Work Stress and Burnout Counselling in India

TL;DR

• Work stress counselling helps you manage pressure, set limits and recover your energy, whether or not you stay in the same job.
• It helps with exhaustion, Sunday dread, a difficult manager, overwork, loss of motivation and stress that shows up as poor sleep or irritability.
• Burnout is exhaustion, growing cynicism about work and a drop in effectiveness that build up after long, unmanaged stress.
• Sessions are online anywhere in India or in person in Gurgaon, with evening and weekend times that fit around work.
• In a crisis, call iCall on 9152987821.

What Is Work Stress Counselling?

Some stress at work is normal and passes when a deadline does. Counselling is for stress that has stopped passing: it follows you home, affects your sleep and mood, and no longer lifts after a weekend or a holiday.

Is This You?

• The dread starts on Sunday afternoon and you lose half your weekend to it.
• You check email in bed, and again when you wake at 3 am.
• A message from your manager makes your stomach drop before you have read it.
• You are short-tempered at home with people who have done nothing wrong.
• Headaches, acidity or a tight chest have become part of your working week.
• You used to care about doing the job well, and now you only want to get through the day.
• You think about quitting every day and cannot see how you could.

These are signs of a load that has been too heavy for too long. They are not signs that you are weak or bad at your job.

Work Stress or Burnout: What Is the Difference?

With stress you still believe things will improve once you get on top of them. With burnout you stop believing that. Burnout is not classed as a medical condition, but it can overlap with depression and anxiety, which is one reason to have it looked at. Read more in burnout: symptoms, recovery and therapy. If you are autistic or have ADHD, read neurodivergent burnout vs depression.

What Work Stress Counselling Helps With

• Exhaustion and recovery: rebuilding sleep, rest and energy in a realistic way.
• Overwork and boundaries: saying no, leaving on time and switching off without guilt.
• A difficult manager or team: handling criticism, conflict and unreasonable demands. Read about workplace trauma.
• Performance pressure and perfectionism: doing good work without needing it to be flawless.
• Overthinking about work: replaying meetings and emails at night. See overthinking therapy.
• Imposter feelings after a promotion or job change: see low self-esteem therapy.
• Sleep problems: see insomnia treatment.
• Career decisions: whether to stay, renegotiate, change roles or leave.
• Work and family balance: being present at home after a demanding day.

Early-career pressure is a common reason young professionals seek support. See therapy for young adults. Founders and senior leaders may prefer executive therapy.

Should You Quit Your Job?

How Therapy Treats Work Stress and Burnout

• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the thinking patterns that amplify pressure, such as all-or-nothing standards.
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for reconnecting your work with what matters to you.
• Stress-regulation skills for the body: breathing, pacing and recovery routines.
• Assertiveness and boundary practice for the conversations you have been avoiding.

If you are an employer looking for support for your team, see counselling for companies.

Online Across India, or In Person in Gurgaon

For our centre, see therapists in Gurgaon. If you live outside India, see online therapy for Indians abroad.

What Your First Session Looks Like

1. Discovery call (15 minutes): message us on WhatsApp. Tell us as much or as little as you like, and we match you with a psychologist suited to what you need.
2. Your first session (50 minutes): online or in Gurgaon. You talk about what brought you here and what you would like to be different. You do not have to share everything at once.
3. A plan you understand: by the end you know how your therapist suggests working and how often to meet.
4. You decide: there is no obligation to continue, and you can ask to switch therapists if the fit is not right.

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