Fatigue is often a short-term response to exertion or insufficient recovery. Burnout is a work-related pattern that involves more than exhaustion alone. The World Health Organization defines burnout, in ICD-11, as resulting from chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed — and describes it through three dimensions: exhaustion, growing mental distance or cynicism toward the job, and a reduced sense of professional effectiveness. It's classified as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical diagnosis. Fatigue can touch these areas too. Burnout is defined by the broader persistent pattern, not a fixed sequence. Common trap: Assuming a short break or extra sleep will fully reset something that's been building for months. That assumption is understandable — it's how ordinary tiredness works — it just doesn't hold once recovery has stopped keeping pace with the load. YOUR NEXT MOVE Think back over the last month: did any time off leave you feeling genuinely restored — not just distracted for a day? If not, that's worth noticing. Write the date down somewhere. It's a more useful marker than how you feel in any single moment. Part 1   submitted by   /u/Ok-Anteater1819 [link]   [comments]