Stress or Burnout? How High Achievers Can Tell the Difference Before Their Body Decides for Them
Stacey Chillemi is well-known when it comes to health, resilience, and living fully with a chronic condition. She is the founder and CEO of Advisor Global Media, a 20-time bestselling author, and the host of The Advisor with Stacey Chillemi, an award-winning podcast ranked in the top 0.1% worldwide.
I had a seizure seconds before I walked down the aisle on my wedding day. Stress had been building for weeks, and I kept pushing through. If you're a high achiever who never slows down, here's how to tell whether you're stressed or burning out, and what to do before your body makes the decision for you.
The limo pulled up to the church. My bridesmaids stepped out ahead of me, laughing, fixing their dresses. My father reached for my hand. I stepped out in my wedding gown, and the seizure hit. My father held me in his arms, right there outside the church.
I've lived with epilepsy since I was a child, and stress has always been one of my biggest triggers. In the weeks before my wedding, my life was changing in every direction at once. I was overwhelmed, stretched thin, and doing what I had always done: telling myself I could handle it. My body disagreed.
When it passed, I was dazed and foggy. And then I heard it. The music inside the church had started to play. Moments later, still shaky, I walked down the aisle.
I'll never forget that day. Not only because of the seizure, but because of what it taught me. Stress doesn't care how important your day is. It doesn't wait for a convenient time. If you don't deal with it, eventually your body will deal with it for you.
What is stress, really?
Most of us think of stress as being busy or rushed. But it's much bigger than that. Daniel Zavrel, founder of Consciouz and creator of the ConsciouzScan method, put it simply when he joined me on The Advisor:
"Stress is simply experiencing an unpleasant feeling. You're not just stressed when you're in a hurry. You're stressed when you're angry, when you're grieving, when you're depressed. Everything that feels unpleasant is stressful."
That definition changed how I think about my own life. The hurtful comment that replays in your head all night is stress. The worry about a sick parent is stress. The pressure to be perfect is stress.
Here's the part most people miss: a little stress isn't the enemy. Daniel describes a healthy range of tension that keeps us sharp and motivated. The problem starts when stress never switches off.
Stress vs. Burnout: What's the difference?
Stress and burnout are related, but they are not the same thing. The World Health Organization describes burnout as the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It identifies three key features: feeling depleted or exhausted, growing mentally distant or cynical about your work, and a drop in how effective you feel.
A simple way to tell them apart: stress feels like too much. Too many demands, too much urgency, a mind that won't stop racing.
Burnout feels like not enough. Not enough energy, not enough motivation, not enough of you left to give.
Stress is a fire alarm. Burnout is what happens when the alarm rings for so long that you stop hearing it. That's why more leaders are starting to see burnout prevention as a leadership strategy, not just a personal problem.
What stress does to your body
Stress isn't only in your head. It's in every cell of your body. Research led by Yale neuroscientist Amy Arnsten has shown that stress weakens the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for focus, decision-making, and emotional control. Even short bursts of uncontrollable stress can quickly impair it, and chronic stress can change its structure over time, while the brain's threat system grows stronger. In other words, the more stressed you are, the harder it becomes to think your way out of stress.
The effects reach all the way into your cells. Researchers at Columbia University found that about 30 minutes after a stressful public speaking task, levels of fragments of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) rose in participants' blood. Mitochondria are the energy generators of your cells, and scientists believe these fragments may act as inflammatory signals in the body.
Stress can even spread from person to person. In a study from the Max Planck Institute, 26% of people who simply watched someone else go through a stressful task showed a significant rise in the stress hormone cortisol. When the person they were watching was their partner, that number jumped to 40%.
Breathwork coach John Hall summed it up beautifully on The Advisor:
"The body is the gorilla weighing 800 pounds in the room. As much as we get into a stressful situation, we think our thoughts influence our body, but it is often the other way around."
Why high achievers miss the warning signs
My epilepsy gave me something most people don't have: an alarm I couldn't ignore. In college, it was the studying late at night, the lack of sleep, and the pressure to get good grades. When I entered the working world, it was the constant travel. If someone said something hurtful, I would replay it in my mind over and over again. When I started a project, I had to finish it, and finish it well. Each of those stresses, at different times, ended in a seizure. Eventually, they ended in burnout.
Most high achievers don't get a warning that loud. Their alarms are quieter: a headache, a short temper, a night of bad sleep that turns into a month of bad sleep. So they keep going.
Daniel Zavrel describes high achievers with low body awareness and strong perfectionism as one of the groups most at risk of burnout. As he told me:
"Most people become what I call a left brain prisoner. We never learn to feel. So I always say: if you want to feel well, you have to learn to feel yourself well."
5 signs your stress is turning into burnout
Rest no longer restores you: You sleep, take a weekend off, or even go on vacation, and you still wake up exhausted. When rest stops working, stress has gone on too long.
You replay conversations for hours: A hurtful comment or tense meeting loops in your mind long after it's over. I know this one well. For years, a single unkind word could stay with me for days.
Small things feel huge: A slow internet connection or a late email suddenly feels overwhelming. When your stress cup is already full, one more drop makes it spill over.
You feel numb about work you love: The goals that once excited you now feel like obligations. This growing distance is one of the core features of burnout the World Health Organization describes.
Your body starts speaking up: Headaches, stomach issues, getting sick more often, trouble sleeping. For me, it was seizures. For you, it may be quieter. Either way, your body is asking you to pay attention. If you recognize yourself here, you may also relate to these signs of burnout in people who remain highly functioning. If symptoms persist, talk with your doctor. Ongoing physical symptoms always deserve a professional opinion.
What epilepsy taught me about letting go
Living with epilepsy meant I couldn't afford to let stress run my life. Every argument, every deadline, every hurtful word carried a physical cost. So I had to learn to live differently.
In group therapy, I learned a visualization I still use today. I picture my problems rolling down my arms, through my fingertips, and out into the universe. I added breathing techniques, yoga, and meditation. But the biggest change was in my mindset.
I learned that the little things don't deserve my energy. If it isn't major, I let it go. I learned to detach. When someone's words or actions start to pull me down, I don't argue. I step back and walk away quietly. Silence protects my peace better than winning any argument ever could.
I learned to take life one day at a time. No matter what we go through, we get through it. Every moment we spend carrying weight that doesn't matter is a moment we will never get back.
Daniel offers advice that echoes this:
"Embrace it. Don't fight it. First acknowledge it. It's there. Feel it in your body, breathe through it, and then ask: what is the signal behind it?"
5 tools to calm stress in minutes
Breathe into your belly: Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. As you breathe, focus on moving the hand on your belly rather than the hand on your chest. John Hall explains that this shift from shallow chest breathing to deeper belly breathing helps signal safety to your body.
Make your exhale longer: After a stressful moment, breathe in for a count of 3 and out for a count of 5, or in for 5 and out for 7. A longer exhale tells your body it's time to relax.
Use the breathwork, physiology, and mindset (BPM) reset: When you feel your heart rate rise, John Hall recommends a check with three steps: breathwork (slow your breath), physiology (check your posture), and mindset (reframe the thought that's stressing you).
Try breathing focused on your heart: This is Daniel Zavrel's signature exercise. Sit up straight with your feet flat on the floor and place your hands over your heart. Breathe in for about five seconds as if you're breathing into your heart, then out for five seconds, releasing tension. Add one word you want more of, such as calm, gratitude, or strength, and breathe it in. Once you know the rhythm, you can do it with your eyes open at your desk, in a meeting, or at a red light.
Let it roll away: Close your eyes and picture your worries rolling down your arms, through your fingertips, and away from you. It's simple, but it has carried me through some of the hardest moments of my life.
As John Hall reminds us:
"Don't beat yourself up. Don't judge yourself for becoming stressed or anxious. Educate yourself on it and learn how to redirect it."
Frequently asked questions
Can stress turn into burnout? Yes. The World Health Organization describes burnout as the result of chronic workplace stress that hasn't been successfully managed. Stress that goes on for too long without relief can gradually wear down your energy, motivation, and sense of effectiveness.
How do I know if I'm stressed or burned out? Stress usually feels like overdrive: racing thoughts, urgency, and too much to do. Burnout feels more like running on empty: exhaustion, detachment, and losing interest in work that once mattered to you.
Can stress trigger seizures? For many people living with epilepsy, yes. The Epilepsy Foundation lists stress as one of the most commonly reported seizure triggers. If you live with epilepsy, talk with your neurologist about a stress management plan that works for you.
How quickly do breathing techniques work? Many people notice a difference within a few slow breaths, especially when they lengthen the exhale. The real benefits build when you practice daily, so the calm becomes your default instead of your emergency plan.
Start today, not after the next deadline
My wedding day taught me that stress will always find a way to be heard. The question is whether you'll listen before your body forces you to.
You don't have to wait for a breakdown to start taking care of yourself. Start with one breath. One boundary. One moment of letting go.
As I always say, it's not the cards you were dealt. It's how you play the hand. If you'd like more strategies backed by experts for protecting your health and energy, listen to The Advisor with Stacey Chillemi, read my exclusive interview with Brainz Magazine, and visit my website to learn more about my work.
Read more from Stacey Chillemi
Stacey Chillemi, Media Founder & Award-Winning Podcaster
Stacey Chillemi is a leading voice in health, resilience, and living fully with a chronic condition. Living with epilepsy since childhood, she faced years of seizures, lost independence, and discrimination, and turned every setback into a mission, eventually testifying before Congress. She has since dedicated her life to helping others protect their health and build extraordinary lives, whatever challenges they face. She is the founder and CEO of Advisor Global Media, a 20-time bestselling author, and host of The Advisor with Stacey Chillemi, an award-winning podcast ranked in the top 0.1% worldwide. Her message: It's not the cards you were dealt, it's how you play the hand.
