Katie Dunnigan Psychotherapy (M.A, R.P)
Holistic Therapy for Eating Disorders, Depression and Anxiety, Burlington, Ontario
Burnout & Chronic Stress Therapy
The way you use your mind influences your stress levels. Over time, people experience physical, emotional, and mental difficulties from stress. It may even show up as symptoms such as overeating, having too many glasses of wine, reacting with anger, shopping to try to feel better, watching too much TV, or feeling blue. With enough time, this can lead to burnout: a state of exhaustion from prolonged stress.
It isn't enough to reframe your thinking or change the language you use to describe events. Instead, a whole new level of perception is needed. This new lens is created through deeper awareness and self-inquiry. By becoming still and present, your fight/flight/freeze response settles and you can let go of thoughts that keep you stuck, see your life from a more objective perspective, free yourself from conditioned responses, become more present, and take better care of yourself. Together, we will work on building your inner strength and resilience so that you can remain steady in the face of stress.
Check-out my Individual Therapy page to explore the process I use to move people towards healing, or book a free consult to discuss in more detail.
Free Zoom Consult
Symptoms of Burnout and Chronic Stress:
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Feeling unmotivated, disillusioned, or pessimistic
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Extreme fatigue or low energy
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Sleeping too much or too little
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Inability to eat, or eating too much
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Feeling checked out of your life - struggling to be present
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Lack of enjoyment in normal activities
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Getting sick often
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Struggling to set boundaries or uphold them
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Feeling helpless, like a failure, or full of self-doubt
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Withdrawing or isolating from others
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Having emotional outbursts - lashing out in anger or weeping
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Experiencing physical symptoms of stress (headaches, bodily tension, flare up of chronic illnesses, etc.)
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Having a sense that you are often stressed, and feeling that there is nothing you can do about it
This list is not exhaustive. Stress and burnout show up in unique ways for different people. Together we will explore what is happening for you and whether it may constitute burnout.
Ready to slow down inside, find peace of mind, and let go of control? Contact me for a free virtual or phone consult.
Free Zoom Consult
For more information on the ways our thoughts keep us stuck, check-out my blog post on Self-Care and Mental Health: Why Willpower Doesn't Work