Burnout or depression? How to tell the difference

Here's the question I hear most from tired, flat, running-on-fumes professionals: is this burnout, or is this depression? It matters, because the treatments point in different directions — and getting it wrong wastes months.

The vacation test

The roughest useful heuristic: burnout responds to rest and distance; depression follows you. If two genuinely unplugged weeks would noticeably refill your tank, you're likely looking at burnout. If the flatness comes on vacation with you — if nothing anywhere sounds good — that pattern leans depressive.

Where they differ

Burnout is usually domain-specific: work feels impossible, but you can still enjoy dinner with friends. Depression is a dimmer switch on everything — hobbies, people, food, music. Burnout says 'I can't do THIS anymore.' Depression says 'I can't do anything, and it's probably my fault.' That self-blame voice is a depression signature; burnout tends to blame the job.

The honest complication: untreated burnout can slide into depression, and the middle of the slide looks like both. If you've been asking yourself this question for more than a month, stop diagnosing and bring the question in — untangling it together takes about two sessions.