natalie englander

Stress occurs when the demands of our lives become too great for us to cope with. It can manifest in a number of different ways, but there are usually mental, emotional, physical and behavioural responses to stress - such as thinking negatively, feeling irritable, experiencing fatigue, and drinking more alcohol to cope.

Burnout is a form of exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged emotional and physical stress. It's the stage beyond stress, where we now feel overwhelmed. Stress often involves doing too much, whereas once we reach burnout it can often swing the other way where we're now not doing enough as a result of how we feel.

The first step to overcoming stress and burnout is to understand what burnout really is, the signs of stress, how cbt for stress and burnout works, and how stress and burnout therapy can help you.

What is Stress and Burnout?

Burnout can look like emotional exhaustion (fatigue, anxiety, irritability), disconnection (isolation, lack of empathy, loss of enjoyment, pessimism), and decreased motivation (poor performance, lack of productivity, lack of purpose).

In terms of our behaviour, stress can look like restlessness, withdrawal, avoidance, substance use, accident prone, and putting things off.

In terms of our body, stress can look like fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, skin irritation, frequent illnesses, and a tight chest.

In terms of our emotions, stress can look like a loss of confidence, apprehension, indifference, depression, anxiety, and irritability.

In terms of our thinking, stress can look like worrying, indecision, negativity, foggy thinking, hasty decisions, and impaired judgement.

Here are the most common signs of stress and burnout I see in my clients:

Signs of Stress and Burnout

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Stress and Burnout begins with understanding how your stress developed, how it presents itself, and what maintains it.

We then work on building healthy coping strategies and bringing more balance into your life using a variety of CBT tools and techniques (and I can include Mindfulness and Compassion Focused Therapy techniques too if useful).

And lastly we focus on identifying what your signature stress response is, so that you can spot any future early warning signs of stress occurring and prevent burnout.