BURNOUT AND STRESS

Burnout isn’t just about being overworked or needing a vacation. It’s a deeper, more chronic erosion of your emotional, physical, and mental reserves. When stress becomes sustained and unrelenting, it can lead to a state of complete depletion—affecting your relationships, health, sense of purpose, and ability to feel joy.

At my practice, I specialize in helping adults who have spent years high-achieving, high-performing, and deeply caring—only to find themselves overwhelmed, depleted, and disconnected from the life they’ve worked so hard to build.

What Is Burnout?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon resulting from “chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed” (WHO, 2019). It is characterized by three core dimensions:

Emotional Exhaustion – Feeling drained, depleted, and unable to recover.
Depersonalization (Cynicism) – Developing a sense of detachment or negativity toward your work or the people around you.
Reduced Personal Accomplishment – Feeling ineffective, unmotivated, or questioning your competence.

Burnout is not classified as a medical condition, but its effects ripple into mental and physical health—often showing up as anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic fatigue, and even immune or cardiovascular issues.

These dimensions were originally identified in the landmark work of Christina Maslach, a pioneering psychologist who developed the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the most widely used measure of burnout. Her research reveals that burnout develops gradually, often going unnoticed until it severely interferes with functioning and well-being.

How Burnout Manifests Over Time

Burnout is rarely a sudden event. It unfolds in stages, which may include:

The Hustle Phase – You're driven, ambitious, and fully engaged—often ignoring early signs of fatigue or imbalance.
Chronic Stress – You begin to feel overwhelmed, yet push harder. Rest feels inaccessible or indulgent.
Breakdown – Your emotional resilience declines. You may feel numb, withdrawn, cynical, or disillusioned.
Functional Impairment – Anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, and physical ailments emerge. Relationships and job performance suffer.
Collapse or Crisis – Burnout may escalate into depression, identity loss, or health breakdowns.

Stress vs. Burnout: What’s the Difference?

Stress is the acute or chronic physiological response to demands or threats—real or perceived. Stress is part of life and can even be motivational in short bursts.

Burnout, however, is the result of prolonged, unresolved stress—especially in environments where you're constantly giving, with little time to replenish.

You might be burned out if…

You dread getting out of bed on workdays.

You're constantly tired but can't sleep.

You feel emotionally flat or disconnected from what used to matter.

You fantasize about quitting everything, but feel paralyzed by responsibility.

What Can Be Treated in Therapy?

Therapy offers a safe and structured space to interrupt the burnout cycle and begin recovering your energy, clarity, and emotional well-being.

I use evidence-based approaches rooted in:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) – to help you connect with your values, stop avoiding painful thoughts or emotions, and commit to meaningful action
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) – to reframe unhelpful thought patterns and regulate your nervous system
Mindfulness-Based Interventions – to calm your body, anchor you in the present, and rewire your stress response
Self-compassion and identity work – to rebuild trust with yourself and your needs

In therapy, you will:

Learn to identify your stress signals early
Explore your perfectionism, people-pleasing, or performance identity
Reconnect with values that matter to you (not just what you “should” do)
Rebuild sustainable habits for rest, boundaries, and emotional regulation

The Path to Recovery

Recovery from burnout is not just about doing less—it’s about becoming more aligned with what matters most. It’s about choosing wholeness over hustle, and compassion over criticism. You were not meant to live in survival mode.

Healing is possible. Wholeness is within reach. You don’t have to do this alone.

If you’re ready to take the first step toward balance and vitality, I'm here to walk alongside you.

Citations:

World Health Organization. (2019). Burn-out an "occupational phenomenon". Retrieved from WHO Website
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (2016). Understanding the burnout experience: recent research and its implications for psychiatry. World Psychiatry, 15(2), 103–111.
Pines, A., Aronson, E., & Kafry, D. (1981). Burnout: From Tedium to Personal Growth. Free Press.
Shanafelt, T. D., & Noseworthy, J. H. (2017). Executive leadership and physician well-being: nine organizational strategies to promote engagement and reduce burnout. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 92(1), 129–146.

Resources

Burnout and Well-Being Modules (AMA Ed Hub)

Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience (National Academy of Medicine)

Get in Touch

BURNOUT AND STRESS FAQs

1 / What are the symptoms of burnout?

Burnout symptoms include:

Emotional exhaustion: You feel drained no matter how much you rest.
Cynicism or detachment: You feel disconnected from your work or people you care about.
Reduced sense of accomplishment: You doubt your impact or competence, even in areas you once excelled in.
You may also experience sleep disruption, irritability, anxiety, lack of motivation, and physical symptoms like headaches or fatigue.

2 / What happens if you ignore burnout?

Ignoring burnout can lead to more serious health consequences—both psychological and physical. It often progresses into depression, anxiety disorders, chronic health problems, or a sense of identity loss. From a clinical perspective, avoiding burnout signals only deepens distress over time. Without intervention, burnout doesn't just go away—it intensifies.

3 / What is effective therapy for burnout?

ACT: Helps you reconnect with values, stop avoiding difficult emotions, and take committed action.
CBT: Targets unhelpful thought patterns like perfectionism, self-criticism, or catastrophizing.
Mindfulness practices: Regulate the nervous system and reduce emotional reactivity.
A tailored therapy plan focuses on both relief (symptom reduction) and restoration (rebuilding purpose and energy).

4 / How long does burnout recovery take?

Recovery time varies. Some feel significant relief in 8–12 weeks, especially with therapy and lifestyle shifts. Others may need longer to rebuild habits, identity, and nervous system health. What matters is consistent support, not speed. Think of recovery not as a finish line, but as a process of realignment with your core values and limits.

5 / How do I rebuild my life after burnout?

Rebuilding starts with pausing the cycle of over-functioning and redefining what matters most. In therapy, I guide you to:

Identify old patterns (e.g., people-pleasing, overworking)
Clarify your values
Set boundaries
Restore trust in your own inner signals
This process involves both mindset shifts and behavior changes—a combination proven effective in ACT and CBT.

6 / How is stress different from burnout?

Stress is often short-term and situational; it can even be motivating. Burnout results from chronic, unrelenting stress—especially when you feel powerless to change your circumstances. Stress says, “I have too much to do.” Burnout says, “I can’t do this anymore.” In therapy, we treat them differently: stress calls for regulation, burnout calls for deeper restructuring.

7 / What are the warning signs of stress?

Muscle tension or headaches, physical ailments
Racing thoughts or difficulty concentrating
Sleep issues (either insomnia or oversleeping)
Irritability or feeling on edge
Overwhelm, even with small tasks
Early awareness is key: noticing stress allows you to intervene before it evolves into burnout or anxiety

8 / Why can’t I handle stress?

If you’ve been asking this, it may not be about your capacity—but about your expectations, environment, or internal rules. ACT explores how your mind tries to control or suppress discomfort, which often backfires. CBT helps you reframe unrealistic beliefs about productivity or worth. Therapy teaches tools to respond skillfully to stress—not just "handle" it.

9 / What therapy is best for stress?

CBT: Identifying and changing distorted thinking that fuels stress
ACT: Accepting discomfort while choosing actions aligned with your values
Mindfulness: Increasing emotional regulation and resilience
We also incorporate nervous system-based tools to help your body come out of fight-or-flight more quickly.

10/ What does a stress therapist do?

A stress therapist helps you:

Understand your stress response
Build awareness of thought-emotion-behavior loops
Learn tools like grounding, thought defusion, and cognitive reframing
Set boundaries and build flexibility around perfectionism or urgency
The goal is not to eliminate stress, but to change your relationship with it—so it no longer runs your life.