The Sunday evening dread used to start around dinner. Now it shows up Friday afternoon, somewhere on the drive home up Biscayne Boulevard. You took a full week off, slept in, maybe walked the sand in Sunny Isles Beach, and came back feeling just as heavy.
If you’re looking for burnout treatment in Aventura, the first question is a harder one: is this burnout, or depression? Burnout often eases when the pressure changes or with real time off; depression often needs treatment to lift.
What’s the difference between burnout and depression?
Burnout stays tied to work, while depression reaches every part of life. The World Health Organization describes burnout as the result of chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed. In its international guide to diseases (ICD-11), the WHO lists burnout as a work issue, not a medical condition. It describes three signs:
- Feeling exhausted or depleted
- Feeling mentally distant from your job, or cynical about it
- Feeling less effective at work
The WHO definition applies to the work context only, not to other areas of life.
Depression can affect mood, sleep, appetite, energy, focus and self-worth. Seeing burnout vs depression side by side can help:
| Burnout | Depression | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it shows up | Mostly around work | Work, home, relationships and free time |
| Does rest help? | Real time off often brings some relief | Rest often doesn’t lift the low mood |
| What joy feels like | Hobbies and people still feel good away from work | Things you loved may feel flat or out of reach |
| Sleep and appetite | Tired, with restless sleep tied to work stress | Sleep and appetite may shift a lot, up or down |
| How long it lasts | Rises and falls with job demands | Persists most days, whatever the workload |
Why do they feel so alike?
They feel alike because exhaustion, the core of burnout, is also a common symptom of depression. In a 2021 analysis of more than 12,000 people, Bianchi and colleagues found that people with more exhaustion also had more depression symptoms, a very close link. The overlap is so strong that some researchers think burnout may be a form of depression.
Burnout can also come first. A seven-year study of Finnish dentists found that burnout predicted later depression symptoms.
Workplace strain is common. In the American Psychological Association’s 2024 Work in America survey, 67% of US workers reported at least one sign linked to burnout in the past month, though that’s not a diagnosis rate. If your exhaustion has lasted months and isn’t easing, it’s worth seeing a clinician rather than waiting it out.
How do clinicians tell them apart?
Clinicians usually tell them apart with a conversation and, often, two short questionnaires. At Nushama, evaluation begins with a review of your medical history and medications and a psychiatric evaluation. With your permission, we’ll also speak with your therapist or doctor.
The two most common questionnaires:
- The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), which looks at three things: exhaustion, feeling detached from your work or the people in it, and feeling less effective at work. It’s a licensed tool, so a clinician usually gives it.
- The PHQ-9, a nine-question depression check. In its original 2001 study, a score of 10 or more picked up 88% of people with major depression.
A score suggests that an evaluation makes sense, but it does not give you a diagnosis on its own. Your clinician will also ask about:
- How long this has lasted, and whether real time off helped
- Whether it has spread into weekends, relationships and joy
- Sleep, appetite and energy
- Past treatments, including antidepressants
- Safety, including any thoughts of suicide
In Aventura, our clinical team includes Mark Braunstein, DO, a senior psychiatrist, and Steven Radowitz, MD, Nushama’s co-founder and chief medical officer. Dr. Radowitz has practiced internal medicine and primary care since 1998.
If you’re having thoughts of suicide right now, please don’t wait for an appointment. Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or contact 211 Miami, available 24/7 in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole. You can also go to the nearest emergency room.
When is rest, therapy or a work change the better fit?
If your evaluation points to burnout without depression, your exhaustion is still real, and it still deserves care. Treatment for emotional exhaustion from work usually means changing what caused it:
- Time off where you can truly disconnect
- Clearer boundaries around email, late calls and workload
- Therapy to work through stress or a hard season
- A conversation with your manager or HR about your role, hours or support
- Steady sleep, regular movement and time outdoors
These steps can feel small next to how tired you are. Relief often builds gradually as the pressure eases, especially with a therapist’s help.
For burnout without depression, these steps come first. Nushama screens every member to confirm it’s an appropriate treatment before moving forward, and if you don’t have a therapist or psychiatrist, we can help with a referral.
When might ketamine or Spravato be part of care in South Florida?
Ketamine-based care becomes worth discussing when your clinician finds depression, especially depression that hasn’t lifted after two antidepressants. In that case, ketamine may be one supportive part of a broader plan that includes therapy and your existing care, rather than a stand-alone fix for burnout.
Two options to talk through with your clinician:
- IV ketamine, given through a small line in a vein while a clinician monitors you. It can support healing alongside therapy.
- Spravato (esketamine), a nasal spray made with a form of ketamine. It’s FDA-approved for treatment-resistant depression in adults, meaning depression that hasn’t eased after at least two antidepressants. Since 2025, it can be used on its own or with a daily antidepressant. It carries a boxed warning, the FDA’s most serious label alert, and is given under a federal safety program, with staff monitoring you. After each dose, you stay at the clinic for at least two hours and can’t drive until the next day after a restful sleep.
Ketamine-based care at Nushama includes preparation and integration support. Integration means sessions after treatment, with licensed therapists or trained integration coaches, where you make sense of what came up and bring it into daily life. For how the two options compare, see our Spravato and IV ketamine guide.
FAQ
Can an online PHQ-9 tell me whether it’s burnout or depression?
An online screen can be a helpful starting point, but it can’t separate burnout from depression on its own. Bring your score to a clinician, who will also ask about your sleep, mood, history and safety.
My therapist thinks this may be depression. Can Nushama work with them?
Yes. With your permission, we’ll speak with your therapist during screening, and Nushama encourages members to keep working with their own providers.
Do I need a referral to be evaluated?
No. You can request a consultation directly.
How do I start burnout treatment in Aventura?
It starts with an evaluation, and the plan depends on what it finds:
- Book a consultation and share a little about what’s been happening.
- Talk through your medical history, medications and how you’ve been feeling.
- If the evaluation points to burnout, the plan usually centers on rest, boundaries and therapy.
- If it points to depression, your clinician may talk with you about ketamine-based care. Our screening and treatment page explains what that involves.
Our Aventura center is at 2999 NE 191st St, Suite 200, at the corner of Biscayne Blvd and NE 191st St, right on that same drive up Biscayne.
Consultations are also available in Spanish; read about our bilingual Aventura clinic.
Knowing whether it’s burnout, depression or both tells you what kind of help to look for. If you’d like to find out, request a consultation with our Aventura team, in English or Spanish.