Every Monday in Talence, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, a dozen women discreetly pass through the gates of the Maison des Burnettes, surrounded by a wall of greenery. The former winery was a refuge for the town's inhabitants during the Second World War. Today, it hosts women of all ages and professions, most of them single mothers suffering from burnout.

L'Burn members welcome these women over a cup of coffee, in lounges "decorated by a former 'burnette' [a woman who joined the group due to burnout] who has transitioned to interior design," said Anne-Sophie Vives, director of the organization, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary and receiving an ever-increasing number of membership applications.

The former notarial assistant, who also experienced a case of "severe burnout" with short-term memory loss, spoke of her choice to help other women. "I hid it from those around me for a long time. I was able to recover by talking to other women about my difficulty in reconciling my work, my role as a mother and my role as a woman." She went on to explain her approach: "We are twice as affected today, because of inequalities within the family and at work, the mental burden and the difficulty of reconciling private and professional life. It's an exhaustion with multiple factors, which requires specific support."

The organization's visitor numbers confirm the latest findings from France's public health body, Santé Publique France. Indeed, according to the March 5 epidemiological bulletin, work-related psychological distress was twice as high in 2019 as in 2007. Over the whole period, this suffering was twice as high among women, who experienced more anxiety and depressive disorders.

Thanks to public funding and several sponsorships, the organization's 10 salaried employees and some 30 active volunteers helped more than 600 women in Gironde and elsewhere in France (via videoconferencing) in 2023. The program was designed in consultation with specialists in the field, including doctors and lawyers, and is based on "peer support": mutual assistance between people who have suffered from the same somatic or psychological illness.

"There are not many organizations providing this help for women. Sometimes they come to us after a period of wandering through different medical options, because they haven't found a psychiatrist. Some general practitioners even refer their patients to us," said Vives. Thanks to its unique mission, the organization was a finalist in 2023 for a prize from the La France s'engage foundation, chaired by former president François Hollande. Hollande, who visited the Maison des Burnettes in February, praised their "expert work" on this "mental distress, which is not simply depression and should be recognized as an occupational illness."

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