Burnout  happens to everyone at some point or another. Our lives get busy as we deal with various daily responsibilities, be it working, helping others, or taking care of our families. Sometimes, we get too busy and forget to take a step back and rest. That’s when burnout can occur.

Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped. It happens when we experience too much emotional, physical, and mental fatigue for too long. In many cases, burnout is related to one’s job. But burnout can also happen in other areas of your life and affect your health.

Burnout can be caused by stress, but it’s not the same. Stress results from too much mental and physical pressure and too many demands on your time and energy. Burnout is about too little. Too little emotion, motivation, or care. Stress can make you feel overwhelmed, but burnout makes you feel depleted and used up.

The condition isn’t medically diagnosed. But burnout can affect your physical and mental health if you don’t acknowledge or treat it.

Burnout keeps you from being productive. It makes you feel hopeless, cynical, and resentful. The effects of burnout can hurt your home, work, and social life.