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Burnout: who to see and what helps

Burnout · Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge

Burnout is what long-running, unmanaged stress at work can turn into: exhaustion, a growing distance from or cynicism about your job, and a sense of getting less done. The World Health Organization calls it an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition. The job matters more than the person, so the most useful steps are changing what you can at work and having your health checked. Your first visit at CARESPACE is with a counsellor, who will be a Registered Psychotherapist or a Registered Social Worker.

What burnout is

The definition most people use comes from the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11): a syndrome resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It has three parts: feeling drained of energy, feeling distant from or negative about your job, and being less effective at it. The word belongs to work, and it should not be applied to other areas of life.

Three things get confused with it. Stress is the wider term: a normal response to pressure from any direction, which burnout can grow out of when stress at work goes on for a long time. Depression is a health condition, and the two overlap enough to be mistaken for each other; pooled research across 69 studies found them related but not the same thing. The third is a physical problem, because thyroid trouble and vitamin deficiency can produce the same exhaustion.

Much of the research was done with physicians and other healthcare workers, which describes plenty of people in Waterloo Region’s hospitals and long-term care homes. The same picture fits a long stretch of overload at a tech company, in a classroom or on a plant floor.

Signs of burnout

  • Exhaustion: physical, emotional and mental
  • Cynicism about your work, or a critical, negative reaction to most things about it
  • Irritability, low energy or apathy
  • Loss of motivation and engagement at work
  • Putting things off, withdrawing, missing work, or being present without getting much done
  • Changes in sleep and appetite, lasting fatigue, pain or other physical complaints with no clear cause
  • Leaning on food, alcohol or drugs to cope

What causes burnout

  • Unreasonable demands. Usually too much work; sometimes too little.
  • Little control over how you do your job, or no say in decisions that affect it.
  • Unclear expectations about what your job is.
  • Too little recognition or reward.
  • Unfair treatment, bullying or harassment, or conflict that never gets resolved.
  • A clash of values between you and the job.
  • Too little support, at work or at home, and no room for life outside work.

How burnout is identified

There is no diagnosis to get, so nothing has to be confirmed before you ask for help. What does need checking is whether something else is going on, and that check is done by a physician or nurse practitioner. A diagnosis, where one is needed, and any medication come from a physician, nurse practitioner or psychiatrist; Registered Psychotherapists and Registered Social Workers provide counselling and do not diagnose or prescribe.

When to get help quickly

Low mood that has lasted longer than about two weeks is a reason to see a physician or nurse practitioner.

If you are thinking about suicide, or you do not feel safe, do not wait for an appointment: use the numbers below.

If you are in crisis or thinking about suicide, help is available right now.

  • Call or text 9-8-8, the Suicide Crisis Helpline, at any hour.
  • Call Here 24/7 at 1-844-437-3247 for addictions, mental health and crisis services in Waterloo Region, at any hour. here247.ca
  • Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if you or someone else is in immediate danger.

The emergency departments in Waterloo Region are:

  • WRHN @ Midtown (formerly Grand River Hospital), 835 King St. W., Kitchener
  • WRHN @ Queen’s Blvd. (formerly St. Mary’s General Hospital), 911 Queen’s Blvd., Kitchener
  • Cambridge Memorial Hospital, 700 Coronation Blvd., Cambridge

If you cannot get there safely, call 911.

What the evidence says about recovering from burnout

  • Changing the job does more than changing the person. In 19 studies of 1,550 physicians, programs of all kinds produced a small reduction in burnout. Changes made by the organization, to workload or schedules for example, had a larger effect than programs aimed at the individual, such as mindfulness or communication skills training. The authors say this supports the view that burnout is a problem of the whole organization rather than of individuals.
  • Programs for the individual did not shift the core symptoms on their own. Pooling four trials in employees with burnout showed no effect on exhaustion or cynicism. Individual approaches are not considered sufficient for severe burnout.
  • Individual strategies still have a place. Working less, taking more breaks and avoiding overtime; building skills such as time management and assertiveness; relaxation or mindfulness; support from colleagues and family; and cognitive behavioural therapy to change how you think about work.
  • UK guidance puts the first move with employers. The UK’s guidance on mental wellbeing at work (NICE) tells employers to offer support such as flexible hours or changes to the job to employees whose mental health is at risk, and not to use programs for individuals as a replacement for reducing the stressors in the work.
  • Exercise is unproven as a treatment. Pooling four trials (248 people) showed no significant difference between exercise and comparison groups, with too few good studies to be sure either way.

How CARESPACE helps with burnout

Counselling & Psychotherapy

Counselling for burnout works on two tracks. The first is the job: which of the causes above apply to you, what could realistically change, and how to raise it. The second is you: how you recover outside work, and the habits of thought that keep you saying yes, which is where cognitive behavioural therapy comes in. Better coping cannot fix a job that is unmanageable, and counselling should not pretend otherwise.

See our counselling team →

More about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) →

Nurse Practitioner

The medical check sits with a physician or nurse practitioner: an examination, a look for the thyroid problems and vitamin deficiencies that can mimic burnout, and an assessment for depression. Your own family doctor can do the same check.

See our nurse practitioner team →

Other services people ask about

Personal training, massage therapy and naturopathic medicine have not been shown to treat burnout. Exercise has shown no clear effect in trials. Massage has been tested for work stress in healthcare workers, where it may help, and not for burnout. The reviews include no trials of supplements or herbal products. Use them for what they are: movement, relief from aches, and attention to sleep and food.

Where most people start

With a counsellor. If exhaustion is the main thing and nobody has checked your health recently, see a physician or nurse practitioner as well, early on.

How your team works together

Two services do the work: counselling, and a medical check with a Nurse Practitioner or your family doctor. Tell each what the other has said.

  1. Evening availability Weekend availability

    Shagun Jariwala, BA (Hons), MACP candidate, RP (Qualifying)

    Psychotherapist

    CARESPACE Victoria North

    Languages: English, Hindi, Gujarati

    When stress starts spilling into your sleep, work, relationships, school, or family life, you do not have to sort through it alone.

    Book now About Shagun

  2. Weekend availability

    Cliann Dsouza, BA, MA, RP (Qualifying)

    Psychotherapist

    CARESPACE Westmount East

    You may be feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, or caught in worries that are difficult to switch off.

    Book now About Cliann

  3. Evening availability

    Zoey Hu, BA, MA, RP

    Psychotherapist

    CARESPACE Uptown Waterloo

    Languages: English, Mandarin

    If you’re searching for counselling in Waterloo, you’re probably not looking for a generic therapist.

    Book now About Zoey

Browse by service: counselling and nurse practitioner.

What to expect at your first visit

A counsellor is your first visit. Come prepared to describe:

  1. Your job. The role, the hours, what has changed, and which pressures weigh most.
  2. The three signs. How exhausted you are, how you feel about the work now, and whether you are getting less done.
  3. Your mood and health. Sleep, appetite, alcohol, and how long any low mood has lasted.
  4. Your room to move. What could change at work, who could help, and whether your employer has an assistance program.

You leave the first visit with a plan.

What you can do at home

  • Work out which causes apply to you: workload, control, recognition, fairness, values or support. That tells you what to ask for.
  • Raise your workload with your manager, and ask about flexible hours or changes to the job.
  • Where you can, work less, take more breaks and avoid overtime.
  • Find out whether your workplace has an Employee Assistance Program.
  • Lean on colleagues and family.
  • Try a relaxation or mindfulness practice.
  • Notice if you are relying on food, alcohol or drugs to get through. That is a sign of burnout, not a remedy.

How long burnout lasts

Burnout is often chronic, meaning the feelings can last a long time, and nobody can tell you how long recovery takes.

Help for burnout in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge

Kitchener. Counselling in Kitchener. Locations: Victoria North, Fischer-Hallman, Westmount East and Deer Ridge.

Waterloo. Counselling in Waterloo and Nurse Practitioner in Waterloo. Locations: Weber North, Uptown Waterloo and Waterloo GoodLife.

Cambridge. Counselling in Cambridge. Location: Hespeler Road.

The city pages linked above show the locations and practitioners for each service, with their next availability.

Common questions

Is burnout a medical diagnosis?

No. It is classified as an occupational phenomenon, not a medical condition, and it is not a formal medical diagnosis in Canada. You do not need a diagnosis to get help with it.

How is burnout different from depression?

Burnout is defined by work. Depression is a health condition and is not limited to work; it is described on our Depression page. One can be mistaken for the other, so if your mood has been low for more than about two weeks, see a physician or nurse practitioner instead of assuming it is burnout.

Is burnout the same as stress?

No. Stress begins when the demands of a job outweigh the resources you have for it; burnout may follow when that goes on for a long time and is not dealt with. Stress from outside work is covered on our Stress page.

Should I take time off work?

Working less, taking more breaks and avoiding overtime are changes an individual can make short of leave. The UK guidance on flexible hours and changes to the job is not a rule in Ontario, but it gives you something specific to ask your employer for. Medical leave is a decision to make with a physician or nurse practitioner.

Can I see someone about burnout in Cambridge?

Yes. Counselling is available at CARESPACE Hespeler Road. Book online or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will find the closest location with an opening.

Do I need a referral?

No. Book online or call 519-208-2273. You pay at each visit and receive a receipt for your extended health plan. More on fees and insurance →

Sources

Related conditions

The CARESPACE Central Reception Team

Ready to book?

Book online with a counsellor, or call 519-208-2273 and our Central Reception Team will match you with the right person and the closest location.

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