Stress & Burnout
When you've been holding everything together for too long
You may still be functioning.
You're going to work. Answering messages. Taking care of other people. Getting things done.
But it feels like you're running on fumes.
Burnout often develops gradually. What starts as a busy period can become months of feeling overwhelmed, irritable, exhausted or emotionally disconnected.
Sometimes people don't realize how depleted they are until even small demands begin to feel enormous.
Signs you may be experiencing burnout or chronic stress
You might notice:
Feeling exhausted even after resting
Dreading work, school or responsibilities you once managed well
Becoming increasingly irritable or impatient
Having trouble concentrating
Feeling emotionally numb or disconnected
Procrastinating because tasks feel overwhelming
Having difficulty switching off
Feeling guilty whenever you rest
Believing that everything depends on you
Losing enjoyment in activities outside of work
Feeling like you're constantly behind
Wondering why you "can't handle things" the way you used to
Burnout isn't simply a failure to manage your time better.
Often, it involves a complicated combination of demands, expectations, boundaries, values, perfectionism, relationships, workplace or academic environments, and the pressure we place on ourselves.
How Therapy Can Help
Therapy gives you somewhere to examine what's draining you rather than simply finding new ways to tolerate being depleted.
You might work on identifying unsustainable patterns, setting boundaries, understanding perfectionism or people-pleasing, managing competing demands, reconnecting with meaningful activities, developing more realistic expectations, and learning to notice your needs before reaching the point of exhaustion.
Sometimes therapy is about changing coping strategies.
Sometimes it's about recognizing that something in your life needs to change.
Often, it's both.
We work with adults experiencing workplace stress, academic pressure, graduate-school stress, caregiver stress, work-life imbalance, perfectionism, overwhelm, chronic stress and burnout.
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”