodivergence, trauma, being outside the system-defined norm of cis gendered, heterosexual, Western-raised white males.
While burnout is characterized by the World Health Organization as an "occupational phenomenon," not a medical condition, in truth burnout comes from overwhelming stress in any area of life and can have very real medical consequences.
Your nervous system responds to chronic workplace pressure by pumping out stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Over time, this stress response system becomes dysregulated—like a smoke alarm that won't stop blaring even when there's no fire.
Depression, on the other hand, is a clinical mood disorder involving changes in brain chemistry, cognition, and function. While stress can certainly trigger or exacerbate depression, it can also develop independently of external circumstances. Depression involves imbalances in neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
Context Matters
Another crucial difference is context:
Burnout is domain-specific. It's typically tied to your work environment, though it can show up in other high-demand roles like caregiving. Step away from the stressful environment, and symptoms often begin to improve.
Depression is pervasive. It colors everything in your life regardless of context. Vacation doesn't fix depression, though it might temporarily relieve burnout symptoms.
This is key: The #1 way to tell the difference between burnout and depression is, if you’re JUST in burnout, when you rest deeply and lessen the major area of stress in your life, your energy returns, your mood lifts, you walk back up into the relaxed state of nervous system regulation (eventually — it takes time and fundamental lifestyle changes, depending on how deep you’re in it, but it’ll happen).
If depression is also present, just removing the stress and resting won’t solve the root cause. It may feel better, temporarily, but the anchor of clinical depression is still present. Treatment looks like, in many cases, professional clinical support, sometimes medication, and lifestyle changes — all of which will also support your burnout recovery
The Recovery Timeline
Recovery trajectories also differ:
Burnout recovery often responds well to environmental changes—reducing workload, taking time off, setting boundaries, or changing jobs. With the right support and lifestyle modifications, many people recover from burnout within several months.
Depression recovery typically requires a more comprehensive approach that might include therapy, medication, lifestyle changes, and addressing underlying psychological patterns. The timeline varies widely, but treatment often needs to continue even after symptoms improve.
Can Burnout and Depression Co-occur?
Oh, absolutely. In fact, they're like unfortunate co-conspirators who keep inviting each other over.
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that burnout and depression share about 20-30% of their symptoms. Left untreated, burnout can be a highway to depression—when your nervous system has been in chronic stress mode for too long, the depression off-ramp starts looking inevitable.
Here's what the burnout-depression overlap might look like:
You start with work-specific exhaustion and cynicism (classic burnout)
The chronic stress depletes your mental resources and dysregulates your nervous system
Your brain chemistry begins to change in response to prolonged stress
The negative thinking patterns from work begin to generalize to other areas of life
Suddenly you're not just burned out—you're clinically depressed
This progression isn't inevitable, but it's common enough that researchers have debated whether severe burnout and depression are distinct conditions at all. From a polyvagal standpoint, both involve a nervous system that's lost its natural flexibility—unable to move smoothly between states of calm connection, healthy activation, and restorative rest.
How Do I Treat Burnout When I'm Also Depressed?
Treating the burnout-depression combo requires a dual approach that addresses both the environmental stressors and the internal psychological and physiological patterns.
Treating burnout itself is an achievable goal, and can sometimes be done without external support. Here’s the path I encourage folks to follow and is the basis for coaching with me.
My Burnout Recovery Framework, which I use to guide clients (and clients use to guide themselves!) into sustainable joy.
Treating depression will likely require outside help and I encourage all my clients with co-occurring burnout and depression to partner with a clinical professional. Clinical treatment pairs so well with burnout recovery because it creates space and capacity to lead yourself through the incredible growth and change that burnout recovery requires.
Step 1: Get Professional Help for Your Depression
First things first: if you're experiencing symptoms of depression—especially thoughts of suicide—please reach out for professional help immediately. Depression is a serious medical condition that often requires treatment from qualified healthcare providers.
Options include:
Therapy, depending on your needs and profile:
If reframings and cognitive techniques have been useful for you in the past, cognitive-behavioral therapy or acceptance and commitment therapy can be helpful for depression
If emotional regulation, self-awareness, or interpersonal struggles are part of your symptoms, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
If trauma or emotional neglect is a part of your history, especially if untreated, unhealed, or unintegrated, then talk or cognitive-based therapy alone may not be sufficient (and may actually make things worse) —> Consider practitioners who specialize in somatic, nervous-system, integrative, or bottom-up based therapies (EMDR, IFS, somatic experiencing, Emotional Freedom Technique, etc.)
Medication evaluation with a psychiatrist
Support groups for both depression and burnout: There’s a LOT of science here that shows peer support can fast-track sustainable change, especially when paired with individual work. That’s because one of the most notable antidotes to depression is real, sustained connection and purpose.
Healing in community, building connections with others in a similar scenario, helping others through their healing journey, all of these experiences rapidly rebuild neural pathways related to confidence and connection, and then secure relationship to self.
Step 2: Address the External Burnout Factors
While you're getting support for depression, you'll also need to tackle the burnout-inducing elements of your life:
Plan for real rest, including reducing workload and caregiver responsibilities where possible: This might mean having difficult conversations with managers, delegating, or temporarily stepping back from responsibilities.
Learn to set and love guilt-free boundaries: Easier said than done! Lots of people struggle here, usually in one of two ways:
Boundaries are too rigid and loved ones often can’t connect (and you yourself can’t feel their love) or
Boundaries are too porous and you may feel resentful, taken advantage of, or otherwise deeply overextended.
If boundaries feel unsafe to you (your boundaries are likely too rigid) or if they feel mean to you (your boundaries are likely too porous), remind yourself this:
Boundaries are how you teach people to love you.
Receiving and offering healthy love is possibly the fastest track to well-being.
Change how you related to stress: We all have stories about stress — why it’s happening, what it means. We take it personally. We blame ourselves, we blame other people. But if we see it as waves to surf, if we learn to complete the stress response and quite literally shake it off, stress won’t stalk us.
Consider structural changes: Jobs, relationships, roles. Are you the default parent and no longer want to be? Is this job really where you’re meant to be? Is a change REALLY impossible? As you consider these questions — especially if the answers sound like “no, change isn’t possible”, consider whether your nervous system may be conditioned to block new possibilities. It’s almost impossible to beleive in changes that involve a kind of experience of consciousness your current consciousness has never experienced.
Step 3: Regulate Your Nervous System
Which brings us to… healing your nervous system from highways of activation (stuck in extreme stress responses) to an agile, flexible, nervous system that moves easily into various states as needed, and returns to its healthy open baseline.
From a polyvagal perspective, both burnout and depression involve a dysregulated nervous system. These practices can help restore balance:
Breathwork: Extending your exhale activates your parasympathetic "rest and digest" system. Try a simple 4-count inhale, 6-count exhale pattern for five minutes daily.
Movement: Not intense exercise (which can stress an already taxed system), but gentle movement like walking, swimming, or restorative yoga.
Social connection: Depression makes you want to isolate, but safe social connection is regulatory for your nervous system. Start small if needed.
Sensory regulation: Identify sensory inputs that help you feel calmer—certain music, textures, temperatures, or environments.
Step 4: Upgrade Your Relationship with Stress
Both burnout and depression involve patterns of thought that become self-perpetuating. Working with a therapist can help you:
Identify and challenge negative thought patterns, which is the focus of CBT, DBT, and ACT-type therapies
Develop more self-compassion (this is critical, and, folks… RED FLAG if you read that and thought, “I don’t deserve that” or “that’s dumb, simple, won’t work.”
From Dr. Kristen Neff, a leading expert on the neuroscience of self-compassion: “The purpose of self-compassion is not to make you feel better. Self-compassion changes the way you deal with the distress of burnout so that you stop avoiding it, beating yourself up for it, or judging yourself as somehow deficient because you can’t do it all.”
Create a healthier narrative around stress, work, and achievement
Build psychological flexibility, the ability to allow your nervous system to activate or down regulate, and then come back to baseline without residue (i.e. you have a terrible meeting with your boss and adrenaline and cortisol are through the roof. But then you scroll on Instagram and suddenly, no stress! But actually, it’s just gone dormant and will manifest in some other way later — sudden unexplainable tears, snapping at your partner, stomach pains…)
Step 5: Rebuild Your Capacity Gradually
Recovery isn't about going from zero to 100%. It's about gradually rebuilding your capacity in sustainable ways:
Start with both physical rest and stress-rest and deeply decreased responsibilities or demand, for often longer than you think (2-3x as long —> when you are deeply itchy and over ready, give it a few more days)
Slowly add in small, manageable work periods followed by rest
Celebrate small wins and improvements! Notice your growth. “Wow, three weeks ago, I could never have even noticed that kind smile.”
Focus on process rather than outcome
Track your energy levels to identify patterns and triggers
The Bottom Line: Honor Where You Are
Whether you're dealing with burnout, depression, or both, recovery begins with acknowledging your current state without judgment. Your exhaustion isn't a character flaw—it's your body and mind sending important signals that something needs to change.
Remember that both conditions reflect a nervous system doing its best to protect you in challenging circumstances. With the right support, environmental changes, and internal practices, you can move from survival mode back into a state of regulated calm, connection, and yes, even joy in your work again.
If you're struggling to distinguish between burnout and depression or need support in your recovery journey, consider reaching out to a burnout recovery coach or mental health professional who can provide personalized guidance. Your future, more energized self will thank you.
References and Further Reading
World Health Organization. (2019). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon": International Classification of Diseases.
Bianchi, R., Schonfeld, I. S., & Laurent, E. (2015). Burnout-depression overlap: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 36, 28-41.
Porges, S. W. (2011). The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2022). Depression.
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: Recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103-111.
