Am I Burned Out Or Do I Have Bad Anxiety?

Burnout or Anxiety: A Closer Look

We’ve all been there: running on fumes, dragging ourselves out of bed, and staring at the computer screen wondering how we’ll get through the day. In a city like Chicago, where life moves fast and the pressure to perform is constant, it’s easy to assume that what you’re feeling is just burnout. But sometimes, what looks like burnout is actually anxiety in disguise.

Related: Need a work burnout therapist?

As an anxiety specialist here on the North Side of Chicago, I see clients all the time who come in saying, “I think I’m just burned out.” Once we dig deeper, though, it often turns out that anxiety is playing a bigger role than they realized. Understanding the difference between burnout and anxiety is key to getting the right kind of help — and finding relief.

What Exactly Is Burnout?

Burnout isn’t just being “tired” or “stressed out.” It’s a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress, usually related to work. Psychologists describe burnout as having three main components:

1. Emotional exhaustion
You feel completely drained, as if you have nothing left to give.

2. Depersonalization or cynicism
You might feel detached from your work, irritable with coworkers, or generally cynical about your role.

3. Reduced sense of accomplishment
Even when you push through, it feels like nothing you do really matters.

In Chicago’s high-pressure industries — from finance in the Loop to healthcare workers on the North Side — burnout is a frequent reality. Long commutes, demanding workloads, and the “always-on” culture contribute to feeling depleted and stuck.

What About Anxiety?

Anxiety, on the other hand, is a mental health condition characterized by excessive worry, nervousness, and physical symptoms like a racing heart or restlessness. Unlike burnout, which is tied to external circumstances like workload, anxiety often persists regardless of what’s happening around you.

Some common signs of anxiety include:

• Constant worry or fear, even about small things
• Difficulty relaxing or “turning your brain off”
• Trouble sleeping due to racing thoughts
• Physical tension, headaches, or stomach issues
• Avoidance of situations that trigger worry

It’s possible for burnout and anxiety to overlap, which is why the lines can feel blurry.

Key Differences Between Burnout and Anxiety

So how do you know if you’re dealing with burnout, anxiety, or both? Here are a few differences to consider:

1. Source of symptoms
Burnout is usually tied to work or one specific area of life. Anxiety can show up in many areas — work, relationships, health, social situations.

2. Timing
Burnout tends to get better with rest or time away from stressors. Anxiety often sticks around, even on weekends or vacations.

3. Physical vs emotional symptoms
Burnout feels more like exhaustion and apathy. Anxiety brings on worry, tension, and physical unease.

4. Recovery process
Burnout often improves when you set boundaries or take a break. Anxiety usually requires therapy, coping strategies, or lifestyle changes to fully manage.

When Burnout Masks Anxiety

Here’s where it gets tricky: many people who say they’re “burned out” are actually struggling with underlying anxiety. For example:

• You feel exhausted at work, but even on your day off you can’t stop worrying about what you didn’t finish.
• You blame burnout for your irritability, but you also notice you’re restless, keyed up, or having trouble sleeping.
• You think work stress is the problem, but you also find yourself overthinking conversations, second-guessing decisions, and feeling “on edge” in social settings.

In these cases, anxiety may be fueling your sense of burnout. Without addressing the anxiety, simply resting or taking time off may not be enough.

Why It Matters to Know the Difference

If you’re in Chicago, you probably know the culture of “grind now, rest later” all too well. But mislabeling anxiety as burnout can delay the help you need.

• If it’s burnout, you might benefit from better boundaries, workload adjustments, or time off.
• If it’s anxiety, you’ll need tools to manage thought patterns, calm your nervous system, and break cycles of worry.

Both conditions are valid and deserve attention. But the path forward looks different depending on what you’re actually dealing with.

How CBT Therapy Helps with Both

At Calm Anxiety CBT Clinic, we use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to help clients manage both burnout and anxiety. CBT is practical, skills-based, and focuses on shifting unhelpful thinking patterns and behaviors. Here’s how it can help:

1. Identifying thought traps
CBT teaches you to recognize when your brain is catastrophizing or overgeneralizing — both common in anxiety.

2. Building coping skills
You’ll learn strategies like grounding techniques, relaxation, and reframing to reduce the grip of anxiety and stress.

3. Creating healthier boundaries
CBT can also help with burnout by teaching assertiveness and time management skills, so work stress doesn’t take over your life.

4. Improving self-compassion
A big part of recovery is learning to give yourself permission to rest without guilt.

Practical Tips You Can Try Today

While therapy is often the best way to sort through burnout vs anxiety, here are some things you can start experimenting with right now:

1. Check your weekends
Do you actually feel better when you take a break? If not, anxiety may be playing a bigger role.

2. Journal your thoughts
Notice if your stress is tied to specific tasks (burnout) or to ongoing worry across many areas (anxiety).

3. Practice grounding
If your mind is racing, try a quick grounding technique like 5-4-3-2-1 (name 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste).

4. Seek connection
Talk to friends, coworkers, or a therapist. Social support helps with both burnout and anxiety.

Wrap Up

Burnout and anxiety can feel similar, but they’re not the same thing. Burnout is often a response to prolonged stress, while anxiety is a broader mental health condition that sticks around even when you step away from work. Sometimes, they overlap — and that’s when life can feel especially overwhelming.

If you’re in Chicago and wondering whether what you’re feeling is burnout or anxiety, you don’t have to figure it out alone. At Calm Anxiety CBT Clinic on the North Side, we specialize in helping people untangle these experiences and find relief. Whether you need strategies to manage workplace stress, tools to calm racing thoughts, or support in setting healthier boundaries, help is available.

You don’t have to choose between “pushing through” or “burning out.” With the right support, you can reclaim your energy and peace of mind.