What is Burnout?
Burnout is more than stress. It is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion that develops when demands consistently exceed your available resources.
It is often associated to work but burnout can also occur in response to navigating culture and expectations, moving abroad, living with chronic illness, or navigating neurodiversity in environments that are not designed to support your needs.
Whilst burnout can be caused by stress, it isn’t the same as stress. Stress tends to be short-term and whilst it may impact your sleep, energy, and emotions, you are still able to engage in the activity that is causing you stress. With burnout, you feel so detached and demotivated that it impacts your ability to function and you feel hopeless that your situation can change.
Signs of Burnout
Chronic exhaustion
Feeling emotionally drained
Difficulty concentrating
Reduced motivation
Increased irritability
Brain fog
Sleep difficulties like insomnia
Always feeling negative
Frequent overwhelm
Loss of enjoyment
Isolation e.g., cancelling plans; avoiding friends and family
Feeling trapped or stuck
Increased anxiety
Physical tension or headaches
What does support look?
Therapy can help you:
Understand the causes of burnout
Identify unsustainable patterns
Explore perfectionism and people-pleasing
Rebuild capacity gradually
Improve boundaries
Develop sustainable self-care practices
Reduce guilt around rest
Create realistic expectations
If this resonates with you, book a session today and let’s begin.