6 Signs Youre Burnt Out Not Lazy

6 Signs Youre Burnt Out Not Lazy. There’s actually a lot of overlap between laziness and burnout that can make it difficult to differentiate between the two. Burnout is defined as “a negative state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive stress and an inability to cope with it.” To educate ourselves and better understand the nature of burnout, especially when we ourselves are at risk, here are a few tell-tale signs that what you’re experiencing right now isn’t actually laziness, but burnout.