Burnout counselling

Work stress · Exhaustion · Recovery

When demands keep outpacing recovery.

Burnout is a state of prolonged psychological and physiological depletion. It often develops when demands repeatedly exceed your capacity to recover, and it commonly involves emotional exhaustion, reduced effectiveness and a sense of detachment or cynicism. It is not a character flaw. It is a biological adaptation to sustained demand.

Signs you may notice

• Waking unrefreshed, or feeling tired no matter how much you rest
• Relying on caffeine, urgency or last-minute effort to get through the day
• Irritability, emotional reactivity or a shorter fuse than usual
• Difficulty concentrating, making decisions or switching off
• Feeling detached, cynical or less effective at work or at home
• Meals, exercise and social contact slipping as work spreads into evenings and weekends

A rhythm problem as well as a workload problem

Workload matters, but so does the loss of predictable recovery. Sleeping less to meet demands reduces concentration and emotional tolerance, which increases reliance on urgency and stimulants. Routines become irregular, the body clock loses its timing cues, and sleep becomes lighter or delayed, reinforcing the cycle.

How sessions can help

• Understanding the patterns beneath burnout rather than trying to push through it
• Mapping daily rhythms of waking, light, meals, movement and social contact, and steadying them gradually
• Looking at workload, values, boundaries, environment and support
• Drawing on approaches such as CBT, ACT and interpersonal therapy to work with beliefs about responsibility, communicate needs and reconnect with values
• Regulation strategies for a nervous system that has been in high gear for too long
• Bringing these areas together through the ARCHR²™ Framework

A steadier routine helps, but it cannot compensate indefinitely for an unsafe or impossible set of demands. Part of the work may be deciding what needs to change around you, as well as within you.

Burnout and your workplace

If your employer has an Employee Assistance Program agreement with Keystone Therapy, you may be able to access confidential sessions through it. Employers can also arrange support for teams under pressure. Learn about the EAP.

Burnout should not be managed alone when symptoms are severe or escalating. Speak with your GP or a mental health professional if you are unable to function in daily life, have persistent low mood or anxiety, are relying more on alcohol or other substances, or feel increasingly isolated. If you do not feel safe, call 000 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Further reading

Related areas