Rediscovering Your Authentic Self
An Existential Approach for Burnt-Out, High-Achieving Queer HSP Millennials
Do you ever find yourself working relentlessly, perhaps you’re even succeeding in your career, and yet feeling unfulfilled? Despite your accomplishments and successes, you struggle to enjoy life outside of work. Maybe you’re burnt out from constantly giving without replenishing, deeply empathetic to the point where the world’s pain weighs on you, and keenly aware of what and who is around you in ways that make your environment feel overwhelming. These feelings of exhaustion, combined with anxiety and a sense that life (or what you do) lacks meaning, are not uncommon, especially if you’re a high-achieving, highly sensitive, queer millennial navigating a culture that undervalues rest and authenticity.
What if the problem isn’t that you’re not doing enough, but that you haven’t had the space to live in alignment with your true self?
Existential Therapy: A Path to Meaning Beyond Burnout
As a queer, highly sensitive therapist, I understand that many of us carry not only our personal stress but also the weight of navigating a world shaped by heteronormative and capitalistic pressures. Hustle culture is shoved down our throats from the beginning (I’m saying the thing: homework just teaches us how to work overtime for free).
Existential therapy focuses on helping you reconnect with yourself by exploring deep questions about your existence, your values, and how you can create a life of meaning beyond your to-do list. By embracing life’s messiness rather than avoiding it, existential therapy empowers you to make intentional choices that align with your authentic self.
Why Are You Feeling Burnt Out?
High-achieving, queer millennials often face unique pressures. You’ve likely spent years working hard to prove yourself in environments that don't fully understand or affirm your identity, all while managing the challenges of being highly sensitive and deeply empathetic. The constant push to achieve (let’s be real, overachieve), whether at work or in personal relationships, leaves you drained, anxious, and disconnected from your inner world. While you may have the financial stability and flexibility to make changes, the emotional exhaustion from years of burnout makes it hard to even think about where to start.
And that's where existential therapy comes in.
The Philosophical Foundation: Finding Meaning and Authenticity
Existential Therapy, grounded in the works of philosophers like Søren Kierkegaard, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Viktor Frankl, revolves around the idea that we create our own meaning through the choices we make. Life is unpredictable and sometimes absurd—curveballs will always come—but you have the freedom to shape your response.
Here’s how existential therapy addresses the core concerns of a burnt-out for your high-achieving, highly sensitive queer self:
Freedom and Responsibility: While you may feel trapped in a cycle of overwork, you also hold the freedom to choose differently. Freedom comes with the responsibility to make choices aligned with your values, even if that means stepping away from societal expectations of success (fuck that shit anyway).
Authenticity: You’ve likely worn many masks in both your professional and personal life to fit into spaces that weren’t made for you. But fitting in is not the same as belonging. Existential therapy encourages you to drop those masks and reconnect with the real you. What does your authentic self value? What lights you up, and what drains you?
The Search for Meaning: It’s common to feel lost after spending years chasing external success without pausing to consider your internal needs. Together, we’ll explore your passions, your values, and what brings true fulfillment to your life.
Anxiety as a Guide: The anxiety you feel isn’t something to push away; it’s your mind's way of signaling that something is out of alignment. Existential therapy helps you embrace that anxiety and use it as fuel for making intentional changes, whether that’s at work, in relationships, or in your self-care practices.
How Therapy Can Help You Reclaim Your Life
Existential therapy isn’t about giving you quick fixes or surface-level solutions. It’s about exploring the deeper “why” behind your burnout, helping you gain clarity on what truly matters to you. As an existential therapist who is also queer and highly sensitive, I understand the unique stressors faced by individuals in our community. I’m here to create a space where you can finally exhale, reconnect with your deeper self, and find a path forward that feels meaningful and aligned with who you are.
Here’s how we might work together to help you reclaim your life from burnout:
Exploring Your Authentic Self: We’ll dive into the layers of identity and roles you’ve accumulated over the years. Which ones truly reflect who you are? Which ones were picked up out of necessity or societal pressure? This process helps you get clear on what you want to keep and what you’re ready to release.
Navigating Burnout and Rest: You may have internalized the idea that rest is a luxury, but in therapy, we’ll explore how rest is a necessity for living in alignment with your values. Together, we’ll work to unlearn the narrative that constant productivity equals worth.
Reclaiming Meaningful Work: For many high-achieving individuals, work can become all-consuming, but it doesn’t have to define your entire existence. Therapy can help you realign your relationship with work, so that it serves your life, rather than drains it.
Facing Existential Anxiety: Whether it’s fear of failure, uncertainty about the future, or the pressure to meet expectations, existential therapy helps you confront these anxieties head-on, turning them into opportunities for growth and alignment.
Finding Meaning in Your Life Beyond Burnout
You have the power to create a life that feels fulfilling, not just productive. By exploring the existential questions that arise from your burnout—questions about your identity, your purpose, and your values—we can chart a new path forward. One that honors your sensitivity, your empathy, and your need for authentic connection.
If you’re ready to stop running on empty and start living a life that feels genuinely fulfilling, let’s talk. Therapy can be a transformative space for you to reconnect with your true self and rediscover meaning in your work, relationships, and everyday life.
Start Your Journey: Ready to reclaim your life from burnout and rediscover what truly matters to you? Book a virtual consultation and let’s explore how existential therapy can help you align with your authentic self.