Burnout often stems from your job. But anyone who feels overworked and undervalued is at risk for burnout, from the hardworking office worker who hasn’t had a vacation in years, to the frazzled stay-at-home mom tending to kids, housework, and an aging parent.

But burnout is not caused solely by stressful work or too many responsibilities. Other factors contribute to burnout, including your lifestyle and personality traits. In fact, what you do in your downtime and how you look at the world can play just as big of a role in causing overwhelming stress as work or home demands.

Work-related causes of burnout

· Feeling like you have little or no control over your work.

· Lack of recognition or reward for good work.

· Unclear or overly demanding job expectations.

· Doing work that’s monotonous or unchallenging.

· Working in a chaotic or high-pressure environment.

Lifestyle causes of burnout

· Working too much, without enough time for socializing or relaxing.

· Lack of close, supportive relationships.

· Taking on too many responsibilities, without enough help from others.

· Not getting enough sleep.

Personality traits can contribute to burnout

· Perfectionistic tendencies; nothing is ever good enough.

· Pessimistic view of yourself and the world.

· The need to be in control; reluctance to delegate to others.

· High-achieving, Type A personality.

It is also very important to know that burnout and stress are actually two different things.

Burnout may be the result of unrelenting stress, but it isn’t the same as too much stress. Stress, by and large, involves too much: too many pressures that demand too much of you physically and mentally. However, stressed people can still imagine that if they can just get everything under control, they’ll feel better.

Burnout, on the other hand, is about not enough. Being burned out means feeling empty and mentally exhausted, devoid of motivation, and beyond caring. People experiencing burnout often don’t see any hope of positive change in their situations. If excessive stress feels like you’re drowning in responsibilities, burnout is a sense of being all dried up. And while you’re usually aware of being under a lot of stress, you don’t always notice burnout when it happens.

Stress vs Burnout

Stress                                                                                                                    Burnout

Characterized by over-engagement.                                                                    Characterized by disengagement.

Emotions are over-reactive.                                                                                   Emotions are blunted.

Produces urgency and hyperactivity.                                                                     Produces helplessness and hopelessness.

Loss of energy.                                                                                                       Loss of motivation, ideals, and hope.

Leads to anxiety disorders.                                                                                    Leads to detachment and depression.

Primary damage is physical.                                                                                  Primary damage is emotional.

May kill you prematurely.                                                                                        May make life seem not worth living.