Burn out versus depression. What is the difference?
Burn out, or a burned-out feeling that makes work and daily activities no longer possible, is no longer unknown to anyone. But are there so many people in burnout now? Are we that burned out in 2024? Psychiatrist Dr. Anne Bakhit is quite critical of the burnout.
“The Netherlands and Germany are one of the few countries where burnout is diagnosed. In countries like America or France, burnout as a condition does not exist.”
In an earlier article, about four types of burnout, explains that there is actually very little scientific basis for the diagnosis burnout. She wrote the book "Under the spell of burnout". An important point to start with is that people who have burnout complaints do not act. Those complaints actually exist. They are bothered by something. We are only critical of the diagnosis. If you cannot determine something reliably, how can you help them properly?”
The critics of burnout diagnosis
Dr. Anne is a scientist and tries to find out how to best help people. The term burnout is used in all kinds of ways and now has a social function. After all, we quite easily say: 'I am close to burnout', or I can't take it any longer'. We drop out from work, school and study because of this. We like to sleep all day, and have totally no energy. Our love life is a mess, and our partner cannot approach us. But no doctor or psychiatrist can reliably diagnose burnout. No one owns the burnout and that means that there is little progress in knowledge about it. Do we know exactly who has a burnout? No. Can we make a clear diagnosis? No. Are there treatments that have been shown to work? Hardly."
Overlap with depression
“Have you ever heard of neurasthenia?. That's probably because it no longer exists. A hundred years ago, an American neurologist diagnosed this condition, in which the nervous system was overloaded due to too much stress. That's where the word nervouser comes from. Books were written about this, clinics were set up and help was offered. But that condition disappeared because doctors could not really diagnose it and did not know what it was exactly. In Europe we later also used the term 'overstress' for a while and in the 1960s there was 'the manager's disease'. Now we are familiar with the term burnout. We see a different point of view now then hundred years. But also in those times it exist. It shows that too much stress is not a 21st century problem, but a problem of all times, regardless of e-mail, social media and climate change. “
We often link burnout to overload due to work. But according to our doctor, burnout is not a work condition. If a burnout is caused by too much stress, it is often also due to other causes. Because of financial worries, relationship problems, informal care or worries about the world. Work is not the only cause of stress.The psychiatrist would much rather talk about stress. According to her, this is an important cause of mental imbalance, whatever name you give it: burnout, depression, anxiety disorder or something else.
Stress is very normal. When you're alive, you have stress. Whether it becomes too much and when it starts to bother you varies per person. We consider burnout separately as an outcome of 'having too much stress', but almost all mental and physical diseases are linked to too much stress. Too much stress causes complaints. You may feel sad or anxious or perhaps become addicted. But physical conditions such as obesity, autoimmune complaints or heart complaints are also caused by too much stress.”
'Stress has an image problem'
It is human to be exhausted or despondent every now and then. We all have that sometimes. We all encounter limits and go beyond them. Psychological complaints are very common. That has been the case for a long time.
Back to the term stress then. How does that work in humans? Every person has a stress orchestra. How sensitive you are or are not to stress has to do with genetics. Our stress hormones and our character play a role in this and determine how we respond to stress. We often only talk about stress when it is too much. Stress has an image problem, a burnout is more like 'disruption due to stress'. In other words, the differences among people who do or do not become out of balance due to stress.
No tips, just an individual search
In September, psychiatrist and Researcher Vinkers from Europe, together with a large consortium of researchers and companies, will start a large-scale study called DESTRESS. We are investigating how we can pick up stress signals. How do you recognize the red flags and how do we measure stress? Nowadays we take action too late. We are investigating how you can recognize those red flags in time.
This may sound more negative, but humans are condemned to stress. We are constantly looking for balance. We have no control over that and if you try to gain that control, it will cause you stress. The question is: 'How much stress is normal?' Sometimes you find balance and sometimes we lose it. That happens to everyone, no one is immune to stress.
“Unfortunate things happen in life, we sometimes work too hard and we worry. That's why we don't believe in '10 golden tips against stress' or other tricks. It differs per person. Then you can continue to do your yoga exercises, but if you have relationship problems, yoga will not make the stress disappear. And if you set too high standards for yourself and start running to reduce your stress level, you are not addressing the cause of the problem. We humans can handle stress well, even if we talk about it in an alarmist way. It remains an individual search for how best to deal with it.
Complaints
Suppose you have a burnout or are struggling with it, what would we advise? Are you at home sick? Do you feel bad and have you dropped out? Then we would say: 'Go to the doctor'. If you experience milder complaints, it is important to talk to those around you about it. Advice: don't use the internet too much, because then you end up in the rain. Ask yourself questions like: 'Why I don't feel good about myself? Where does the stress come from? What can I do?' Take signals seriously and take action. These are complaints that many people experience. You don't have to be ashamed of that or have to continue with it.”
So what can you do about it? CBT training wil help you seeking a better quality of life. Together with the doctor you will find the things you like to do, and how your life is going now. For this you can learn what to change and what negative issues are concerning you. Step out of it, and choose for yourself is the most efficient way to handle stress and depression. Talk about it and learn the values in life to be happy and in balance again. Now we hear you say: I cannot, but this means I won't. Often we are stuck in this circle doing things we in fact don't like, but we don't see any other options. Time to change to a better mindset.
Need help with it? You're welcome to visit our clinic. Call us or WhatsApp on +20 110 209 3196.
