ballast / burden
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burden
A psychological or emotional burden that is felt to be unnecessary and stressful.
Nach der Aussprache fühlte er sich, als hätte er viel emotionalen Ballast abgeworfen.
After the honest conversation, he felt as if he had shed a lot of emotional burden.
'Ballast' has a literal meaning as weight for stabilization (e.g. in ships) and a more common figurative meaning as a psychological burden. The context makes clear what is meant: is it about technology or about feelings?
Das Schiff lud zusätzlichen Ballast, um bei Sturm stabil zu bleiben.
The ship loaded additional ballast to remain stable in the storm.
In the figurative sense, 'Ballast' (burden) is often combined with adjectives such as 'emotional', 'seelisch' (psychological/emotional), or 'unnötig' (unnecessary) to describe the type of burden more precisely.
Er trägt seit seiner Kindheit viel emotionalen Ballast mit sich herum.
He has been carrying around a lot of emotional baggage since childhood.
The literal meaning of 'Ballast' as physical weight is used mainly in technical fields such as shipping or aviation.
Das U-Boot nahm Wasser als Ballast auf, um tiefer zu sinken.
The submarine took on water as ballast in order to sink deeper.
The most common and important expression is 'Ballast abwerfen' (to shed ballast). It means to free oneself from burdensome things, thoughts, or obligations.
Um neu anzufangen, musste sie zuerst allen alten Ballast abwerfen.
In order to make a fresh start, she first had to shed all her old ballast.
weight
'das Gewicht' and 'der Ballast' both have to do with heaviness or load. 'Gewicht' is neutral and describes how heavy something is. It can also figuratively mean that something is important. 'Ballast', on the other hand, usually sounds negative: it is something heavy or burdensome that you do not really need. On ships or balloons, however, ballast can also be used deliberately for stability. The words can be confused because both have to do with being heavy. As a practical rule: use 'Gewicht' for kilograms or importance, and 'Ballast' more for an unnecessary or burdensome load.
Nach dem Umzug wollte Mehmet alten Ballast loswerden und verkaufte viele Dinge.
After the move, Mehmet wanted to get rid of old baggage and sold many things.
In der Küche prüft Lisa das Gewicht des Mehls für den Kuchen.
In the kitchen, Lisa checks the weight of the flour for the cake.