Burnout Therapy for High-Achieving Women in Los Angeles

Somatic Therapy and EMDR for chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, and nervous system overload

Abstract silhouette of a woman representing nervous system overwhelm and burnout, used on a burnout therapy page for high-achieving women.

Burnout Therapy That Goes Beyond Coping and Productivity

Burnout does not always look like falling apart. For many high-achieving women, burnout looks like functioning, producing, and pushing through while feeling emotionally depleted, disconnected from your body, and constantly on edge. You may be successful on the outside while quietly running on empty inside.

Burnout therapy at Chloë Bean Therapy supports women in Los Angeles who are tired of coping and ready to actually heal. Using somatic therapy and EMDR, we work with your nervous system to address the root causes of burnout, not just the symptoms. This approach helps you move out of chronic survival mode, rebuild your capacity for rest, and reconnect with a sense of safety, clarity, and enoughness in your body.

High-functioning burnout is often tied to long-term stress, unresolved trauma, perfectionism, people-pleasing, or a lifetime of feeling responsible for everyone else. Therapy offers a space to slow down, listen to what your body has been carrying, and learn how to live without constant pressure or self-abandonment.

Stress doesn’t just live in your calendar—it lives in your body.

You’re not lazy. You’re not broken. Your nervous system is overwhelmed by chronic stress and burnout, and this is something therapy can help heal.

Abstract organic forms symbolizing nervous system overwhelm and burnout, used on a burnout therapy page for high-achieving women.

What Is Burnout?

Burnout in high-achieving women is caused by chronic stress, perfectionism, emotional labor, and nervous system overload, and somatic therapy and EMDR help restore regulation, safety, and sustainable energy.

Burnout is more than feeling tired or overwhelmed. It is a state of physical, emotional, and nervous system exhaustion that develops when stress goes on for too long without enough support, rest, or safety. Over time, your body learns to stay in survival mode, even when there is no immediate emergency.

For high-achieving women, burnout often shows up quietly. You may still be functioning at work, caring for others, and meeting expectations, while feeling numb, irritable, disconnected, or constantly on edge inside. Rest does not feel restorative. Small tasks feel heavy. Your body may feel tense, wired, or shut down.

Burnout commonly includes:

  • Chronic fatigue that does not improve with rest

  • Anxiety, irritability, or emotional numbness

  • Trouble sleeping or never feeling truly rested

  • Brain fog, forgetfulness, or difficulty concentrating

  • A sense of detachment from yourself or others

  • Feeling pressured to keep going despite exhaustion

From a nervous system perspective, burnout happens when your body has been in fight, flight, or freeze for too long. Instead of returning to balance, your system stays stuck in overdrive or shutdown. This is why burnout is not solved by better time management, vacations, or pushing harder. Healing requires helping your nervous system feel safe enough to slow down.

Burnout therapy focuses on restoring regulation, resilience, and choice so you can live and work without constant depletion.

From a nervous system perspective, burnout happens when your body has been in fight, flight, or freeze for too long. Somatic Experiencing® therapy helps gently restore regulation and safety in the body.

Abstract geometric forms representing chronic stress, nervous system activation, and burnout in high-achieving women.

Why Burnout Affects High-Achieving Women

Burnout affects high-achieving women at higher rates because chronic stress is often paired with perfectionism, emotional labor, and long-standing nervous system activation.

Burnout affects high-achieving women at higher rates because long-term stress is often combined with perfectionism, emotional labor, and a nervous system that has learned to stay constantly activated. Many women succeed by prioritizing responsibility, performance, and care for others while minimizing their own needs, which slowly leads to exhaustion and disconnection.

High-achieving women commonly develop patterns such as people-pleasing, over-functioning, and a strong inner critic. These patterns are not flaws. They are learned survival strategies that once helped create safety, belonging, or success. Over time, however, these same strategies keep the nervous system in a state of pressure and self-monitoring that makes true rest feel difficult or unsafe.

Women are also more likely to carry invisible emotional labor, including managing relationships, anticipating needs, staying composed, and being the dependable one. This ongoing output keeps the body in chronic stress mode. Even when external life looks stable or successful, the nervous system may remain in fight, flight, or freeze.

Burnout is especially common for women with trauma histories, highly sensitive nervous systems, or long-term caretaking roles. The body may continue to respond as if something could go wrong at any moment, which is why burnout often persists despite achievement, support, or time off.

Burnout therapy helps high-achieving women heal at the nervous system level. Somatic therapy and EMDR therapy help address the root causes of burnout by supporting the nervous system to release survival patterns that have been held in the body over time.

What We can Heal in Burnout Therapy

Burnout, depression, and chronic stress often develop in layered, interconnected ways. In burnout therapy, we slow things down to understand how your nervous system, emotions, and relational patterns are working together beneath the surface of what you’re carrying.

Emotional Numbness & Disconnection

If you feel like you’re going through the motions—disconnected from joy, creativity, or even your own body—you’re not alone. Therapy helps you rebuild a felt sense of aliveness and reestablish connection to your internal world in a way that feels safe and steady.

Irritability, Overwhelm, or Shutdown

Maybe the small stuff feels like too much lately. Or you find yourself snapping at loved ones, then collapsing into guilt. These are signs your nervous system is overloaded. Together, we’ll use somatic tools to build more capacity and respond with compassion instead of shame.

Sleep, Focus, & Motivation Stuggles

When your system is overloaded, it’s hard to rest or focus—even if you're exhausted. You might feel foggy, wired but tired, or unable to start anything. In therapy, we gently reconnect you to your body’s rhythm and rebuild a sense of agency, one step at a time.

Perfectionism & Overfunctioning

Many high-achievers come to therapy feeling burnt out, guilty for resting, and unsure how to stop pushing. We’ll look at where these patterns began and support you in softening the critical inner voice so that rest and ease feel possible—not dangerous.

Shame, Guilt, & Internalized Pressure

Burnout often brings hidden shame: “Why can’t I handle this?” “Am I just being lazy?” These aren’t flaws—they’re protective responses. Therapy helps you unlearn the pressure to prove your worth and replace it with self-trust and internal permission to be.

Caregiver Burnout & Invisible Labor

If you're constantly holding space for others—at work, at home, or both—you may feel like there’s nothing left for yourself. We’ll explore the toll of emotional labor, and help you reconnect to your needs without guilt, setting boundaries rooted in self-respect.

We slow down. We reconnect. And we build something stronger than just surviving together.

Soft abstract organic shapes representing nervous system overwhelm, chronic stress, and burnout.

How Burnout Shows Up in the Body

Burnout is not just mental or emotional. It is a full-body experience shaped by how your nervous system responds to long-term stress. When stress lasts too long without relief, the body stays activated or shuts down to protect you.

Common body-based signs of burnout include:

  • Chronic muscle tension or pain

  • Exhaustion that does not improve with rest

  • Headaches, digestive issues, or unexplained physical symptoms

  • Shallow breathing or frequent sighing

  • Difficulty slowing down or feeling present

  • Feeling numb, detached, or emotionally flat

  • Feeling wired and exhausted at the same time

Some women experience burnout as constant tension. The body feels tight, guarded, or unable to relax. Others experience burnout as collapse or disconnection, with low energy, brain fog, or a sense of being checked out. Both are nervous system responses, not personal failures.

From a somatic perspective, burnout happens when stress responses are activated repeatedly without enough safety to complete. The body remains stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, which is why mindset shifts or time off alone often do not resolve burnout.

Somatic therapy helps restore regulation by working directly with the body. As safety returns to the nervous system, energy becomes more available, emotions feel more accessible, and rest starts to feel restorative again.

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Burnout Therapy in Los Angeles

Burnout is not just mental or emotional. It is a full-body experience shaped by how your nervous system responds to long-term stress. When stress lasts too long without relief, the body stays activated or shuts down to protect you.

Chloë Bean Therapy offers burnout therapy in Los Angeles for high-achieving women experiencing chronic stress, emotional exhaustion, and nervous system overload. Therapy is grounded in somatic, trauma-informed care and designed for women who are functioning on the outside but depleted on the inside.

Burnout therapy sessions focus on helping your nervous system move out of constant survival mode. Rather than pushing you to cope better or do less, therapy works with the body to restore regulation, safety, and capacity for rest. This approach is especially supportive for women dealing with perfectionism, people-pleasing, over-responsibility, or long-term stress.

Chloë Bean Therapy serves clients across Los Angeles and California via virtual therapy. Care is personalized, collaborative, and paced to support sustainable healing rather than quick fixes. Burnout therapy may include somatic therapy, EMDR, and nervous system education to address both current stress and deeper patterns driving burnout.

If you are looking for burnout therapy in Los Angeles that goes beyond productivity and symptom management, this work is designed to help you feel grounded, present, and more like yourself again.

If you are considering burnout therapy in Los Angeles and want to explore whether this approach is a fit, you are welcome to contact Chloë Bean Therapy to take the next step.

FAQs

  • Burnout is best treated with therapy that addresses the nervous system. Somatic therapy and EMDR are effective because they work with the body to release chronic stress patterns rather than relying only on talk-based insight.

  • Burnout is not a formal diagnosis, but it is a real nervous system state caused by prolonged stress. It often overlaps with anxiety, depression, or trauma responses, especially in high-achieving women.

  • Yes. Many people seek burnout therapy while still working, parenting, or achieving externally. Therapy helps address what is happening internally before burnout leads to collapse or more severe symptoms.

  • Burnout is driven by chronic stress and nervous system overload. Anxiety often feels like hyperactivation, while depression can feel like shutdown. Burnout may include both and often fluctuates between feeling wired and exhausted.

  • There is no fixed timeline. Burnout therapy focuses on gradual nervous system regulation, not quick fixes. Many clients notice increased capacity and relief as their body learns it is safe to slow down.

  • Yes. Chloe Bean Therapy provides virtual burnout therapy for clients in Los Angeles and throughout California.