The Invisible Load: What’s Weighing You Down Might Not Be on Your To-Do List
If your brain feels like 40 tabs are open, and one is playing music you can’t find, you’re not alone. That, my friend, is the invisible load.
At Balens Therapy, we hear this all the time from our clients: high-achieving professionals, healthcare workers, and women of color who feel exhausted, overwhelmed, and unsure why they can’t “just push through” like they used to.
Spoiler: it’s not weakness. It’s burnout. And often, it’s caused by a load no one else sees, but you carry every day.
What Is the Invisible Load?
The invisible load refers to the mental and emotional labor involved in managing your life, career, relationships, and cultural expectations. It’s the background stress of being “the strong one,” the responsible one, the one who holds it all together, at work and at home.
This mental load often includes:
Managing others’ emotions
Planning and coordinating daily responsibilities
Anticipating needs at work or home
Navigating racism, sexism, and generational pressure
Code-switching and self-monitoring in professional settings
And for women of color, nurses, therapists, and first-generation professionals, the load is amplified. Research shows that the intersection of caregiving, career pressure, and cultural dynamics significantly increases stress and burnout risk (Crenshaw, 1989; Woods-Giscombé, 2010).
How the Invisible Load Leads to Burnout
Burnout is more than being tired. It’s a state of emotional exhaustion, detachment, and feeling like nothing you do makes a difference. The World Health Organization officially classifies burnout as a workplace phenomenon caused by chronic stress.
But here’s what gets missed:
You don’t need to be physically overworked to be burned out. You might just be mentally and emotionally overloaded.
Studies show that ongoing emotional labor, common in healthcare, caregiving roles, and among marginalized professionals, is a major predictor of burnout (Brotheridge & Grandey, 2002). And because it’s invisible, it’s often ignored by others… and minimized by ourselves.
Signs You're Carrying an Invisible Load
If you relate to any of the following, your nervous system may be shouting for support:
You’re constantly tired, even after sleep
You feel numb, irritable, or unmotivated
You dread small tasks or decisions
You feel like you’re failing, even when you’re not
You’re the one everyone turns to, but no one asks how you are
What You Can Do About It
The good news? You don’t have to live like this forever.
Start here:
✅ Acknowledge your load: It’s real, even if it’s not on a to-do list.
✅ Set boundaries that protect your energy: Not just your time.
✅ Replace self-criticism with self-compassion: You’re human, not a robot.
✅ Talk to a therapist who gets it. (Hi, that’s us!)
Therapy for Burnout and Emotional Overload
At Balens Therapy, we specialize in virtual psychotherapy for burnout, stress, anxiety, and life transitions, with a strong focus on supporting: Women of color & High-achieving professionals who are tired of pretending everything’s fine.
We offer therapy across Ontario, including Toronto, Vaughan, and Mississauga, with a nature-informed, culturally sensitive, and evidence-based approach. Let’s Lighten the Load Together. If you’re carrying more than anyone realizes, you don’t need to do it alone.
🧠 Book a free 20-minute virtual consultation today and get the support you deserve:
👉🏽 www.balenstherapy.janeapp.com
