6 Signs You’re Tired, Not Lazy

There’s actually a lot of overlap between laziness and burnout that can make it difficult to differentiate between the two. Burnout is defined as “a negative state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive stress and an inability to cope with it.” To educate ourselves and better understand the nature of burnout, especially when we ourselves are at risk, here are a few tell-tale signs that what you’re experiencing right now isn’t actually laziness, but burnout.

DISCLAIMER This video is for educational purposes and is based on personal opinions. This video is not a substitute for professional advice, but for general guidance. Please do not take this feedback as an attack on your character. This video was meant to be a self-improvement guide for those of you who have been feeling a little stuck. We advise you to always listen to your intuition and always do what is right for you.

Writer: Chloe Avenasa
Script Editor: Rida Batool
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO:: Amanda Silvera
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:

Korunka, C., Tement, S., Zdrehus, C., & Borza, A. (2010). Burnout: Definition, recognition and prevention approaches. Family & Community Health: The Journal of Health Promotion & Maintenance, 43(3), 311-318.
American Psychological Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Edition. APA Publishing; Washington, DC.
Leiter, M. P., Bakker, A. B., & Maslach, C. (Eds.). (2014). Burnout at work: A psychological perspective. Psychology Press.
Greenglass, E., Fiksenbaum, L., & Burke, R. J. (1996). Components of social support, buffering effects and burnout: Implications for psychological functioning. Anxiety, stress, and coping, 9(3), 185-197.
Cropanzano, R., Rupp, D. E., & Byrne, Z. S. (2003). The relationship of emotional exhaustion to work attitudes, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of Applied psychology, 88(1), 160.

[Raghav-txym]

1:07 You feel disconnected from everything.
1:48 You used to be motivated.
2:16 You used to be passionate.
2:47 You’ve become moody and irritable.
3:15 You’ve neglected your self care.
3:46 These changes happened gradually.

[khalilahd.]

As a pre med student I always push myself to do more and be more it for some reason I always end up exhausted and not doing as much work as I wish I was. I would feel guilt and tell myself I’m lazy but I think I’m actually just tired. Thanks for the video, I needed to hear this 🙏🏽

[thechancellor-]

To the *incredible person* seeing this, I wish you all the best in life❤ don't over blame yourself, accept things and go forward. Don't let others define what “success” is for you. Get up, learn the skills needed and get after it, all the keys to a happy life is in your hands. Keep pushing.

[alpsaljugi]

It might feel unrealistic but I've slept and stayed in my bed for the entire week! And as soon as the sun rises and morning begins I feel so damn tired as if I didn't sleep the previous night! My family interpret my condition as laziness but they can't understand how exhausted I am. I am depressed as hell. Even though I am under medical treatment and therapy, I feel absolutely nothing! Ironically there is a heavy load in my mind as well. Just complicated.... I just want to be happy 🙃

[astronma_starheart]

Damn. This is really me right now. When I first started college, I definitely got incredibly burnt out, and haven’t been well for a little over a year. But… Since yesterday, I made an appointment with someone and was offered resources. I plan on starting up therapy soon, and until then, I’m slowly reintroducing self care back into my routine as I take the next few days off of school work on myself and how I tackle responsibilities.
I hope to keep this up, even with school work. When I return to college on Monday, I plan to start implementing some advice my mom gave me:
“Start with smaller tasks, and for the bigger tasks, break them down into smaller chunks and do them over time”.
I know it’s going to take me some time, but I feel like if I start that now as I continue to look into the resources I was provided, it should give me a good start until I move on to the next step.

I know this will take me a good amount of time, but I’m ready to put in the work to feel better again 💜

[jaironracsothesilentninjas]

Thanks for this. I feel that maybe I am burnt out. I usually feel guilty thinking I’m lazy, because I just don’t feel like doing much anymore.
But as you said, I haven’t always been like this. I used to be so productive at school, finishing assignments days in advance, and often not HAVING to do everything.
But lately I find myself with no interest in getting stuff done and often leave it to the last minute.
I will try to solve this, so thank you so much for the video, and letting me know. I really appreciate it❤️❤️😭

[emolyemu]

I legitimately burst out into tears. I have been nothing but burnt out since this panorama started...hearing this (juxtaposed against that beautiful music I might add) felt like someone was actually describing my life to me. Especially feeling disconnected and numb...I haven't felt like me since December 2019...

[jaydehy]

I always thought burnout was something that happened pretty quick, so it didn’t even occur to me that was what was going on with me since I have exhibited these symptoms for so long. This does help explain a lot of what I’m feeling and how I’m acting as of the last two years so thank you Psych2Go ❤️ I swear I always dismissed it as laziness because I always used to be super motivated and pushed to always make straight As and do sports. As a result it’s caused me to come to a halt, and i no longer can function as well. Would there be any ways to treat or at least help cope with burnout?

Édit: you guys are so nice thank you for the kind words and advice ❤️

[RhetoricalRay]

I've suffered from burn out multiple times especially in around the last 2 years. Right now however I'm suffering from the most extreme burn out I've ever experienced previously though. I'm in Year 11 and I go to a very academically demanding school. The amount of workload we're having to deal with as the first students in 2(?) years to take out GCSEs is immense and it's not just affecting me. I've been off school recently a lot, this past week I've been off and I was off the whole week beginning the 24th January too, with a few absences dotted here and there. Beforehand my school wasn't even authorising these absences despite them knowing I do suffer mentally, especially with anxiety, because I had sessions with the counsellor and also they knew that I had seen a therapist in the past, but due to there being no "official documents", they don't have to authorise the absences, and they were then threatening my family with fines, which did not help me stress levels. They only authorised them on Tuesday as on Monday we managed to get a doctor to give them a letter stating that I am struggling with anxiety. But anyways, my stress levels are through the roof right now, and every day I spend off school, I can't even bring myself to do any work, I don't have the ability to discipline myself anymore and I feel so guilty when playing games or watching YouTube. I feel out of control of my life and I keep breaking down every day due to it. And I hate being burnt out because I know I'm hurting my friends with my mood swings and irrational behaviour. I'm not a moody person, and it takes a lot typically to even slightly irritate me, but not even an hour ago from me writing this, I was playing a game with my friends, and one of them was dragging out a joke they were making on me for a little too long, even after I told them to stop multiple times, and I just snapped at them and left the game and the call with them, and then had an argument with them over messages. I feel horrible about it now, I'm not one to snap at my friends like that and make a big deal out of something, but it really annoyed me for no reason. I can't sleep most nights, or if I do it's only for a couple hours, and it's leaving me both physically and mentally exhausted throughout the whole day. I feel like everything could just crumble at any moment. I feel so out of control of my life. It's not just school that's stressing me out, the pandemic and how where I live is handling it is stressing me out, and there's also family issues, like my Nan being against the fact I'm genderfluid, and my mum and dad not getting along that well and my mum being on sick pay and being off work right now because she's struggling with a lot of health problems right now. My parents are financially struggling, and I know they don't want it to get to me, and that they tell me everything will be fine, and I know that, my parents are good at cutting back and managing money, but I can't help but feel stressed out by it all. I also went through a break up not so long back, and it was my first serious relationship that lasted ages an they were the only person I could fully trust, and now recently I went and messed up my friendship with them too because I worry too much, and now they have been ghosting me for almost a month.
I'm in the process of self-referring myself and getting therapy once more and I have an appointment on the 24th to talk to someone who helps people young people with anxiety to see what would be the best way of supporting and helping me. My parents are trying to get me to go to school again before then, but I can't mentally bear it. It's not that I don't want to, I want to go, especially to see my friends again, but I just can't deal with it right now. I feel so out of touch with reality and I'm starting to hate myself for not being the person I use to be and that I want to be. I feel as though I'm screwing myself over by not doing work and going to school, especially with my GCSEs being so close, I know I'm working at grades 5-6, which is around a B, which is what I want, but I can't help but feel like all this time off is going to show on results day.

If there is one thing I want people to take away from this comment though, is that teenagers, with me for the example, being 15, can be burnt out and be just as stressed as adults. My dad use to say that "You're only a child, you don't know real stress.", and that hurt me a lot. If you have children, make sure they know that they can talk to you about anything they're struggling with, because it can be very hard to open up about mental health, even when you know that you won't be ignored.

[dragonsqueers]

This is basically me right now. I first thought it was depression, but I think it’s more likely that it’s a burnout. I really want to do something about my current state, but I lack the courage to say it to most people. I only told it to some of my friends (the others probably wouldn’t believe me) and to my parents, a few months ago when I started feeling worse than usual. They said they would help, but they probably forgot about it☹️. I already was an introvert, but this made it worse(or better? idk). I also don’t see it stopping because I’m not motivated for anything, including trying to reach out for help (and important assignments). These videos are so helpful and informative, thanks for making these❤️

[hopperhelp]

I also add that don't forget to neglect your body as well. When the pandemic happened I stopped eating properly and for two years I ate very poorly, found out I had an iron deficiency which left me feeling extremely drained. Yes on top of that I was also burnt out which didn't help, had to deal with that and these videos definitely made a difference.

Psychological care and physical care are both important aspects we shouldn't overlook. Both are important for an individual inside and out.

[msssyMS]

Thank you so much and I really needed this. Now that I think about it, I think I've been burnt out since middle school. My grades weren't that great in middle school and in high school and I constantly felt negatively about myself. Even in college. I'm almost 30 and I can't believe I've felt like this for this long. Now I'm wondering how I can dig myself out of this huge hole that I've dug for myself.

[CartoonLab]

This video seems to be describing me quite a bit right now. I've noticed that I don't have the same drive for things I loved as I use to, and it's been going on over the years. Thankfully, I'm working on fixing that, but it's been hard thanks to a few factors. Right now, I'm broke, and I have no stable source of income. I have a job, but it takes up so much of my day, and the hours can be very sporadic, not to mention the pay isn't all that great. Plus, By the time I get home, all I want to do is veg out to unwind, thanks to my Aspergers and issues with sensory overload, Anxiety, and Stress. Without a good source of income, I can't afford to go out and start getting supplies I need to start working on my projects I've been sitting on the back burner for years.

Another problem I got is feelings of failure. I sometimes feel like I've been out of it for so long, that I don't think I can do it good again. Other thoughts are that if I try again, no one will even care, so why bother. Thankfully, I've been fixing that, but the Anxiety and Doubt keep pushing back from time to time. Finally, there's the fact that I've become used to doing nothing. I've been stuck in this hole for so long, and I just want to get out. But it's like the walls are made of soft dirt, and it's near impossible to climb back out. Still, like I've been saying, I'm working on getting myself back to my passions again. It's been a hard journey, but I'm making it.

[nicole_cat]

i think I recently hit stage 5 of burnout. i recently transferred into homeschooling bc of the overwhelming stress of public school and the terrible people I was surrounded by. i cant even play my favorite games anymore, I only eat once a day bc I don’t feel motivated to get out of bed, I don’t take care of my body anymore, and my brain never fully shuts off when i try to sleep bc it wants to overthink ab trauma. i have a therapist who is trying their best to find ways to motivate me but nothing seems to work. that’s my experience :)

[laviniapoh]

I am honestly confused. These days, I started feeling very exhausted easily and even started waking up as hard as I can. I keep struggling with school and I feel like these things started happening when the pandemic started, so I thought that I was just lazy, but right now, all I want to do is stay in bed, imagining plots, stories that have nothing to do with the real life. I am really not sure if I am burnout, but I felt that this video was relatable, since I used to be pretty achiving.

[biancad.]

thank you, i need this 🥺 I found myself just scrolling through my phone for hours last night, knowing i should stop but my brain is too noisy to not do anything. Didnt drink even when I thirsty, not taking my work clothes off, not taking a bath until 10pm, and last time I let my dirty dishes sit in my room for 3 weeks; even thinking about doing it exhausts me. I was thinking to find a help but yea. All I'm telling myself is I'm just lazy but deep down i know it's something else.

[xeniamay]

beautiful video!! it made me realize how burned out I was before I started meditating! my mom always called me lazy but I was just done with life but I got better and I'm glad I made it out of it!!! you can also do it

[Artemis]

Wow, this is great timing!

Thank you for uploading this video.. It made me realise that I really am burnt out and not lazy. Gotta trust my intuition more rather than listening to what others say.

Trauma, anxiety, depression and cancer do take their toll. My body, mind and spirit need to rejuvenate in a warm and friendly environment. They've been doing extraordinarily considering all these circumstances, how would I not be exhausted? I'll prioritise my self care from now on. ❤️

Best wishes to all of you 🍀

[williamsanborn]

In December of 2018, I told my academic advisor at my school that I was taking a break during the upcoming term, which took place January-March 2019. There were multiple reasons. The first was burnout. I’d been attending the school since July of 2017 directly after high school, so I never really had a summer break and at that time, I’d been in attendance for a year and a half. The other reason was because of my grandmother’s passing in March 2018. She passed away the night before I had school the following day. I didn’t want to go through the stress of not being able to mourn a year later. Long story short, he (my academic advisor) understood completely. 🙂

[bringmethejarritos]

I miss when I cared about getting things done. I still am passionate about some things but my studies have betrayed me. Idk what to do😔