Therapy for Burnout
Burnout recovery requires more than a vacation or time off.
Are you experiencing burnout?
[ ] Does work consume your mental and emotional energy?
[ ] On Sunday nights or Monday mornings, do you feel dread and anxious anticipation about returning to work?
[ ] Do you tie your value and self-worth to your work?
[ ] Are you constantly critical of yourself and your capabilities at work?
[ ] Do you feel stretched too thin at work?
[ ] Do you fantasize about quitting your job, but also fear things won’t be better at the next job?
[ ] Are you experiencing anxiety or depression related to your job?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be experiencing burnout, or at risk of ending up there.
Burnout is serious
For many working professionals, work is a big part of your life, even if you don’t want it to be. You spend much of your time and energy working, and a lot can be tied to your work: security, identity, approval from others, purpose, etc. We want work to be as sustainable and even enjoyable, but burnout can make that seem impossible. Burnout is far more serious than experiencing minor work stress or occasionally not feeling in the mood to work. Often times burnout is accompanied by symptoms of exhaustion, anxiety, depression, low self-worth, stuckness, detachment, or hopelessness.
And it’s complex
There are often internal and external pressures that fuel burnout. Maybe you’ve always been a high achiever, so when there is someone who is outperforming you, you get wracked with insecurity. Or you’re a perfectionist who demands nothing but the best from yourself. Perhaps your company culture prioritizes profit over personnel, and there is little respect for your human limitations. Or your boss fails to adequately recognize the effort you’ve been putting in.
Therapy can help!
This is why a vacation, a raise, or sometimes even changing jobs, isn’t enough to fix burnout. Therapy can help. I’ve worked with clients and companies to address burnout. Healing from burnout can involve everything from letting go of parental expectations and making work a smaller part of your life to learning how to communicate with difficult bosses and shift perfectionist standards. If you are experiencing burnout, I’d love to help—sign up for your free 15 minute consultation today.