Burnout vs Depression: What's the Difference?
- VHC team
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Understanding the Differences — and Why Getting It Right Matters
Burnout and depression can look very similar from the outside. Both can involve exhaustion, withdrawal, low motivation, and a sense that life feels harder than it used to.
For autistic people, this overlap is especially important. Autistic burnout is frequently mislabelled as depression, contributing to delayed or missed autism diagnosis, and support that doesn't quite fit (or even makes things worse!)
Research shows autistic people are around four times more likely to experience depression across their lifetime than neurotypical people (Hudson et al., 2019). Depression is a serious mental health condition experienced at higher rates by autistic people — yet it is also one of the most commonly misunderstood.
While some people experience both autistic burnout and depression at the same time, others experience autistic burnout on its own. When this difference isn’t recognised or understood, people may be encouraged to push through, re-engage too soon, or mask even harder — which can worsen burnout and slow recovery.
Getting the right understanding matters. When we name what’s actually happening, support becomes more effective, more compassionate, and more sustainable.
In this blog post, we unpack:
What is Burnout?
Burnout was first described in the 1970s and is now recognised by the World Health Organisation as a syndrome resulting from chronic, unmanageable stress, most often in work or caregiving roles.
Burnout is typically characterised by:
ongoing exhaustion
emotional distance related to work or responsibilities
reduced sense of effectiveness or competence
Burnout tends to be context-dependent. When demands are reduced and support increases, symptoms can often improve.
A community poll commissioned by Beyond Blue found:
50% of people reported experiencing burnout in the past year with rates highest among 18–29-year-olds.
Main contributors included:
excessive workload (49%)
lack of support (32%)
inflexible conditions (21%)
What is Autistic Burnout?
Autistic burnout is not the same as occupational or neurotypical burnout — even though they can look similar.
While research is still developing, studies centred on autistic lived experience have identified three core features of autistic burnout (Raymaker et al., 2021):
Pervasive, long-term exhaustion (often lasting 3 months or more)
Loss of skills, such as:
executive functioning
planning and organisation
self-care and daily living tasks
Increased sensory sensitivities
While occupational burnout typically involves exhaustion and reduced motivation, autistic burnout also includes skill loss and sensory overload.
Across studies and lived-experience accounts, autistic burnout contributors included (Ali et al., 2025):
long-term masking and camouflaging
societal stigma and misunderstanding
everyday life demands
alexithymia (difficulty identifying internal emotional states)
Protective factors included:
access to appropriate support
greater self-understanding
prioritising rest, solitude, and sensory regulation
What is Depression?
Depression is a mood disorder, and may involve:
persistent low or depressed mood (at least two weeks)
feelings of sadness, emptiness, or hopelessness
negative thoughts about the self, world, or future
changes in sleep or appetite
loss of pleasure or interest, even in previously meaningful activities
Unlike burnout, depression is often less tied to a specific environment and may persist even when demands are reduced.
Burnout and Depression - the Overlap
Autistic burnout can increase the risk of depression over time, which is why some people experience both. This overlap can make it hard to tell what’s going on without careful assessment.
Unlike depression, many people in autistic burnout still feel interest or connection to their passions, but lack the energy, capacity, or executive functioning to engage.
Some differences and overlaps
Social withdrawal
Depression: often linked to hopelessness or loss of pleasure
Autistic burnout: often an adaptive response to sensory and social overload
Loss of interest
Depression: profound and persistent
Autistic burnout: many people in autistic burnout still feel interest or connection to their passions, but lack the energy, capacity, or executive functioning to engage.
Sleep changes
More strongly associated with depression
Executive functioning & concentration
Present in both and often described as “brain fog” or moving through life in slow motion
Emotional sensitivity
Depression: numbness or emotional pain
Burnout: nervous system overload, shutdowns, meltdowns
Food and appetite
Depression: appetite changes
Burnout: may be more reliant on safe foods and experience increased sensory sensitivities
Fatigue and motivation
Common to both although the reason for fatigue differs
Recognising autistic burnout early can reduce the likelihood of burnout escalating into depression — and helps ensure support fits the person, not just the symptoms.
What Can Help
Whether you’re experiencing burnout, autistic burnout, depression, or a mix of these, support doesn’t need to start with having everything figured out. Often, the most helpful first step is understanding what might best help support you.
Helpful early steps of identifying burnout may include:
noticing signs of overload or fatigue
identifying personal stressors and triggers
reducing demands where possible
setting boundaries around energy and capacity
allowing rest without guilt
Psychology and occupational therapy (OT) can provide a safe, non-judgemental space to explore whether what you’re experiencing is burnout, autistic burnout, depression, or a combination, and how to best support you.
For those seeking clarity, our Autistic Burnout Profile Assessment offers:
Validation & insight using research-informed tools
A personalised burnout profile identifying contributing factors
Practical recovery strategies tailored to your nervous system and needs to help you manage and heal.
Prevention and recovery begin with recognition, not pushing through!
If you’d like to explore how we might best support you, you’re welcome to contact us for more information.
References
Ali, D., Bougoure, M., Cooper, B., Quinton, A. M. G., Tan, D., Brett, J., Mandy, W., Maybery, M., Magiati, I., & Happé, F. (2025). Burnout as experienced by autistic people: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2025.102669
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/about/media/media-releases/1-in-2-Australians-Facing-Workplace-Burnout
Hudson, C. C., Hall, L., & Harkness, K. L. (2019). Prevalence of Depressive Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Meta-Analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology: An Official Publication of the International Society for Research in Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, 47(1), 165–175. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0402-1
Raymaker, D. M., Teo, A. R., Steckler, N. A., Lentz, B., Scharer, M., Delos Santos, A., Kapp, S. K., Hunter, M., Joyce, A., & Nicolaidis, C. (2020). “Having All of Your Internal Resources Exhausted Beyond Measure and Being Left with No Clean-Up Crew”: Defining Autistic Burnout. Autism in Adulthood : Challenges and Management, 2(2), 132–143. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2019.0079
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