Blog Post 55: Preventing Burnout During and Post-Holidays
The holiday season is upon us - as is the potential for burnout. December is stressful enough, but in January and February, we may experience fallout from holiday stress as well as seasonal depression. During the holidays, we Type C’ers spend disproportionate amounts of time trying to make everyone else happy, and we don't ask for help. We take on too much: making budgets and checklists, planning, shopping, cooking, and organizing travel and family activities. We may worry excessively about not preparing the perfect holiday dinner or not buying the right gifts.
It’s important to realize that burnout is not just emotional or mental - we may experience physical symptoms as well. Type C’ers often ignore signals from our bodies - we put our own comfort and wellbeing as a last priority. We may not see doctors regularly, and we push off or make excuses for physical issues. Because we are so hyper-focused on others, we can even reach the point of being almost numb or dissociated from our own bodies.
When we push our bodies too far, our hormones become imbalanced, causing lasting physical and mental effects. Signals that are important to take seriously include frequent headaches, insomnia, unrefreshing sleep, weight loss, nausea, and difficulty breathing. In my case (Anna), I tried to ignore my myriad of physical issues, telling myself they would resolve, or they weren’t that big of a deal - and I let them go unchecked for years. Many of Kore’s Type C patients over the years have said they often forget to eat and stay up way too late trying to get things done. Irregular sleep and eating can lead to brain fog, low energy, and stomach issues to name a few clear examples of not prioritizing health.
There is a lot we can do to mitigate holiday burnout, and many of these strategies are quite simple. The hardest and most important first step, however, is acknowledging that our needs matter. We must be willing to give some time and energy to ourselves and our health. This will mean taking some time away from prioritizing everyone else and sitting with guilt about that. Here are some other easier steps:
Be intentional in allocating time for restorative or fun activities - even 15 to 20 minutes a day can make a difference.
Ask for more help with domestic chores.
Work to improve sleep hygiene.
Increase our social support system by spending more time with friends, family, or consider talking with a therapist.
At work, take frequent breaks, get out into the sunshine if possible; ask for remote work options to help with household management; make time to stop by and chat with a colleague.
Take a day off and do something fun!
While all of these strategies can help, it’s key to realize that the origin of burnout is usually emotional distress - when things feel out of our control. Burnout doesn’t usually resolve with better self-care like nutrition and exercise. For the Type C’er, it involves working on how we respond to the people in our lives - accepting our own importance and putting our needs on equal (if not higher) footing with theirs.