Burnout or Just Tired? How to Tell the Difference (And Why It Matters)
You know those mornings when you wake up already tired?
You slept, you caffeinated, you did all the right things—but something still feels off.
You tell yourself you’re just busy and that you’ll rest later. But later never comes, and you’re still depleted.
That’s burnout.
Most of the people I work with in Vaughan and across Ontario are functional but burned out. They’re still showing up—going to work, picking up kids—but they’re running on fumes.
Burnout hides in high-functioning professionals, caregivers, and first responders because they keep giving. They just have nothing left for themselves. They’re still holding it together, but the story they’re telling themselves sounds like:
• “I just need to get through this week, month or year.”
• “Everyone’s counting on me.”
• “I don’t even know what I need anymore.”
If that feels familiar, you’re in good company.
Tired is fixed by rest. Burnout needs repair.
Being tired means your body needs a nap.
Burnout means your soul does.
When you’re burned out, rest doesn’t refill the tank—because the tank has a leak.
There are strategies to help minimize burnout, but psychodynamic therapy helps you find where that leak is.
It helps you get honest about what’s no longer working and give yourself permission to stop performing “fine.”
What therapy can (and can’t) do
Therapy doesn’t hand you quick fixes or motivational slogans.
It gives you space to stop managing and start getting curious about how you lost yourself.
It gives you room to feel the grief, the anger, and to understand what purpose your stress has been serving.
In session, we slow things down so you can rediscover what still feels alive inside you.
If this sounds like you
If you’ve been running on empty for a while, consider this your sign to stop pretending you’re fine.
I offer psychodynamic psychotherapy in Vaughan and online therapy across Ontario for people who are outwardly functioning but inwardly exhausted.
Sessions are 50 minutes – $175/hr
Check with your insurance provider to see if psychotherapy performed by a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) is covered.
📍 nicolebonichtherapy.com
📧 hello@nicolebonichtherapy.com
📞 226-540-0622
You don’t need to earn your rest.
You just need a place to start feeling like you again.
