Counselling for stress and burnout
When you've been running on empty for too long, it's hard to see a way out. Therapy can help you understand what's driving the cycle and find a more sustainable way of living.
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When stress becomes burnout
A certain amount of stress is normal. But when it becomes constant, when you can't switch off, when you're tired all the time and still can't stop pushing, that's something different.
Burnout often creeps up gradually. You might notice you're more irritable than usual, that you're dreading things you used to enjoy, or that you're getting through each day on autopilot. You might feel physically exhausted but mentally wired, unable to rest even when you have the chance. Sleep suffers, concentration goes, and eventually it starts to feel like there's nothing left in the tank.
It's not just about having too much to do, although that's often part of it. Burnout tends to happen when there's a mismatch between what's expected of you and what you actually have to give. And for many people, the expectations that are hardest to meet are the ones they place on themselves.
How psychodynamic therapy helps with stress and burnout
Most advice about stress focuses on practical solutions: better time management, saying no more often, taking breaks. These things can help, but they don't address why you got to this point in the first place.
Psychodynamic therapy goes deeper. We explore what drives the need to keep going, to take on more than you can manage, to put everyone else's needs before your own. Often these patterns have roots in earlier experiences. Maybe you learned that your worth was tied to what you produced. Maybe rest felt like laziness, or saying no felt dangerous.
Understanding these patterns doesn't just help you recover from burnout. It helps you build a relationship with work and responsibility that doesn't leave you depleted. Many people find that therapy changes not just how much they take on, but how they feel about themselves in the process.
You can't pour from an empty cup
If you're running on fumes and can't find the off switch, therapy can help. I'm happy to have a conversation about what's going on.