Burnout — Who to Talk To
You are still functioning. You get up, you deliver, nobody at work has noticed. And you are running on something that ran out a while ago.
Burnout is rarely the dramatic collapse people picture. More often it is the slow version: sleep that no longer restores, a shorter fuse than you recognise, and the sense that rest is not touching whatever this is.
If you are trying to work out who to talk to, this page is meant to help — including the times the answer is not us.
First: where this needs a doctor
Persistent exhaustion has medical causes worth ruling out before anything else — thyroid function, iron and B12 levels, sleep apnea, and depression, which overlaps heavily with burnout and is treated differently.
Start with your physician or a clinic. Wellness support works well alongside that. It is not a substitute for it, and anyone who tells you otherwise is not someone to trust with this.
If you are in crisis, contact Info-Santé 811 or, in Quebec, 1-866-APPELLE. Please do not work through a directory page for that.
Why rest alone often does not fix it
Most people try the obvious thing first: a week off, an early night, a holiday. It helps for a few days and then the exhaustion returns almost immediately.
The reason is that burnout is not simply a sleep deficit. After a long enough period of pressure, the nervous system stops returning to a settled state on its own — it stays braced, scanning, ready. You can lie down, but the system does not stand down.
Which is why the useful work is usually about teaching the body to settle again, not about resting harder.
Who to speak to — and for what
If your body will not settle
Tight jaw, shallow breathing, waking at 3 a.m., a startle response out of proportion to what happened.
Claudine Langlois — occupational therapist turned somatic practitioner, working directly on nervous system regulation and trauma release. Free first consultation.
Ève-Marie Beauregard — somatic coach, working on boundaries and reconnection to self.
If the physical symptoms came with it
Digestion off, hormones out, energy that does not respond to sleep.
Annie Létourneau — naturopath and integrative health coach, working on hormonal health and the nervous-system connection. Free 30-minute assessment.
Stefania Vitale — somatic nutrition coach, also works with organisations on workplace burnout.
If the patterns keep repeating
You understand exactly why you overwork. You do it anyway.
Maëlee Fauchet-Poli — hypnotherapist working on stress and behaviour change. Free 30-minute first consultation.
Rosalie Vernier — humanist hypnosis. Free 15-minute discovery call.
Camille Patry-Quintin — certified NLP coach. Free discovery call.
If you want a regulated professional
Sometimes the right answer is someone bound by a professional order, particularly if there is more going on than exhaustion.
Pamela Turgeon — psychoeducator, member of the OPPQ.
Claudia Robichaud Pelletier — therapeutic counselling, member of the OCCOQ.
Madison Monfette — specialized nurse practitioner in mental health, member of the OIIQ. She can also assess the medical side.
Not sure where to start?
Most people begin with a free first call — seven of our practitioners offer one. Fifteen to thirty minutes, no payment, and you find out quickly whether the person makes sense for you.
If you are genuinely unsure, start with the regulated professionals. They can point you elsewhere if something else is needed, and they are trained to spot what should not be handled by a wellness practitioner.
Something you can do this week
Once a day, stop for sixty seconds and ask one question: where in my body am I holding something right now? Do not fix it. Just locate it.
This will not resolve burnout. But most people are surprised how quickly the answer becomes specific — and noticing is where the work starts.
For the longer explanation, read what somatic liberation actually is.
Frequently asked questions
How long does burnout recovery take?
Months rather than weeks, and it varies enormously. What tends to shift first is sleep and reactivity; energy usually comes back last. Anyone giving you a fixed timeline is guessing.
Do I need to stop working?
Not necessarily. Some people recover while working with adjustments; others need a genuine break. That is a conversation with a physician, not something to decide from a website.
Is any of this covered by insurance?
Services from regulated professionals — psychoeducation, counselling, nursing — are more often covered. Naturopathy sometimes is, depending on the association. Check with your insurer first.
Can I do this online?
Yes. Most of these practitioners offer remote sessions, which matters if you are outside the main centres or if leaving the house feels like too much right now.
Browse all REVIBE professionals — every practitioner reviewed by our ethics committee.