Health · Burnout or illness check

Burnout or Bug?

Answer six questions about duration, symptoms, temperature, and stress to get a read on whether you're dealing with illness, burnout, or something in between.

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Burnout or illness check

How long have you been feeling this way? What is the main thing you're experiencing? Do you have an elevated temperature or fever? Have you been under significant stress or pressure recently? How has your sleep been? When did you last have a genuine day off — no work, no obligations?

Think about how you've felt over the last few days or weeks.

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One-line situation summary optional · anonymised

Technofatty result card

Questions, awkwardly answered.

Pending Podge is asking the questions a doctor would ask first.

Is this illness or burnout?

Answer six questions and Podge will give you a read on which way the signals point.

— Duration

— Main symptom

— Temperature

Technofatty result

Is this illness or burnout?

Answer the questions to get a verdict on whether you're dealing with a bug, burnout, or a mix of both.

Use the result, sanity-check the assumption, then try a related tool if the question is bigger than one number.

Burnout or Bug? technofatty.com

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Burnout or Bug?

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What this means

This tool scores illness and burnout signals separately and returns a verdict based on which pattern is stronger. Temperature and duration are the most diagnostic signals.

Formula used

Parallel scoring: illness signals (short duration, aches, fever) versus burnout signals (long duration, brain fog, stress, poor sleep, no recent rest). Higher score wins.

Worked example

1-week duration, aches, elevated temperature, no stress context, sleeping fine — bug score wins. 5-week duration, brain fog, no temperature, prolonged stress, unrefreshing sleep, no day off in months — burnout score wins.

Common questions

Can burnout cause physical symptoms?
Yes. Advanced burnout frequently presents with physical symptoms including persistent fatigue, muscle aches, headaches, and digestive issues. This is why the tool includes physical symptoms in the burnout scoring as well as the illness scoring — the overlap is real and clinically recognised.

What should I do if it's burnout?
Rest helps but is not sufficient on its own if the source of load hasn't changed. The most effective intervention is reducing the cause — workload, obligations, ongoing stressors — not just taking a day off. If symptoms are severe or have lasted more than a few weeks, a GP can assess properly and may be able to provide a fit note.

Plain-English summary

Answer the questions to get a verdict on whether you're dealing with a bug, burnout, or a mix of both.

This section translates the result into a short, direct takeaway rather than leaving the page at a bare number.

Disclaimer: This tool identifies patterns associated with illness versus burnout. It is not a medical diagnosis. If your symptoms are severe, include a high temperature that doesn't resolve, or you are concerned, see a GP. Both burnout and illness are real — neither should be pushed through without proper attention.

Read the guide

How to tell if you're burnt out — and what actually helps

Burnout and illness share symptoms but respond to different things. Here's how to distinguish them and what to do about each.

Read the guide

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