Is it Stress or Burnout? Symptoms and Treatment

In today’s fast-paced world, feeling stressed and burnt out has become an increasingly common challenge that many people face. Stress can accumulate over time and lead to burnout – but with the right treatment and support you can recover and regain balance in your life. In this blog post, we’ll explore the symptoms of stress and burnout, effective treatment options, and the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for reducing stress and recovering from burnout.

What is the difference between Stress and Burnout?

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.

Signs of Stress and Burnout

Have you ever found yourself wondering ‘am I burnt out?’. Here are the most common symptoms of stress and burnout I see in my clients:

In terms of our thinking, stress can look like worrying, indecision, negativity, foggy thinking, hasty decisions, and impaired judgement.
In terms of our emotions, stress can look like a loss of confidence, apprehension, indifference, depression, anxiety, and irritability.
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 behaviour, stress can look like restlessness, withdrawal, avoidance, substance use, accident prone, and putting things off.
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).

Stress & Burnout Treatment

Fortunately, there are several effective treatments available. These include:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): CBT is an effective approach for addressing burnout, helping you address and manage stressors. It focuses on developing healthy coping strategies so that you can find balance and build resilience.
Mindfulness-Based Therapies: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) help you to become more aware of your thoughts and emotions without judgment, allowing you to cultivate a greater sense of self-awareness and acceptance.

How to Recover from Burnout with CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is regarded as an excellent treatment choice for burnout. It focuses on helping you recover from your current episode of burnout, whilst also learning how to manage stress more effectively to prevent future episodes. CBT provides you with the tools and support you need to develop healthier coping strategies and lead a more balanced life.

Key components of CBT for stress and burnout may include:

Psycho-education: Learning about the nature of stress and burnout, its causes, and treatment options.
Formulation: Understanding how your stress and burnout developed, how it presents itself, and what maintains it.
CBT Tools: Building healthy coping strategies. Stress management techniques. Spotting your signature stress response. Identifying your early warning signs of burnout. Building resilience. Boundary setting. Self-care practices.
Relapse Prevention: Putting together a plan at the end of therapy to help you continue progressing towards your goals and to minimise any setbacks.

The Power of CBT for Stress and Burnout

CBT offers numerous benefits for individuals who are feeling stressed and burnt out, helping you regain a sense of balance and improving the quality of your life. By developing more effective techniques to manage stressors, you can learn how to prevent future episodes of burnout.

Here are some of the therapy benefits my stress and burnout clients find most powerful:

Learning how to manage stress so that it doesn’t take over your life
Breaking bad habits and stop falling into the same old vicious cycles
Learning healthy coping strategies that don’t leave you feeling even worse
Understanding your signature stress response to stop early warning signs of burnout
Learning how to set and implement healthy boundaries so that you don’t become overwhelmed
Being able to prioritise your mental health and find more balance in your life

If you or someone you know is feeling stressed and struggling with burnout, consider reaching out to a qualified therapist who can provide support and effective treatment. With the right help and support, it is possible to recover from burnout and live a life free from relentless levels of stress.

Find Out More

I specialise in working with perfectionists. It’s no surprise that perfectionism often leaves you feeling stressed and burnt out! As a result I have lots of experience in helping clients successfully overcome stress and burnout. If you’re looking for a BABCP Accredited Senior CBT Therapist you can book an appointment here.