Burnout & Functional Freeze Therapy in Vancouver
you're getting through your life. But it doesn't feel like much of a life.
You may still be working, answering texts, showing up for people, and getting the important things done. From the outside, you probably look fine. Inside, you're tired in a way that rest doesn't seem to fix, and you're starting to wonder if something about the way you're living needs to change.
what this can look like
You might:
❊ Get through work and your responsibilities, then have very little left for yourself
❊ Feel overwhelmed by small decisions or tasks that used to feel manageable
❊ Spend your free time scrolling, watching TV, or lying on the couch because starting anything else feels like too much
❊ Keep saying yes to people even when you're already stretched thin
❊ Feel tired, tense, irritable, or checked out much of the time
❊ Want more from your life but feel too overwhelmed to figure out what needs to change
❊ Keep waiting to feel like yourself again, even after trying to rest or take time off
You may have heard terms like burnout, functional freeze, masking, caregiver burnout, or chronic stress used to explain some of this. You don't need to know which one fits. What matters is that the way you've been getting through life isn't working very well anymore.
how we'll work together
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I won't give you another list of things you should be doing to take better care of yourself. When you're already overwhelmed, adding yoga, meal prep, meditation, or a better morning routine can become one more thing you're supposed to keep up with.
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Instead, we'll look at what is making your life so hard to sustain. Maybe you've spent years being the capable one, taking care of other people, or expecting yourself to keep going no matter how depleted you feel. If you're neurodivergent, you may also be using a huge amount of energy to stay organized, meet expectations, manage overwhelm, or appear more okay than you feel.
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We'll get curious about what happens when you try to slow down or make changes. You might know something needs to give but feel guilty saying no, worry about disappointing people, or have no idea what you want instead. Together, we can start sorting out what actually matters to you, what your limits are, and which parts of your life may need to change.
Sometimes the work is about finding better ways to cope. Sometimes it's about changing the things you're being asked to cope with.
what you may gain from this work
Clients working through burnout may develop:
❊ A clearer understanding of what is draining their energy and keeping them stuck
❊ More awareness of their limits before they reach the point of shutting down
❊ More confidence saying no, asking for help, or letting some things be good enough
❊ A better understanding of what they need to function well, including neurodivergent needs that may have gone unnoticed
❊ More ability to make choices based on what matters to them, rather than what they think they should be able to handle
❊ Greater clarity about what needs to change for life to feel more sustainable
The goal isn't to help you become better at pushing through. It's to help you build a life that doesn't require so much pushing through in the first place.
