Burnout is not just “I am tired.” WHO defines it as an occupational phenomenon tied to chronic workplace stress that has not been managed successfully, and it shows up in three parts: energy depletion, mental distance or cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy. CDC’s NIOSH module repeats the key point: burnout is work-specific, not a general medical diagnosis.
That gives you a useful test. If you feel exhausted in a way that improves when the work pressure drops, you may be dealing with stress. If the tiredness is paired with dread, numbness, or the sense that nothing you do matters at work, burnout is more likely. If a vacation helps for three days and the crash returns the moment email opens, that is a clue, not a cure.
The mistake is treating burnout like a motivation problem. It is usually a load, boundary, or recovery problem.
The stress vs. burnout and occupational burnout recovery pages are the natural next read if you want the distinction and the next move.
Related questions
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Stress is overactivation under pressure; burnout is the chronic, unmanaged version. The WHO's three-dimension definition makes it more diagnosable than 'just stress.'
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