Anxiety and burnout look similar from the outside but feel very different from the inside. Anxiety tends to feel activated: racing thoughts, restlessness, tight chest, difficulty relaxing even when nothing is wrong. Burnout tends to feel depleted: heavy limbs, cynicism, and a loss of meaning in things you used to care about.
Anxiety says 'something bad might happen.' Burnout says 'I don't have anything left to give.' One is a fire alarm; the other is an empty tank.
Many people experience both at once. Anxiety drives the overwork — you push harder to prove you're safe, capable, or enough — and burnout is the crash that follows when your body finally forces a stop.
The overlap can be confusing. Both include exhaustion, poor sleep, irritability, and difficulty focusing. But anxiety usually stays alert even when tired, while burnout struggles to feel much of anything at all.
Rest alone rarely resolves either one. Anxiety often needs skills — nervous-system regulation, thought reframing, exposure — plus honest work on what your anxiety is trying to protect you from. Burnout needs recovery and, usually, real changes to workload, expectations, or the parts of your life that outgrew your capacity.
A useful reflection: after a full weekend off, do you feel a little better (likely anxiety), or barely different (likely burnout, or both)? The answer shapes the next step.
You don't have to sort this out on your own. A counselor can help you name what's what, take some weight off, and start rebuilding a life that doesn't depend on running on fumes.