Stress and burnout can build gradually. Sometimes you don’t realise just how much you have been carrying until your usual ways of coping no longer seem to work.
You may be managing work, family, relationships, financial pressures or other responsibilities, while continuing to expect yourself to keep going. You might look as though you are coping on the outside while feeling exhausted, overwhelmed or stretched beyond your capacity underneath.
Often, what people need first is simply space to stop, breathe and ground themselves. When your mind has been constantly busy with thoughts, worries and responsibilities, it can be difficult to switch off. Your body may also remain tense or alert, even when you know you need to rest.
This is where body-centred therapy can be particularly helpful. Alongside talking, we can gently bring awareness back to your body, helping you recognise when you're running on empty, reconnect with what you need, and begin finding ways to feel more settled.
I'm interested in understanding what has brought you to this point, what your life is asking of you, and what feels possible from here. You don't need to have everything worked out before reaching out. We simply begin with where you are today.
Understanding Stress and Burnout
Stress is part of life, but there are times when the demands placed on us begin to feel greater than what we can reasonably carry. You may be managing pressure at work, family responsibilities, financial concerns, health issues, or several things at once.
Often, the people I work with are highly responsible and used to keeping things going. You may be someone others rely on, and you may have become very good at pushing through, meeting expectations and carrying more than your share.
Over time, though, this can take a toll. You might notice that you are exhausted, irritable, overwhelmed or finding it harder to concentrate. You may feel as though you are constantly “on”, or that there is very little space left for yourself.
Burnout isn't a sign of weakness or failure. More often, it's the result of carrying more than your mind and body can sustainably hold for too long.
Understanding what is happening in your life, as well as how stress is showing up emotionally and physically, can be an important place to begin.
How Therapy for Stress and Burnout May Help
When we are under prolonged pressure, it can become difficult to know what we actually need. Everything can feel urgent, and even making small decisions can become tiring.
Together, we can explore questions such as: What are you carrying? What is asking too much of you? Which expectations genuinely matter, and which have become difficult to sustain?
One question I often come back to with clients is: What feels possible for you right now? Not what you think you should be able to do, and not what someone else expects of you, but what you are genuinely willing and able to do at this point in your life.
As we begin to understand how stress is affecting your body and nervous system, it often becomes easier to recognise when you're approaching your limits rather than only noticing once you're completely overwhelmed. From there, we can explore what supports recovery, resilience and sustainable change.
The aim isn't to ask more of you. It's to help you understand what truly supports your wellbeing, so that your energy is no longer spent simply surviving but can gradually return to living.
How I Work with Stress and Burnout
Therapy for stress and burnout begins with understanding what has brought you to this point and what your mind and body have been carrying. We look together at the pressures in your life, the ways you have learned to cope, and what may have become difficult to sustain.
Psychotherapy provides space to explore the thoughts, beliefs, relationships and patterns that may be contributing to ongoing stress. We may notice patterns such as over-responsibility, people-pleasing, perfectionism or feeling that you always need to keep going. Understanding where these patterns come from can make it easier to consider what you genuinely want to change.
Because prolonged stress is also experienced physically, somatic psychotherapy brings attention to what is happening in your body and nervous system. You may notice tension, exhaustion, restlessness, difficulty switching off or a sense of always being “on”. Becoming more aware of these responses can help you recognise your limits earlier and develop a greater capacity to settle and recover.
My work also draws on Gestalt therapy, Jungian psychology and Transactional Analysis. These perspectives offer different ways of understanding your experience, including the expectations you carry, the roles you may have taken on, and parts of yourself that may be asking for something different.
Throughout the work, we pay attention to what feels possible for you now. Rather than adding another set of expectations to an already overloaded life, therapy can provide space to reconnect with yourself and consider what needs to change so that your life becomes more sustainable.
The aim isn’t simply to help you cope with more. It’s to understand what has been draining your capacity, reconnect with what you need, and develop ways of living that allow more room for rest, choice and wellbeing.
When might it help to reach out?
You might be considering therapy because you’re tired or feeling overwhelmed, or because you’ve noticed that the way you’ve been managing things is no longer sustainable. Perhaps you’re functioning on the outside but feel exhausted underneath. You may be getting through work and family commitments while having very little left for yourself, or you may have reached a point where even small things feel like too much.
Burnout can leave people questioning themselves. You might wonder why things that once felt manageable now seem impossible, or feel guilty because everyone else appears to be coping. You don’t have to wait until you’re reaching breaking point before asking for support. Sometimes reaching out is simply a recognition that you’ve been carrying a lot and that it might be time not to carry it all on your own.
Therapy offers a place to pause, make sense of what has been happening, reconnect with your own capacity, and consider what a more sustainable way of living might look like.
How do I know if it’s stress or burnout?
Stress and burnout can feel similar, and sometimes they overlap. Stress can happen when you’re dealing with more demands than you feel able to manage, while burnout can develop when that pressure continues for too long without enough opportunity to recover.
You might notice ongoing exhaustion, feeling emotionally drained, becoming more withdrawn or irritable, losing motivation, or finding that things that once felt manageable now feel overwhelming. Therapy can provide a space to step back and understand what’s happening for you, rather than having to work it out on your own.
Can therapy help if I can’t switch off?
Yes. When you’ve been under pressure for a long time, your mind and body can become accustomed to staying alert, making it difficult to relax even when you have time to rest. Therapy can help you understand what keeps this pattern going while also bringing greater awareness to your body’s responses. Over time, this can support a greater ability to recognise when you are activated and find ways to settle.
How can therapy help me set better boundaries?
Boundaries can be difficult when you’ve become used to putting other people’s needs first or feeling responsible for keeping everything going. Therapy can help you understand what makes it difficult to say no, ask for what you need, or step back from responsibilities that have become too much. From there, you can begin developing boundaries that protect your energy while still feeling consistent with your values and relationships.
What if I don’t know how to slow down?
You don’t need to know how before starting therapy. For many people, constantly doing and coping has become such a familiar way of functioning that stopping can initially feel uncomfortable or even unsafe. Therapy provides an opportunity to begin noticing what happens when you slow down, without forcing yourself to change everything at once. We can start with what feels manageable and build from there.
What are some signs of burnout, and what can help?
Burnout can show up as ongoing exhaustion, irritability, difficulty concentrating, feeling emotionally flat or overwhelmed, losing motivation, or finding that things that would normally feel manageable suddenly take a lot of effort. You may also notice changes in sleep, tension in your body, headaches, or difficulty switching off.
Small changes can sometimes help your nervous system begin to settle. This might include getting outside for a walk, slowing your breathing, taking regular breaks, protecting your sleep, spending time away from work or other demands, and making space for activities that help you feel grounded or connected. These things may not be enough on their own when burnout has become significant, but they can support recovery alongside a deeper look at what has been placing ongoing demands on you.
Therapy can help you understand what your particular signs are telling you, what may be contributing to them, and what needs to change so that recovery can be more sustainable.