{"id":89899,"date":"2025-08-17T16:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T16:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/89899\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T16:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T16:23:07","slug":"how-to-tell-the-difference-between-stress-and-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/89899\/","title":{"rendered":"How to tell the difference between stress and burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up<\/a> to receive it in your inbox.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve ever chalked up your exhaustion to just \u201ca rough week,\u201d you might want to look closer.<\/p>\n

Burnout isn\u2019t always the dramatic crash we imagine. It often starts subtly, like a slow leak in your energy reserves, and if you\u2019re not paying attention, it can drain you completely.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest misconceptions about burnout is that it hits you all at once,\u201d says Sharon Grossman, a psychologist, executive coach and author of The Burnout Solution: 7 Steps from Exhausted to Extraordinary. \u201cIn reality, it creeps in gradually.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Grossman says early signs are easy to overlook or dismiss. Persistent fatigue, trouble focusing or snapping at coworkers may seem like small irritants, but they often signal something deeper.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany dismiss these as \u2018just being tired\u2019 or \u2018having a bad week,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cBut these can actually be early indicators that your energy tank is running on empty.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when your coping resources are chronically depleted, burnout doesn\u2019t wait for a formal invitation.<\/p>\n

One reason burnout is so hard to pin down is that it shows up differently for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some of my clients, it shows up as emotional exhaustion. They are dragging through the day, both physically and mentally,\u201d Ms Grossman says. \u201cFor others, it\u2019s cynicism or detachment, where they stop caring about work they once loved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even high performers aren\u2019t immune. In fact, they\u2019re often more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen high achievers become hyper-critical of themselves, feel like they\u2019re failing even when they\u2019re performing and start questioning their worth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Dr. Grossman recalls experiencing burnout personally as a loss of meaning in her work. \u201cWhen I stopped feeling excited about my sessions and started just going through the motions, I knew something had to shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burnout doesn\u2019t always look like collapse. Sometimes, it\u2019s the slow grind of pushing through until you break.<\/p>\n

The tricky part? Stress and burnout can feel similar but they require different responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cStress is situational. It has a clear beginning and end,\u201d says Dr. Grossman. \u201cBurnout, on the other hand, is chronic. It doesn\u2019t let up, even when circumstances improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

If taking a vacation or stepping away from work doesn\u2019t bring relief, that\u2019s a red flag. So is emotional numbness or a sense that your efforts no longer matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s when stress stops being energizing and starts feeling soul-crushing,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re feeling a lack of efficacy \u2013 like no matter how hard you try, you\u2019re not making progress \u2013 that\u2019s another hallmark of burnout.\u201d<\/p>\n

To catch burnout early, Dr. Grossman recommends building emotional intelligence. She calls self-awareness \u201cyour first line of defense.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her book, one of the foundational tools she shares is the \u201cenergy audit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAsk yourself: What\u2019s draining me? What\u2019s fueling me?\u201d she says. Journaling, mindfulness and monitoring your self-talk are also simple but powerful strategies.<\/p>\n

Recognizing and regulating your emotions, setting healthy boundaries and having the emotional literacy to speak up are key, she says. <\/p>\n

Recovery also depends on those same skills. \u201cIt helps you reconnect with your values, navigate tough conversations and rebuild your confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a culture that rewards overworking, understanding the early signs of burnout and acting on them is essential.<\/p>\n

Stay tuned for part two next week, where I share insights from Dr. Grossman on what steps to take after you\u2019ve identified burnout. <\/p>\n

Fast factTime-off tax<\/p>\n

74 per cent<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how many workers report feeling anxious upon returning to work after vacation, according to new data from global recruitment consultancy Robert Walters. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

Career guidanceFostering farewells<\/p>\n

Workplaces tend to celebrate beginnings while overlooking endings, even though endings are crucial for emotional health and organizational trust. <\/p>\n

Here, Harvey Schachter pulls out key points from the book Good Bye: Leading change better by attending to endings, to showcase how acknowledging endings not only prevents lingering negativity, but also creates space to learn from experiences. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

QuotedPeers > Pros<\/p>\n

\u201cMy premedical adviser, I\u2019m just like, you\u2019re not helping me that much. On social media, it feels the same as if I was asking a friend who did what I\u2019m doing, but a year or two ago. They are in the loop and their advice is way more direct,\u201d says 22-year-old Olivia Sotos, an aspiring doctor who graduated from college just over a month ago.<\/p>\n

This article looks at how some young job seekers say traditional career advice from parents and school counselors feels outdated and they\u2019re now looking to successful young professionals on social media for advice and inspiration.<\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n

On our radarGPT-5 glitch<\/p>\n

OpenAI is still leading the AI race, but early stumbles with GPT-5 are starting to raise eyebrows. Since the launch, users have flagged basic mistakes, a drop in quality when it comes to tone and growing frustration over a 200-question weekly cap. Chief executive officer Sam Altman has publicly acknowledged the feedback and says improvements are on the way. But with fast-moving challengers such as Anthropic picking up steam, OpenAI could lose their lead. <\/p>\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is the weekly Work Life newsletter. If you are interested in more careers-related content, sign up to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":89900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[524,33288,33289,33285,33284,14093,33290,97,134,259,260,4910,24296,33287,22143,33286],"class_list":{"0":"post-89899","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-career-advice","9":"tag-career-leadership","10":"tag-careers-globe-and-mail","11":"tag-careers-newsletter","12":"tag-careersnewsletter","13":"tag-future-of-work","14":"tag-globe-and-mail-newsletter","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-jobs","17":"tag-mental-health","18":"tag-mentalhealth","19":"tag-newsletter","20":"tag-noastack","21":"tag-thought-leadership","22":"tag-workplace-culture","23":"tag-your-life-at-work"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89899","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89899"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89899\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89899"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}