Identifying Burnout vs Depression

Mental health struggles can be difficult to recognize in yourself and others.  They’re not like physical wounds that can be easily observed.  Mental health is complex and often our pain and journey of healing aren’t always visible.  My goal for this article is to give some general but valid signs of mental health struggles. Key points I will touch on in this article are: Signs of Burnout and Depression, Gentle Reminders and Practical Skills to manage these struggles.

Burnout

Burnout is seen most among helping professions, such as Therapists, Nurses and Teachers, but can happen to anyone.  Signs of burnout are exhaustion, trouble making decisions, isolation, and making everyday tasks seem impossible or very frustrating.  We see these issues with burnout typically in one area, such as a work environment.

Gentle Reminders

• The need to prove yourself only wears you down.
• Burnout is your body’s way of telling you what you need.  How can you meet those needs in a non-judgmental way?

Practical Skills

Set appropriate boundaries.

• Work – take a full lunch hour, use your PTO, don’t check your emails after hours.
• Parents – You spend a lot of time doing things with/for your kids, be sure you do things you enjoy and that doesn’t drain you.

Depression

Depression has different levels of severity. Signs of depression include: fatigue (no matter how much sleep you’re getting), hopelessness, worthlessness, lack of pleasure with things you found enjoyable, lack of motivation (even a simple tasks like brushing your teeth).  In more severe cases there’s suicidal thoughts or passive suicidal thoughts (Thoughts like: What if I fall asleep and don’t wake up?).  These symptoms can be in all areas of your life: work, home, church, etc.

Things to Remember

Progress not perfection.  Use whatever support, resources, tools, tricks you have.  Outsource tasks if possible (i.e., hiring someone to fold your laundry).  Thoughts that you are a bad or weak person because you cannot do everything are not true.  You are enough as you are, even if that is in a depressive episode.

Practical Skills

Do simple tasks to motivate your brain.  Clean your house to music you used to party to. Set a 10-minute timer for tasks that feel overwhelming, if you’re able to continue after the timer goes off, keep going. Be creative and find things that are functional for you and your home.

How do I know if it’s Burnout or Depression?

A simple way I help guide people to identify if it is burnout or depression.  Burnout is typically confined to one area of life and feels better after rest or an activity that makes you happy or feel more energized. However, if attempts to relax fail to alleviate exhaustion, irritability, and negative thoughts, these could be a sign of depression-like symptoms.

If you’re struggling to identify whether you are experiencing burnout, depression, or something completely different, we would be happy to help.