Therapy for stress and exhaustion
Long-term stress and exhaustion can affect the body, emotional life, and your ability to be present and engaged in everyday life. In therapy, you can receive help in understanding what creates and maintains the strain you are experiencing and work towards greater recovery, vitality, and agency.
You are welcome to contact licensed psychologist Maria Sandgren for therapy sessions in Östermalm, Stockholm, or online.
Stress and exhaustion
Exhaustion generally develops as a result of prolonged stress combined with insufficient recovery. Stress may have continued for a long time before reaching a point where you feel you no longer have the energy to cope or the ability to think clearly. Physical symptoms may also occur.
The causes of long-term stress and exhaustion vary from person to person. For some, the strain is primarily connected to their current life situation, such as high demands at work, difficult relationships, caring responsibilities, or a prolonged lack of recovery. For others, earlier difficult or traumatic experiences may also contribute to patterns of stress and heightened sensitivity to demands.
The symptoms and their severity vary between individuals. Long-term stress and exhaustion may involve:
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anxiety and irritability
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fatigue, sleep difficulties, and lack of energy
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difficulties with concentration and memory
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difficulties planning and carrying out activities
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physical symptoms such as pain, digestive problems, or dizziness
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sensitivity to sound and light
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self-critical thoughts
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low mood or depression
Understanding these reactions and how they affect well-being and quality of life is important in recognising when long-term stress and exhaustion may require professional help.
Understanding stress responses
When we experience something demanding or threatening, the body and mind respond by preparing us to deal with the situation. We may become more alert, feel an urge to act or escape, or find ourselves becoming immobilised. These stress responses are part of our capacity to adapt to challenging situations.
Usually, the stress response subsides once the situation has passed. We can then process what has happened, recover, and consider what we need to do next. Difficulties can arise when stress responses remain activated for long periods or when our ways of responding become less flexible.
Long-term stress is more demanding on both psychological and physical health than short-term stress. The body and mind may remain in a state of heightened alert, as though something might go wrong and needs constantly to be anticipated, prevented, or resolved.
Over time, this can contribute to anxiety, depression, physical pain, and exhaustion. Sometimes rest alone is not enough, particularly when the internal state of arousal has become persistent. Professional support may then be helpful in understanding what maintains the stress and what needs to change.
Chronic stress keeps the body and mind in a constant state of threat – trying to prevent or fix what might go wrong. These concerns may be realistic, but they can also be unnecessary or outdated.
Long‑lasting stress can lead to anxiety, depression, pain, and exhaustion. Rest and recovery may not be enough when inner activation has persisted too long. In such cases, therapy can help restore perspective and support change.
Therapy for stress and exhaustion
There is no single form of treatment that is right for everyone experiencing long-term stress or exhaustion. Depending on the situation, recovery may involve medical, psychological, and practical interventions.
In an initial phase, we look together at areas such as sleep, opportunities for rest and recovery, eating habits, daily routines, and what activities you currently have the energy for. We may also explore expectations and responsibilities in your relationships and work, your own needs, and the demands you place on yourself.
We continue to review these areas throughout therapy, paying attention to the balance between rest and activity. The aim is for symptoms gradually to decrease and for energy, interest, and engagement to return.
In affect-focused therapy, we can also explore emotional conflicts and patterns that may contribute to long-term stress. Some of these patterns may have developed earlier in life, while others are connected to current circumstances. As we talk about what is happening in your life, difficult situations, and emotions, I pay attention to what helps you experience greater clarity and relief rather than becoming overwhelmed.
For someone experiencing exhaustion, sensitivity to stimulation can be considerable. Therapy therefore needs to proceed at a pace that takes your current capacity into account.
The long-term effects of stress and exhaustion
Long-term stress and exhaustion can have significant consequences for both psychological and physical well-being. Energy and engagement may diminish, and it can become increasingly difficult to participate in relationships, leisure activities, and work in the way you would like.
Wanting to do something is not always enough when the energy to carry it out is missing. You may find yourself withdrawing from precisely the things you value and need, while using the energy you have for what feels absolutely necessary.
Memory, concentration, and motivation may also be affected. Anxiety, self-criticism, and a more negative view of yourself are common, and depression may also occur.
For some, exhaustion raises larger questions about identity and direction in life. Who am I when I can no longer manage what I used to manage? What happens when my capacity to act and influence my own life feels diminished?
Long-term stress can therefore affect not only health but also the possibility of living in accordance with what matters to you. Practical and financial difficulties may also arise, and changes that were not chosen may become necessary.
What change can mean
An important part of recovery from exhaustion is reducing the strain as far as possible and creating room for rest and recovery, while gradually finding forms of activity that restore rather than deplete energy.
In therapy, we explore what is nourishing and what is draining in your particular life and work towards a balance between recovery and activity that is adapted to your needs and capacity.
As recovery progresses, therapy may also involve processing emotionally significant experiences, both past and present. The long-term aim is for psychological and physical symptoms to decrease and for the effects of prolonged stress on your well-being and quality of life to become less limiting.
Recovery from exhaustion can take time, and some difficulties may remain long after the most acute phase has passed. As symptoms gradually decrease, however, more space can open up for everyday life, relationships, work, and activities that matter to you.
The aim is not simply to return to the life you had before. Therapy can also provide an opportunity to understand what you need in order to live with greater vitality, presence, and room for what is important to you.
Affect-focused therapy for stress and exhaustion
In affect-focused therapy, we explore what you would like help with while paying attention to what happens within you – including emotions, anxiety, and physical stress responses.
An important part of the work is distinguishing between emotions and anxiety or stress responses. What is sometimes described as “a lot of feelings” may instead involve many thoughts occurring at once, overthinking, worry, or a strong state of internal arousal that makes it difficult to find direction.
Emotions can provide different kinds of information. They can help us understand how we are affected by what is happening, what matters to us, and what we need.
When you are experiencing exhaustion, sensitivity to stimulation may be heightened. We therefore proceed step by step, paying attention to signs that you are becoming overwhelmed, such as mental fog, difficulty concentrating, or increased internal arousal.
As emotions that have previously been difficult to approach become easier to recognise and process, anxiety and stress responses may decrease. This can contribute to a greater sense of emotional presence and agency.
The process may take time, particularly when exhaustion and long-term stress have been present for a considerable period. Therapy is therefore adapted to where you are in your recovery and to what you have the capacity to work with at each stage.
The aim is both to reduce the strain that limits your life and to help you regain greater contact with yourself, your emotions, and what you want to move towards.
Therapy for stress and exhaustion
I have extensive therapeutic experience and will meet you with an understanding of how stress and exhaustion affect your particular life. Together, we explore what you need help with and what kind of therapeutic approach may be right for you.
I see clients at my practice in Östermalm, Stockholm, and also offer online sessions.
Maria Sandgren · Licensed Psychologist · PhD in Psychology
Certified ISTDP Therapist