I Can't Tell If I'm Burned Out or Depressed
- ✓I'm so drained from work that I can't tell if I need a therapist or just a really long vacation
- ✓Even when I'm 'resting' I feel guilty and exhausted, like my body forgot how to recharge
- ✓My partner says I seem depressed, but this feels different—like work sucked the life out of me
You're not broken for being confused—burnout and depression can feel almost identical from the inside, and figuring out which is which is exactly what helps you get the right support.
According to WHO, burnout is now recognized as an occupational phenomenon affecting up to 23% of workers, while depression affects 5% of adults globally. The overlap is so common that researchers developed specific criteria to tell them apart—and getting it right changes what helps.
The exhaustion feels the same: everything heavy, nothing matters, sleep doesn't fix it. But depression drains joy from *everything*, while burnout mostly drains your capacity for *work*. [Differentiating depression vs burnout](/topics/depression/depression-vs-burnout/) matters because one needs rest and boundaries, the other needs treatment that rewires how you experience reward.
Why Depression and Burnout Feel So Similar
Both hit your emotional regulation systems hard—leaving you depleted, irritable, and disconnected. Depression often starts with anhedonia: caring stops working across your whole life, not just your job. Burnout begins with chronic workplace stress that hasn't been managed, creating exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy (WHO, 2019). The key difference is domain: depression is pervasive, while burnout is contained to work contexts (though it can spill over). [High-functioning depression](/topics/depression/high-functioning-depression/) can look like burnout because you keep performing, but the emptiness follows you home.
Signs You're Dealing With Depression *or* Burnout
- •**The Exhaustion Doesn't Care About Weekends:** You take time off but don't feel restored
- •**The Numbness Is Spreading:** It's not just work you dread—it's dinner with friends, hobbies, even rest
- •**Your Body Is Sending SOS:** Headaches, GI issues, muscle tension that your doctor can't explain
- •**The Shame Is Specific:** You feel guilty for 'not being able to handle' your job, but also for neglecting everything else
Something to try
The Three-Bucket Sort (Behavioral Activation)
For one week, track your energy drain in three buckets: work tasks, self-care (shower, meals), and life activities (friends, hobbies). If work is the only bucket that's empty, it's likely burnout. If all three are depleted even when you want to engage, depression is more likely. This simple tracking reveals the pattern your brain is too tired to see.
This is a diagnostic flashlight—not a cure. It shows you what you're dealing with so you can get support that actually matches.
What to expect in therapy
Therapy for burnout focuses on boundaries, values clarification, and systemic changes. For depression, CBT and Behavioral Activation help you reconnect with reward and challenge negative thinking. The right match depends on which pattern your tracker reveals.
Clarity is the first step toward feeling like yourself again—whether that means reclaiming your work-life or rebuilding your capacity for joy.
Ready for support that fits your actual pattern?
If you're tired of guessing whether you need rest or therapy, our questionnaire maps your symptoms to the right approach. You don't have to figure this out alone—we match you to clinicians who specialize in exactly what you're experiencing, whether it's burnout boundaries or depression treatment.