Anxious, Overwhelmed, or Burnt Out: How to Tell the Difference

By Jamil Elisofon, LMSW

In today's fast-paced social media world, feeling mentally and emotionally drained is often considered normal rather than a warning sign. Whether you're managing work deadlines, relationship stress, or just trying to keep up with daily chaos, it's easy to fall into a cycle of emotional exhaustion. You might find yourself asking: "Am I anxious? Overwhelmed? Or am I burnt out?"

These three emotional states often overlap; however, they are not the same, and recognizing which one you're experiencing can significantly impact how you support yourself, seek help, and recover.

So let's break it down.

Understanding the Emotional Landscape

Before we explore the differences, it's important to recognize that anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout all exist on a spectrum that can feed into each other. Prolonged anxiety can cause burnout. Continual overwhelm can increase anxiety. And burnout can leave you so drained that everything feels overwhelming.

While these experiences share some common traits, such as fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating, each also has unique characteristics.

What Is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a normal response to perceived danger, uncertainty, or stress; in other words, it's your body's alarm system. Anxiety is designed to help you prepare or react quickly, but when it becomes chronic or excessive, it can interfere with your daily life.

Common Signs of Anxiety:

• Constant or excessive worry, even when nothing specific is wrong

• Physical symptoms, including rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, sweating, or nausea

• Difficulty sleeping or racing thoughts at night

• Avoiding situations that cause worry

• Feeling like something bad might happen even when things are "fine"

Anxiety often resides in the "what-ifs" part of our minds. It's the feeling that something is wrong, even if you can't name what it is. You might feel restless, edgy, or unable to relax even when you're safe. Anxiety is focused on the future and tends to be persistent. It's your brain stuck in high-alert mode, often about imagined threats.

What Does It Mean to Feel Overwhelmed?

Feeling overwhelmed is often a sudden, situational experience. It typically happens when your brain and body receive more input than they can reasonably process. Overwhelm can hit suddenly like a wave that knocks you off your feet when your to-do list explodes or life throws too much at you all at once.

Common Signs of Overwhelm:

• Trouble focusing or organizing thoughts

• Feeling emotionally flooded or paralyzed by decisions

• Snapping at others or withdrawing completely

• Crying easily or feeling irritated over small things

• Feeling like everything is "too much"

Overwhelm is your system saying: "I can't hold all of this at once." Overwhelm is situational, often temporary, short-term overload, not a long-term drain, and may pass when external stressors ease up; however, when overwhelm becomes frequent, it can indicate chronic stress or lead to burnout.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged, unmanaged stress, especially in the context of work, caregiving, or chronic over-functioning. Unlike anxiety and overwhelm, burnout doesn't come on suddenly. It creeps in slowly, and by the time you notice it, you're already deep in the woods.

Common Signs of Burnout:

• Exhaustion that doesn't go away with rest

• Feeling detached, numb, or emotionally flat

• Reduced motivation, even for things you used to enjoy

• A sense of helplessness or "What's the point?" thinking

• Increased irritability or withdrawal from others

• Trouble finding meaning or purpose in your daily routine

Burnout isn't just about being tired; it's about feeling like you're running on empty. It often shows up when you've been operating in survival mode for too long without adequate rest or support. Burnout is chronic, cumulative, and its depletion occurs after sustained stress with no recovery.

What If You're Feeling All Three?

You might be thinking, "Okay, but I relate to all of this." That's completely valid and common. These experiences often exist in a cycle:

• Chronic anxiety can make it hard to manage tasks → leading to overwhelm

• Constant overwhelm without rest → can lead to burnout

• Burnout can dull your capacity to respond, which can create more anxiety

If this resonates, you're likely someone who's been trying to push through life's demands without enough support, rest, or regulation, and that's a systemic problem, not a personal failure.

How to Support Yourself (Based on What You're Feeling)

If You're Feeling Anxious:

• Ground your body: Use breathing, movement, or sensory input (like cold water) to calm your nervous system.

• Name your worries: Write them down and ask, "Is this a real threat, a possible problem, or a fear-based assumption?"

• Limit stimulation: Reduce caffeine, social media, and news if they heighten your symptoms.

• Practice self-compassion: Anxiety isn't a flaw; it's your nervous system trying to protect you.

If You're Overwhelmed:

• Break things down: Focus on one task at a time. Prioritize and eliminate non-essentials.

• Use external tools: Write lists, use timers, or ask for help to stay on track.

• Step away briefly: A short walk, cry, or deep breath can reset your system.

• Ask yourself: "What's one thing I can let go of right now?"

If You're Burnt Out:

• Rest deeply: This may mean doing less for a while and not just sleeping more, but restoring your nervous system.

• Reassess boundaries: Where are you giving more than you have? Where can you say no?

• Reconnect to meaning: Find small joys, purpose, or relationships that feel nourishing.

• Seek support: Burnout recovery is slow and often needs structure, like therapy, coaching, or medical attention.

When to Reach Out for Help

It's never "too early" to get support. Therapy can be an impactful and powerful space to untangle these experiences, build coping tools, and reconnect with yourself. If your symptoms are interfering with your work, relationships, or ability to function, or if you just feel stuck, reach out. You deserve to feel better.

Even naming what you're experiencing is an essential first step. By identifying whether you're anxious, overwhelmed, or burnt out, you can meet yourself with the proper care instead of just pushing through.

Final Thoughts: You're Not Lazy, You're Likely Overloaded

If you've been silently judging yourself for being "unmotivated," "too sensitive," or "not doing enough," pause and reconsider. What if you're not lazy, you're just "tired?" What if you're doing the best you can with a brain and body that are trying to protect you?

Whether you're anxious, overwhelmed, or burnt out, remember that these are not weaknesses. They're signs that something needs your attention, compassion, and care.

You don't have to earn rest, and you don't need to hit a breaking point to deserve support.

 

 

Reference List

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.; DSM-5-TR). American Psychiatric Publishing.

(Used to define anxiety and related symptoms)

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). How right now: Emotional health resources during stressful times. https://www.cdc.gov/howrightnow/

(Resource for coping strategies and stress management)

Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout: A multidimensional perspective. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (2nd ed., pp. 89–101). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14731-006

(Foundational research on burnout symptoms and causes)

McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: Central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00041.2006

(Explains how chronic stress impacts the nervous system and contributes to anxiety and burnout)

National Institute of Mental Health. (2022). Anxiety disorders. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders

(Educational source on symptoms and types of anxiety disorders)

Pines, A., & Aronson, E. (1988). Career burnout: Causes and cures. Free Press.

(Early foundational text on occupational burnout and emotional exhaustion)

Porges, S. W. (2011). The polyvagal theory: Neurophysiological foundations of emotions, attachment, communication, and self-regulation. W. W. Norton & Company.

(Supports explanations of overwhelm and nervous system responses)

Schaufeli, W. B., Leiter, M. P., & Maslach, C. (2009). Burnout: 35 years of research and practice. Career Development International, 14(3), 204–220. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966406

(Recent empirical findings on burnout symptoms and recovery strategies)

Siegel, D. J. (2010). The mindful therapist: A clinician's guide to mindsight and neural integration. W. W. Norton & Company.

(Supports use of mindfulness and regulation strategies for anxiety and overwhelm)

Van der Kolk, B. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Penguin Books.

(Cited for insights into chronic stress and its effects on the nervous system)