Therapy for Stress and Burnout in Surrey
Feeling Worn Down, Checked Out, or Like You’re Holding It All Together (Barely)?
You’re not alone. Stress and burnout don’t always arrive with a dramatic crash. Sometimes, they show up gradually, a missed night of sleep here, a growing fog of resentment there. Until one day, everything feels like too much… or nothing feels like anything at all.
Whether you’re functioning on autopilot, constantly overwhelmed, or no longer able to show up the way you used to, therapy can help you find your way back to yourself.
At Tidal Trauma Centre, we offer trauma-informed therapy for stress and burnout helping you recover your energy, your sense of self, and your ability to live from a place of presence rather than pressure.
Understanding the Difference Between Stress and Burnout
Stress and burnout are not the same, though they’re often connected.
Stress is your body’s natural response to perceived challenges. It can be energizing in small doses, but when it becomes chronic, it wears down your nervous system, floods your body with cortisol, and makes it hard to rest or think clearly.
Burnout, on the other hand, is what happens when your system can no longer keep up. It’s the result of long-term, unrelenting stress and it often brings emotional numbness, disconnection, and a deep sense of depletion.
What Stress and Burnout Can Look Like
Symptoms are often dismissed as “normal”, especially by high-achieving professionals, caregivers, or trauma survivors. But they’re not just part of being busy. They’re signals from your nervous system asking for care.
Common signs include:
Physical symptoms: Headaches, jaw tension, body aches, fatigue, disrupted sleep
Emotional overwhelm: Irritability, anxiety, frequent frustration or tears
Cognitive strain: Forgetfulness, poor focus, decision fatigue
Disconnection: Numbness, lack of interest in things you used to enjoy, emotional flatness
Reduced performance: Procrastination, dread, guilt, a sense of failure
You don’t have to wait until it gets worse. Recognizing these signs is a powerful first step.
Common Causes of Burnout We See in Therapy
Burnout doesn’t just come from “doing too much.” It often comes from doing too much without enough choice, rest, or support, especially for those who have been in survival mode for years.
Some common patterns include:
High-pressure work environments with little flexibility
Chronic caregiving without enough emotional replenishment
Unmet needs from childhood or past trauma, driving over-functioning
People-pleasing or perfectionism, rooted in attachment wounds
Ongoing hypervigilance, where the nervous system never feels safe enough to relax
Our therapists can help you understand not just what’s happening, but why.
How Therapy Helps with Stress and Burnout
Our approach is not about pushing you to perform better. It’s about helping your system slow down, regulate, and come back online. We meet you where you are, whether you’re collapsing, holding everything in, or somewhere in between.
In therapy, you can:
Explore your relationship with stress and capacity
Build language and insight around what feels unsustainable
Reconnect with rest, pleasure, and agency
Learn practical tools for nervous system regulation
Understand your inner parts, the ones that hustle, collapse, or avoid
Shift from survival mode into something more spacious and steady
We’ll work at your pace, collaboratively. There’s no rush, and no need to have it all figured out.
Evidence-Based Modalities We Use at Tidal
We integrate both top-down (cognitive) and bottom-up (body-based) therapies, depending on what you need most.
EMDR Therapy – Supports reprocessing of trauma-related patterns or chronic stress loops
Internal Family Systems (IFS) – Helps identify and support inner parts that may be driving burnout or avoidance
Somatic Therapy – Reconnects you with your body’s cues and builds capacity to respond
Mindfulness and Nervous System Education – Builds awareness and choice in the moment
Attachment-Based Therapy – Unpacks the relational roots of people-pleasing, overfunctioning, or emotional fatigue
You don’t need to know what modality is right for you, we’ll help you find the approach that fits.
What Recovery Can Look Like
Healing from burnout is not about “bouncing back.” It’s about realignment, learning how to move through the world without leaving yourself behind.
With time and support, many clients experience:
More emotional regulation and less reactivity
Confidence in setting and holding boundaries
A felt sense of rest and safety in the body
Greater clarity about wants, needs, and limits
Motivation rooted in presence, not pressure
A reconnection with joy, creativity, or purpose
You might not even remember what it feels like to feel calm or energized, and that’s okay. It can come back.
You Don’t Have to Burn Out to Deserve Support
If you’ve been pushing through exhaustion, therapy can help you pause, exhale, and rebuild.
You don’t need to crash to begin.
You don’t need to earn rest or support.
You’re allowed to feel better, even if things seem “fine” on the surface. Fill out a New Client Form to be matched with a counsellor. Or, book a free consult or appointment to take the next step.
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It depends. Some clients find relief in 6–12 sessions. Others choose to continue longer-term to fully rebuild capacity and shift deeper patterns.
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Yes. You don’t have to be in crisis to benefit from therapy. In fact, therapy can help prevent deeper burnout before it happens.
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Only if it feels relevant. We’re here to work with what’s most helpful and supportive for you in the present.
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That’s incredibly common and a sign that therapy may be especially helpful. We’ll move slowly, with no pressure to “perform” in sessions.
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Yes. We offer both in-person sessions at our Surrey office and secure online therapy for anyone in British Columbia.
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Disclaimer: The content on this website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical, psychological, or mental health advice. It is not a substitute for professional care. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.