Am I burned out or depressed?
Being burned out and being depressed overlap, but they point in different directions. Burnout is situational: exhaustion, cynicism and detachment tied to work or caregiving, classically improving on real breaks and better with workload change.
Depression follows you everywhere: joylessness in things once loved, guilt, sleep and appetite shifts, and low mood that vacations do not touch. Burnout can slide into depression, and both can coexist.
The practical test: what happens two weeks away from the stressor? If nothing lifts, or if hopelessness and thoughts of not wanting to be here appear at any point, that is depression territory and it responds to treatment. Talking to a professional sorts this faster than self-diagnosis.
Source: NHS, depression in adults
See a doctor promptly if
- Any thoughts of suicide, of being better off dead, or of harming yourself. Call or text 988 in the US, any hour, free
- Feeling unable to keep yourself safe, or making any preparation to act on such thoughts. Go to an emergency department or call your local emergency number (911 in the US)
- Being unable to eat, drink, get out of bed or care for yourself for days
- Hearing voices, or fixed beliefs that others say are not real, alongside low mood
- A sudden switch to unusually high energy, little need for sleep and racing ideas. This needs prompt medical review
Try the mood check2 min, free, nothing to installThe PHQ-9 and GAD-7, the two questionnaires doctors screen low mood and anxiety with, scored privately on your device.
Mind and sleepA private mood check, and guides on anxiety, low mood, ADHD and sleep
Answered by the AskDoc Medical Team · Medically reviewed under our Medical Director, MBBS · How we review
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