Bianca Stumm — Coaching for High-Functioning Depression & Burnout
Two decades in corporate structures, high achiever, my own crisis, and the long road out. Today I support people I know from the inside.
Why I Work with High-Functioning Depression and Burnout Today
I once had everything that, by conventional standards, makes for a successful life. An international career as an enterprise consultant, high responsibility, an income many dream of, a social life that worked on the outside.
And I was hollow inside.
I didn’t see it for many years — because I kept functioning. I delivered projects, led teams, fulfilled obligations. I smiled where it was expected. I did what high achievers do when something is wrong: worked harder, disciplined myself more, got a better grip on myself. I was convinced that the problem was me — and that the solution was to function better.
Only when my body eventually stopped cooperating did I realize what had happened. What I had taken for decades of resilience was high-functioning depression. Masked by burnout. Sustained by exactly the tools that had made me professionally successful.
"Discipline, analysis, hardness against oneself — the tools of my success were also the tools of my exhaustion."
I invested approximately €38,000 in my recovery. I tried many things that didn’t work, and some that actually did. What ultimately made the difference was a combination of biological stabilization of the nervous system and targeted work on the beliefs that had kept me functioning for so long — and at the same time prevented me from thriving.
This experience is not my qualification. Qualification is the training. But it is the reason I do exactly this work today — and why I recognize people who are still in the state I was in. I see it in a certain tiredness that doesn’t sleep. In a certain efficiency that no longer nourishes. In a certain politeness behind which there is nothing left.
I know the path from the inside — and I now know it clinically from the outside. Both are needed to support others. I make no promises. But there is an exit — and I know where it is.
Professional Background
For over twenty years I worked as an enterprise consultant. Implementations of SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite and Microsoft Dynamics in supply chain and logistics, with international companies, in complex organizational structures.
This is not a résumé add-on. It is relevant because a large part of my clients come from exactly this world: executives, founders, consultants, people with high responsibility and high self-discipline. I understand the language, the logic and the unspoken rules of this world from the inside — because I worked in it for two decades.
And I understand why exactly this world produces high-functioning depression and burnout at a pace you don’t see anywhere else.
Training and Methodology
My therapeutic work is based on a specific methodology, not an eclectic mix. This is important to me — both for effectiveness and for accountability to the people I work with. The coaching I offer for high-functioning depression and burnout is methodologically grounded.
- Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner (Marisa Peer School), certified
- Hypnotherapist (as part of the RTT training)
- Healing Trauma and Addiction for Professionals — Dr. Gabor Maté
- Human Potential Coaching
- Biohacking Certification (in progress)
Who I Work With — and Who I Don’t
I work with adults who are ready to look at what lies beneath the symptom. People who know that change is work, not a promise. High achievers who sense that their usual tools no longer work.
I do not work with people in acute psychiatric crises, with active suicidality, with untreated severe substance use disorders, or with individuals seeking medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for which I am not qualified. In these cases I refer to colleagues with the appropriate training.
My practice is part of HeartWellness OÜ, an EU company registered in Estonia. Under this umbrella I also offer group formats and collaborations with other qualified practitioners.
Areas of expertise
Each of us is the sum of our life experiences. The secret lies in discovering how these experiences connect. I offer professional guidance in the areas described below and others. However, should I be unable to assist you, I will refer you to colleagues who can.
Burnout and depression in high achievers
Many people with depression and burnout – almost always accompanied by persistent insomnia – quickly realize that talk therapy alone is not enough. The body is usually depleted of minerals, the adrenal glands are exhausted, and the nervous system is chronically overstimulated. Without first stabilizing this physical and nervous system, the cycle continues.
I support you precisely here: with targeted somatic regulation, mineral replenishment, and stress axis reset – before deeper issues can even take hold. That's exactly why I developed the BioPsyche Renewal Protocol.
Midlife-Crisis
In midlife, much of what once provided meaning and motivation suddenly loses its significance. Career, relationships, and goals feel hollow, even though everything appears to be "perfect" on the surface. Pure reflection alone often yields only superficial insights when the nervous system and body are already exhausted.
I support you by first calming your nervous system and replenishing your body. On this stable foundation, I help you find a deeper, inward-focused realignment – from external achievement to a new, personal purpose.
Seeks
Addiction is, in most cases, a desperate attempt to self-regulate unbearable inner states – whether due to undiagnosed ADHD, trauma, or chronic stress. As a complementary approach to medical or therapeutic treatment, I stabilize the nervous system and body so that genuine change becomes possible.
For example, I helped a young man who had slipped into addiction through self-medication and then – after I suggested he be evaluated for ADHD – finally received the right specialist help. At the same time, I coached his father so that he became an ally in the fight against addiction instead of an adversary of his son.
Autoimmune diseases *
In cases of autoimmune diseases or during cancer treatment, talk therapy alone is rarely sufficient to cope with the extreme highs and lows, the loss of energy, and the questions of identity. Crucial are clear boundaries, protecting one's own resources, and breaking free from the victim mentality.
I will support you in a concrete way: with somatic stabilization, mineral and energy balance, as well as practical strategies that will truly relieve you in everyday life – so that you not only survive, but can once again feel who you are beyond the diagnosis.
* RTT is a highly effective method used worldwide, but it is not recognized as an independent therapy method in all countries. Although I have successfully completed my training as an RTT therapist, I am not a clinical psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or physician and therefore will neither make diagnoses nor offer any guarantees of a cure.
With these methods, I support you as a coach in addition to the treatments prescribed by your doctor.