Am I Burnt Out? Free 2-Minute Burnout Test

"Am I burnt out?" is one of the most common questions I hear in the first session — usually phrased apologetically, as if asking already gives too much away. It doesn't. The fact that you're asking at all means something in your life has stopped feeling sustainable.

Quick answer: If three or more of the signs below have lasted for two weeks or more, you're likely somewhere on the burnout spectrum. The cleanest way to confirm is the free 2-minute Burnout Tracker above.

The short answer

If three or more of the signs below have been true for two weeks or more, you're likely somewhere on the burnout spectrum. The cleanest way to confirm — and to see how far along it's progressed — is the free 2-minute Burnout Tracker above. It gives you a score, a stage, and clear next steps. No account needed. If you'd rather see how the scoring works first, the burnout test page explains the four BAT pillars and what each score band means.

10 signs of burnout (a therapist's checklist)

Burnout isn't one feeling — it's a cluster. The official model has four pillars: exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive strain, and emotional strain. The signs below are the everyday ways those pillars show up.

1. Tired in the morning. You wake up already depleted. Sleep doesn't restore the way it used to.
2. Sundays start on Saturday. Dread of the week ahead arrives earlier and earlier.
3. Cynicism has crept in. Work you used to care about now feels pointless, irritating, or both.
4. Concentration is patchy. You re-read the same email three times. You walk into rooms and forget why.
5. Shorter fuse. Small things from colleagues, partners or kids land harder than they should.
6. Numb at home. Hobbies, food, sex, friends — the things that used to give energy feel flat or like effort.
7. Physical symptoms have shown up. Headaches, gut issues, frequent colds, tight jaw, racing heart.
8. You're coping with substances. More wine in the evening, more caffeine in the morning, more screen-time at night.
9. Rest doesn't fix it. A weekend off helps for a day, then it's gone. A holiday helps for a week, then it's gone.
10. You're starting to think "I can't keep doing this." Sometimes loudly, sometimes quietly. Either way, listen to it.

Three or more for two weeks or more — take the test. Five or more, please don't wait.

Burnout vs. just tired vs. depression

Three things that get confused, with practical differences:

• Tired lifts with sleep and a real weekend off. The wiring is intact; the battery just needs charging.
• Burnout is what happens when the battery keeps draining faster than you can charge it. Rest helps but doesn't resolve it, because the source — chronic overload — hasn't changed.
• Depression can look like burnout but is broader and not tied to a specific stressor. Pleasure flattens across the board, including in things that have nothing to do with work. See burnout vs depression for the distinctions clinicians use.

Which stage of burnout are you in?

Burnout builds in stages, and the stage matters because it changes what helps. A rest that works in stage two does almost nothing in stage five. The five-stage model in brief:

• Stage 1 — Honeymoon. High energy, over-committed but enjoying it. No recovery needed; prevention only.
• Stage 2 — Onset of stress. Bad days outnumber the good ones. Sleep slips. Caught here, most people recover in 2–6 weeks.
• Stage 3 — Chronic stress. Tired in the morning, cynical, surviving. Recovery 2–4 months — and the load has to change.
• Stage 4 — Burnout. Can't push through any more. Recovery 3–6 months with professional support.
• Stage 5 — Habitual burnout. The exhaustion has become a way of life. Recovery 6–12 months or longer; full clinical support.

A deeper look at each stage and what helps lives in the stages of burnout. The free BAT test on the homepage will give you a score that maps directly onto this arc.

What to do today, based on your answer

If you scored low on the checklist (0–2 signs):

• This is the easiest moment to protect what you have. Protect sleep, protect at least one real day off a week, and notice what's drifting before it accelerates.

If you scored mid (3–5 signs):

• Take the 2-minute BAT test for a clearer read. Then pick one structural change (hours, workload, evenings, alcohol) and one anchor practice — a walk, a short call with someone you trust, or five minutes of photographing one noticed thing.

If you scored high (6+ signs):

• This is the point at which trying to fix it alone usually delays recovery. Book a GP appointment this week. If you can access therapy, start it now. The Recovery Roadmap can help you locate a starting phase.

When "am I burnt out?" is really "am I okay?"

Sometimes the question underneath the question is bigger than burnout. If you've had thoughts of not being able to go on, or you're using alcohol or food in ways that worry you, or you've felt emotionally flat for weeks — please reach out today. A GP visit is the simplest first step. In the UK, the Samaritans (116 123) are available twenty-four hours a day. Wherever you are, please don't sit with this alone.

Take the test

The clearest way to answer "am I burnt out?" is to take a validated check rather than guess. The free 2-minute Burnout Tracker uses the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT), gives you a score across the four pillars, and tells you which stage you're likely in — along with clear next steps. Whatever it shows, knowing is better than wondering.

Sources

• Schaufeli, W.B., De Witte, H., & Desart, S. (2020). Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT) — Manual. KU Leuven. The validated 4-pillar instrument this test uses.
• World Health Organization (2019). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon" (ICD-11). The formal definition of burnout used in clinical practice.
• NHS. Stress and Symptoms of clinical depression. Used to distinguish burnout from depression.
• Samaritans, UK. Free 24/7 support: samaritans.org · 116 123.

If the answer turns out to be yes, you have two routes from here: structured self-guided work through the Burnout Coach programme, or one-to-one burnout therapy with a BACP-registered therapist.