Stress and Burnout

Do feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities and obligations? Do you feel like you are running on an empty tank, which does not seem to ever be full? Are you feeling like you don’t care as much as you used to and feel drained even before getting started on a task? You may be experiencing an immense amount of stress which could be leading to burn out, if you’re not already there. When you have reached the point of burnout, the enjoyment and positivity you experienced in your relationships and in your career start to decrease and are replaced with feelings of cynicism, hopelessness and negativity. You started to feel disillusioned with life and your responsibilities, and no longer feel capable of meeting the demands of their personal or professional lives.

We all will experience some level of stress throughout our lives, and some periods may bring more stress then others. Some stress is healthy and can have a positive effect on our performance. Pervasive and high levels of stress can negatively impact our mental well-being and also have some serious physical effects such as high cholesterol, heart disease, and chronic pain just to name a few.

In order to cope with stress and burnout you may develop unhealthy coping strategies such as substance use, emotional eating, gambling, or self-harm. These coping mechanisms may help to relieve stress in the moment but they can also contribute to the development of other mental health issues. Engaging in therapy can help you to recognize unhealthy coping strategies you are engaging in and finding ways to replace them with more healthy and adaptive coping skills. Therapy can also be a space where you can identify and recognize any problematic thinking patterns that may be contributing to their experience of stress. There are many different types of therapy approaches that can be used to address stress, and together you and your therapist will determine what the right fit is for you and your goals. If you would like to find out more click on the “Get Started” button above.