You Don't Know How to Stop. You've Never Got To Learn.
You answered an email before you were technically awake. You said yes to something yesterday that you're already dreading. You still hear yourself say things will calm down soon, once this project wraps, once the holidays are over, once whatever's currently on fire gets put out.
Some part of you has stopped believing that. You just haven't stopped saying it.
This isn't only about work, even if work is the loudest part of it. It's saying yes at the office (or school) and then coming home to say yes there too. It's being the friend everyone calls, the parent who handles logistics for the whole family, the partner who remembers everything so nobody else has to, the child that parents or siblings have always relied on, or the student who does it all (and then some). You're stretched thin across every part of your life, and there's no one part you can point to and say, if I just fixed this, I'd be fine.
You may recognize some of this:
You know you should say no to something, but it feels easier to just agree, so you say yes and live with the resentment later
Even when you want to step back from something, some part of you feels like you're not allowed to, or that stepping back means something bad is going to happen
Sunday isn't a day off so much as the day you brace for Monday
Your shoulders are somewhere up around your ears and you've stopped noticing until someone points it out
You've had a tight chest, a clenched jaw, a migraine, or a wave of panic that came out of nowhere, and you told yourself you didn't have time to look into it
You've also gone the other way: you notice every small shift in your body and it sends you spiraling, wondering what's actually wrong with you this time
You lie awake running through whether you should quit your job, leave your relationship, or just push through another year, and you never land anywhere
Some part of you suspects that if you stopped being useful or productive, you'd stop being worth anything to the people around you, or you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself
You can't actually remember stepping back from something long enough to find out what would happen. Not because it went badly. Because you never got that far. Something always came up before you had the chance to try. Stopping isn't a skill you're bad at. It's one you've never had reason to practice or felt safe enough to do.
How Therapy for Burnout Works
The first step is to schedule a free, 15-20 minute phone consultation to decide if we think we’re a good fit. We’ll talk briefly about what is bringing you to therapy and how I might be able to support you. I’ll answer any questions you have and let you know what to expect before setting up an intake appointment.
During our first session (intake), we’ll explore what you’re seeking support with in more detail. I will ask questions about your life, listen, and give you space to share your story. My goal will be to gather background information from you and get to know you better before embarking on our work.
At the end of our first session, we’ll define the main goals you want to achieve during our time together. We’ll discuss some of the barriers you may be facing, and collaborate on a plan that meets your needs.
In our subsequent sessions, we will continue to work on the goals you created at the beginning of therapy. If new problems arise, we will hold space for those problems too. We will check in on your goals and make adjustments as necessary.
What Working Together Looks Like
Not becoming someone who does less and cares less. Becoming someone who can do less and still feel like themselves.
Clients doing this work with me describe knowing how to say no, and actually saying it, instead of agreeing and quietly resenting it later. Noticing they have energy left at the end of a Tuesday instead of just surviving until the weekend. Feeling less resentment in their closest relationships because they've stopped absorbing everything alone and started asking for an actual share of the load. And somewhere in there, starting to know their own worth isn't up for renegotiation every time they say no to something.
The exhaustion doesn't disappear because you learned a new breathing technique. It eases because the pattern underneath it finally gets some room to shift and change.
If this sounds like where you are, you don't have to keep pushing through it by yourself. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation and we'll talk, see if we're a good fit, and go from there.
What Getting There Looks Like
Not becoming someone who does less and cares less. Becoming someone who can do less and still feel like themselves.
Clients doing this work with me describe knowing how to say no, and actually saying it, instead of agreeing and quietly resenting it later. Noticing they have energy left at the end of a Tuesday instead of just surviving until the weekend. Feeling less resentment in their closest relationships because they've stopped absorbing everything alone and started asking for an actual share of the load. And somewhere in there, starting to know their own worth isn't up for renegotiation every time they say no to something.
The exhaustion doesn't disappear because you learned a new breathing technique. It eases because the pattern underneath it finally gets some room to shift and change.
If this sounds like where you are, you don't have to keep pushing through it by yourself. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation and we'll talk, see if we're a good fit, and go from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
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