Bad sleep, nightmares, fatigue, poor appetite. After a difficult few years, therapists are burnt out | Dr Ahona Guha

Many in my field are struggling. I value this work, but when my day ends I feel heavy

A few weeks ago, I took two weeks of unplanned sick leave. It was nothing dramatic, just a creep of symptoms so slow I didn't notice them, until suddenly, I did. Bad sleep, nightmares about violent clients, fatigue, poor appetite and concentration. For the past three years, I've felt like a bunch of overcooked spaghetti, repeatedly tossed at a wall. Most often, I stick - valiantly - but this time I slid right off.

When I went back to work and spoke to colleagues about it, there were many nods. We started talking about how we felt, beyond the superficial and safe banalities of tired" or busy". Since then, I've had many conversations with therapist friends and colleagues across the globe. The echoes are the same - tired, busy, exhausted, dropping caseloads, leaving the profession, reducing clinical work, indulging escape fantasies, re-training.