Burnout, Stress, and the Myth of "Coping" Alone
Article by Tiffany Ha
Counsellor & Gestalt Psychotherapist
Perth, Western Australia
Do you have a never-ending to-do list? Do you feel like you don't even have time to take a breath? For many people, the demands of modern life feel relentless. In a culture obsessed with consumption, productivity, and optimisation, chronic stress has become the new normal.
But "normal" doesn't mean healthy. Chronic stress manifests in the body in a range of ways: muscle tension, headaches, increased heart rate and blood pressure, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal issues, and disturbed sleep. Over time, the body begins to hold this stress, bracing itself for the next demand, the next task, the next threat.
Understanding the Stress Cycle
A stressor is a stimulus that triggers a stress response in the body. Stressors can be external (deadlines, conflict, sensory overstimulation) or internal (negative self-talk, worry, unrelenting standards). We experience stress in a cycle: you perceive a threat, your body prepares to respond, and ideally, you then receive the signal that the threat has passed. However, in modern life, we often deal with the stressor (answer the email, finish the task) without ever completing the stress response cycle. We stay stuck in a loop, revving the engine but never crossing the finish line. This leads to feelings of frustration, irritability, guilt, shame and dread.
That's where burnout begins.
What Is Burnout?
Burnout is more than just feeling tired. It's a state of emotional and physiological depletion that arises from chronic, unrelieved stress, characterised by feelings of hopelessness and powerlessness. It's especially common in caregiving professions, parenting, activism, and workplaces with high demands and low support.
Psychologist Christina Maslach identifies three key components of burnout:
- Emotional exhaustion: the fatigue that comes from caring too much, for too long: "I can't carry this any longer".
- Depersonalisation: a sense of detachment or cynicism, particularly toward your work or others: "I feel as if I'm just going through the motions".
- Reduced sense of accomplishment: the persistent feeling that nothing you do really matters or makes a difference: "what's the point?"
Interestingly, research suggests gendered patterns in burnout, with men more likely to experience depersonalisation, and women more often reporting emotional exhaustion.
The Cost of Disconnection
Burnout disconnects us from our bodies, our emotions, and our sense of self. We begin to override our needs and ignore our limits; we become numb and desensitised. This can have a negative impact on relationships because it reduces our capacity to effectively communicate with and care for others.
In a world that prizes resilience, grit and self-sufficiency, we often try to 'self-care' our way out of burnout, which usually means just adding on more tasks to the to-do list. While exercise, meditation, healthy eating and journalling can work, often they are not enough. As Emily Nagoski reminds us: the cure for burnout isn't just self-care—it's each other.
Coming Home to Yourself
Recovering from chronic stress and burnout involves reconnection with yourself and others. In therapy, that might include learning to track physical tension, identify emotions as they arise in the moment, and finding ways to articulate your internal experience so you can identify your needs and respond more adaptively. Bodily sensations and emotions are trailheads that help us discover old beliefs and patterns formed from past experiences or relationships
If you're feeling the weight of chronic stress or burnout, you don't have to carry it alone. Reach out to book a session with Tiffany and take the first step toward feeling more grounded and supported.
Tiffany Ha
Counsellor
Gestalt Psychotherapist
Phone: 0401 978 003
Email: [email protected]
Mount Lawley Counselling Centre
13 Alvan Street
Mt Lawley (Perth), WA 6050
About the Author - Tiffany Ha
As a counsellor and accredited Gestalt therapist, Tiffany is highly regarded for her presence, authenticity and depth. Drawing on fifteen years of experience working with people in educational and therapeutic settings, she combines evidence-based practices with her intuitive ability to see, hear and understand a person's psychological process.
For more information, please see Tiffany Ha's profile page
Article was reviewed by Perth Psychologist Hank Glorie before being published in May 2025