The WHO's three dimensions: exhaustion that rest does not fix, mental distance or cynicism about your job, and reduced effectiveness at it - all from chronic workplace stress left unmanaged.
In practice: dreading work constantly, running on empty despite sleep, snapping at colleagues, numbness about work you used to care about, output and confidence sliding together. Two clarifications: burnout is occupational, not a medical diagnosis, and it overlaps with depression - the tell is scope: burnout lifts away from work, while depression colors everything for weeks and needs clinical care. Recovery is structural: reduce the load, take real time off, restore sleep, fix the specific stressor. If you feel hopeless or are having thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988 (US) or your local crisis line. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, and can help you sort burnout from depression.
What to do
Common questions
What are the signs of burnout?
The World Health Organization defines burnout as a syndrome from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed, with three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from your job, or negativity and cynicism about it; and reduced professional effectiveness - doing the job worse and feeling it. In real life that looks like: dreading Monday on Friday, running on empty no matter how much you sleep, snapping at colleagues, going numb or cynical about work you used to care about, and watching your output and confidence slide together. Two honest clarifications. First, the WHO definition is occupational - burnout is about work, not a medical diagnosis. Second, it overlaps heavily with depression and anxiety, and telling them apart matters because the fixes differ: burnout improves with workload and boundary changes, while depression colors everything, work included - low mood and loss of pleasure across your whole life, for weeks, points to depression and deserves clinical care. Recovery from real burnout is structural, not a bath bomb: reduce or renegotiate the load, take actual time off, restore sleep, and address the specific stressor. If you feel hopeless or are having thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988 (US) or your local crisis line. Pymander is a free AI doctor, 24/7 by text, that can help you sort burnout from depression.