Am I Experiencing Burnout?
An educational, non-diagnostic checklist to help you reflect on whether you might be experiencing burnout, across exhaustion, mental distance from work, and a drop in how effective you feel, with a note on getting support.
Written by Tarun Vermani, Trainee Clinical Psychologist Last reviewed
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Am I Experiencing Burnout?
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About this checklist
This is an educational checklist to help you reflect on how you have been feeling. It is NOT a diagnosis and it cannot tell you that you definitely have burnout. Only a qualified professional can do that, after a proper conversation and assessment. Burnout, as described by the World Health Organization (ICD-11), relates specifically to long-term, unmanaged stress at work, though a very similar kind of exhaustion can build up from caring for others or from study. There are no right or wrong answers here. If some of these feel true for you, that is useful to notice, and a good reason to share how you are doing with your GP or a mental-health professional.
Things you may have noticed
Thinking about the last few weeks, tick anything you have noticed in yourself. Try to answer for how things have generally been, not just on your hardest or easiest day.
What your answers might mean
These experiences fall into three areas that often go together in burnout: feeling exhausted, feeling distant or cynical about work, and feeling less effective than you used to. If only one or two feel true, you may simply be going through a tiring stretch, which is worth keeping an eye on. If several, or most, of these feel true and have been building up over time, it may be worth a conversation with someone who can help. This is not a score and it does not tell you that you have burnout. It is simply a sign that your wellbeing deserves some attention and care.
Getting support and next steps
If a lot of this resonates, the kindest next step is to talk it through. You could start with your GP, who can help you think about what is going on and what might help, and rule out other things that can cause exhaustion. If your burnout is linked to work, your workplace may have an occupational health service or an employee assistance programme you can contact, often confidentially. It can also help to look honestly at your workload and your boundaries, and where you might be able to protect a little more rest and recovery. None of this means anything is wrong with you. Burnout builds up when demands outweigh recovery for too long, and with the right support and changes, things can get better. You may also find the "What Is Burnout?" handout a helpful next read.
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When to use ‘Am I Experiencing Burnout?’
‘Am I Experiencing Burnout?’ is an interactive cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) worksheet. As a core CBT skill it is used right across the model, with presentations including depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma and low self-esteem, rather than being tied to a single diagnosis.
It is designed to be used within therapy rather than as a standalone self-help tool: a therapist introduces it, works through it collaboratively, and helps make sense of what it surfaces. You can preview the full worksheet above, then assign it digitally for clients to complete between sessions on any device — or download it as a print-ready PDF.
How it works
Most people work through it in around 6 minutes. It moves through five short steps:
- About this checklist — This is an educational checklist to help you reflect on how you have been feeling. It is NOT a diagnosis and it cannot tell you that you…
- Things you may have noticed — Thinking about the last few weeks, tick anything you have noticed in yourself. Try to answer for how things have generally been, not just…
- What your answers might mean — These experiences fall into three areas that often go together in burnout: feeling exhausted, feeling distant or cynical about work, and…
- Getting support and next steps — If a lot of this resonates, the kindest next step is to talk it through. You could start with your GP, who can help you think about what is…
- Over to you
Completed on the Formulate platform, your client's answers are saved automatically and shared straight back to you, so you can review them before the next session rather than waiting for a paper copy to come back.
The CBT approach behind it
In common with other CBT methods, ‘Am I Experiencing Burnout?’ works by noticing the links between situations, thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and behaviour — and finding practical ways to change unhelpful patterns. The aim is not positive thinking but a clearer, shared understanding of what keeps a difficulty going — and practical, testable ways to change it.
Because it is a CBT tool it stays focused on the here-and-now links between thoughts, feelings, the body and behaviour, and it works best as one part of a wider course of therapy rather than as advice or a diagnosis.
It follows the same evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy structure as the rest of the Formulate library.
For use alongside professional support
Formulate provides educational CBT resources for use with a qualified therapist. They are not a substitute for professional assessment, diagnosis, or crisis care.
If you need urgent help now:
- Emergency services: 999 — if you or someone else is in immediate danger
- Samaritans: 116 123 — free, day or night, 365 days a year
- SANEline: 0800 689 5555 — 4:30pm–10:30pm, every day
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