This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nick Sanchez, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n
I would say 99% of my clients cite burnout as one of their biggest problems.<\/p>\n
As a licensed marriage and family therapist, I see a caseload of about 18 to 20 clients a week, most of whom are very high-performing individuals in Silicon Valley<\/a>, such as business owners, executives, founders, and people in management within tech.<\/p>\n AI burnout<\/a> is a newer phenomenon I’ve seen. AI enables us to do deep work on multiple projects at once and learn new skills, but it never stops working. You have to be the one to decide when it’s time to pause, and that’s where AI burnout can come in.<\/p>\n I think the type of person who burns out is the type of person who would work more if they could, so it hasn’t been effective for me to simply tell them to work less. They’re not looking to work less; they’re looking to work smarter. I have to get their buy-in that, if they take breaks, they’ll actually be able to push harder and more effectively.<\/p>\n That’s why I use exposure therapy<\/a> techniques to help my clients heal from burnout and learn tools to manage it when it returns.<\/p>\n Burnout has varying levels of intensity<\/p>\n I’ve seen burnout play out in numerous ways as far as intensity, but I would describe it as similar to dysthymia, which is a low-grade depression. Burnout can make the things that used to bring us joy no longer bring us joy. Meanwhile, motivation and our desire to get through our to-do list can go out the window.<\/p>\n Clients often come to me saying they’re no longer performing at the level they used to be. I had one client who drove to their office for work and couldn’t even get out of their car. They told me they physically couldn’t get themselves to go in and give any more of themself.<\/p>\n AI burnout is real \u2014 I’ve even felt it<\/p>\n In addition to being a therapist, I’m the founder and clinical director of Silicon Valley Therapy, where I manage and train associates on their paths to licensure. I’ve personally experienced AI burnout<\/a> while growing my business, and I see it in my clients.<\/p>\n AI has increased my capacity to produce higher-quality work and take on roles that I’d previously have to outsource, but it takes a lot of time and is easy to fall down a rabbit hole. I see similar types of things with clients where they’re taking too much on their plates.<\/p>\n