Burn-out en depressie/en

Burnout

Definition

Burnout is a stress-related exhaustion disorder in which the body and mind lose their capacity after prolonged overload. Typically, it arises in contexts of work or long-term (care) burden.

Core characteristics

• Emotional exhaustion
• Decreased performance and motivation
• Cynicism or depersonalization towards work/situation

In summary, burnout is essentially a STOP reaction of the body to continuous exhaustion or the perceived hopelessness of circumstances.

Depression

DSM criteria (brief overview, A–I) and contextual explanation

For the clinical criteria of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) according to DSM-5 (minimum 5 out of 9 symptoms, lasting at least 2 weeks, with either A or B as a core symptom), see among others the DSM summaries. (DSM-5 criteria — NCBI)

A. Depressed mood

You feel gloomy, empty or hopeless.

Context explanation: Low-contextual people have difficulty putting events into perspective. Negative experiences are quickly generalized into an internal explanation ("failed", "threat"), which promotes chronic gloom.

B. Decreased interest or pleasure

You don't find satisfaction in anything anymore.

Context explanation: cognitive exhaustion makes social contact and activities difficult; Rather pleasurable stimuli feel overwhelming or pointless → avoidance.

C. Weight change or eating disorder

Eating too much or too little.

Context explanation: self-care decreases with cognitive overload; routine falls away or food is used compensatively against internal tension.

D. Sleep problems

Difficulty falling asleep/staying asleep or hypersomnia.

Context explanation: Continuous mental overload leads to worrying or 'fleeing' into sleep because waking state is too intense.

E. Psychomotor agitation or inhibition

Restlessness or slowed functioning.

Context explanation: extremes of overactivation (continuously "on") or shutdown when the brain protects itself.

F. Fatigue or loss of energy

Always tired, even without physical exertion. Context explanation: low-contextual people spend a lot of extra energy on social and cognitive tasks; Structural energy leakage results in chronic fatigue.

G. Feelings of worthlessness or guilt

Thinking that you are falling short.

Context explanation: incomprehensibility of the environment and black-and-white thinking leads to internal condemnation ("I always fail").

H. Concentration problems or indecision

Difficulty focusing or choosing.

Context explanation: without context filtering you see too much irrelevant information or no coherence; Decision-making stalls.

I. Recurrent thoughts of death or suicidality

Not necessarily active intention, but a tendency to want to stop.

Context explanation: existential exhaustion when the world constantly feels incomprehensible and exhausting.

Hypothesis: depression as 'burnout' due to context mismatch

A working hypothesis that is central to this project: many depressive symptoms (or even full-blown depressive episodes) can, in individuals with limited context capacity, be the result of long-term stress and exhaustion — a kind of "chronic burnout" that manifests itself as depression. Practical distinction between classic endogenous depression and this form is complex; It is mainly another layer of explanation: not primarily internal biochemical dysregulation, but a secondary reaction to long-term context stress and compensation burden.

Relevance to context thinking

Burnout and depression can be seen as exhaustion reactions that arise from a mismatch between thinking style and environment. This can occur in several ways:

In low-contextual people

Because of their difficulty in filtering stimuli and putting events into perspective, much more raw information comes in directly. This leads to "overstimulation" and a continuous cognitive load. Coping often consists of structure, routines and avoiding unpredictable situations. When these strategies are not sufficient, there is an increased risk of burnout or depressive symptoms.

In high-contextual people

Because of their strong ability to change perspectives and nuance, they often take on "too much responsibility". They strongly sense the tensions, needs and expectations of others, and continue to adapt. In an environment that is mainly low-contextual (linear, result-oriented, little attention to nuance), their ability to make connections is systematically "over-questioned". As a result, they go beyond their own limits without the environment seeing or acknowledging it, which can also result in burnout or depression.