Burnout Therapy
When You’re Wondering if You’re Burned Out
Have you been living under chronic stress for so long that you hardly recognize yourself anymore? If so, you may be experiencing burnout.That may be burnout talking. Some of life’s stressors are inevitable, but some it’s important to know when it may be time to re-evaluate the chronic stress you’re under. People searching for burnout therapy are often scared they'll have to blow up their life. Getting help for burnout does’t mean a life overhaul or quitting your job necessarily, but it does mean taking an honest look at what is causing this chronic stress. Let's first help you feel like yourself again. Then we'll decide if bigger life changes are actually needed.
One thing that’s important to evaluate is, “Can I️ get back to being myself while in this environment?”. That’s a question I️ help clients explore and works towards because you feeling like you is not optional in my book. Life requires us to know when to press the gas, when to shift into neutral, and when it's time to hit the brakes. Burnout often happens when we've forgotten how to do anything except accelerate. Burnout isn't a sign that you're weak. It's often a sign that you've been strong for too long without enough recovery.
What To Do about Burnout when Life Doesn’t Stop Moving
The truth is that life rarely stops moving and that makes it challenging to make important life changes both internally (nervous system regulation and using calming techniques) and also external changes (career, lifestyle or relationship changes/adjustments). Sometimes it feels like you’re swimming and don’t have a chance to come up for air to evaluate these important facets of life. We often tell ourselves, “I’ll slow down….after the promotion, after the wedding, after this project, after my vacation, after my kids are older”. So then you keep going and get more burned out in the process. In therapy we work together to help you figure out how to make micro adjustments like becoming more aware of your body, changing your thought processes to be more hopeful and positive, honoring the limits your body is signaling to you. We do this piece by piece and get you more regulated, so from a grounded place you can make larger decisions about potential lifestyle change if that’s needed.
Recovering From Burnout
Recovering from burnout is something my clients report to be initially challenging but also nourishing, energizing, and freeing. For so long they’ve pushed themselves past their own limits and have finally realized that’s not sustainable long-term and that there’s a different way to live. Taking back control of your life both internally (how you think and behave) and externally (who you’re around, what environments you’re in, what you tolerate) is very freeing. This also allows you to start feeling connected to yourself for the first time in a long time, and that itself brings a deep level of peace and fulfillment. You haven’t lost yourself, you just need a life that honors who you are and how you want to show up, not a a life that relies on you abandoning your own needs. The good news is that you haven't lost yourself—you've simply been surviving for so long that you've become disconnected from the version of yourself you want to be. Therapy can help you reconnect with that person.
Therapy to Help With Burnout
I️ work with clients to help them identify if they are burned out by examining the symptoms of burnout and get clear on what’s contributing to burnout. I️ teach them evidence-based CBT techniques of how to think differently, behave differently and show up differently in their own minds, in their workplace, friendships and relationships. I️ use solution-focused interventions to help my clients critically evaluate if there are needed lifestyle changes that would alleviate burnout and we walk through that all piece by piece, making those changes feel manageable and not overwhelming or scary. I️ also focus on helping clients develop hobbies and passions and rediscover the importance of fun in their lives. As therapy progresses, many clients naturally begin reconnecting with parts of themselves that have been neglected—relationships, hobbies, creativity, faith or spirituality (if important to them), and a deeper sense of purpose outside of productivity. Work becomes an important part of life, rather than the measure of their worth.