Burnout vs Anxiety: How to Tell the Difference
In today’s fast-paced world, especially for high-achieving BIPOC women juggling careers, caregiving, and community expectations, it can be hard to tell when you're “just stressed” or when something deeper is going on. Burnout and anxiety often show up looking similar but they have different roots and require different care approaches. Understanding the difference is the first step to feeling like yourself again.
Burnout is typically work-related and develops over time. It’s the body and mind’s response to chronic stress. You might notice emotional exhaustion, reduced performance, or feeling detached from your work and relationships. According to Maslach et al., burnout includes emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment (Maslach & Leiter, 2016).
Anxiety, on the other hand, tends to be more persistent and can exist even outside of work settings. It often includes racing thoughts, excessive worrying, physical symptoms like tension or a rapid heartbeat, and difficulty relaxing. Generalized anxiety disorder affects about 5.7% of adults in their lifetime (Kessler et al., 2005).
Here’s one way to tell: If you feel better after a weekend off, a vacation, or stepping away from work? That might point to burnout. If the worry, restlessness, or panic follows you regardless of your environment, anxiety could be the culprit.
It’s also possible to experience both. Burnout can become a trigger for anxiety disorders and vice versa. For racialized women, the added weight of microaggressions, systemic pressures, and the “strong Black woman” stereotype can make both burnout and anxiety feel like a constant background hum (Williams et al., 2019).
At Balens Therapy, we understand how these layers interact. Therapy offers a safe space to unpack the expectations, perfectionism, and exhaustion that so many high-achieving professionals carry. We use evidence-based approaches like ACT, CBT, and strength-based work to help you move from surviving to thriving.
You deserve more than just pushing through. Book a free consultation today and explore how therapy can help you feel whole again.
Works Cited
Kessler, Ronald C., et al. “Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication.” Archives of General Psychiatry, vol. 62, no. 6, 2005, pp. 593–602. doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593.
Maslach, Christina, and Michael P. Leiter. Burnout: A Multidimensional Perspective. Psychology Press, 2016.
Williams, David R., et al. “Racial/Ethnic Discrimination and Health: Findings from Community Studies.” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 109, S1, 2019, pp. S43–S47. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2018.304844.
