Stress is natural response to challenging or demanding situations, stress makes you feel like you’re drowning in responsibilities.
- Short-term (but can become chronic) but with ups and downs
- Often caused by external pressures (work, relationships, responsibilities)
- You feel over-engaged—your nervous system is in overdrive
- Physical symptoms: headaches, muscle tension, increased heart rate, digestive issues
- Emotionally, you may feel anxious, overwhelmed, or irritable, but there’s still hope
Burnout is a state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion resulting from prolonged unmanaged stress. Developed gradually over time, burnout makes you feel empty, beyond caring, and unable to keep going. Burnout is what happens when stress never stops and your body runs out of resources to cope.
- Long-term exhaustion from prolonged stress with no recovery
- Often caused by ongoing stress without relief, leading to depletion
- You feel disengaged, numb, or detached—your nervous system is in shutdown
- Physical symptoms: chronic fatigue, brain fog, insomnia, weakened immune system
- Emotionally, you may feel hopeless, unmotivated, and disconnected from yourself and others
Have you experienced prolonged stress or been in burnout? How has it affected your life? How are you coping?
xo,
V.
