Overwhelmed or burned out? How to know, according to a psychotherapist

For more than two decades, people have walked into my therapy office and told me they were burned out. Most of them weren't. Corporate wellness programs and social-media carousels have blurred the line, so saying "I'm burned out" has become the modern way to say "I'm tired." Once you decide you have burnout, you begin to notice every bored meeting or overloaded day as proof, and that mislabel can push you toward solutions that don't fit.

Burnout, as the World Health Organization defines it, is chronic workplace stress that has gone unmanaged long enough to produce exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced effectiveness at work. Overwhelm is a temporary problem that can be addressed by tackling the immediate issue.

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