Many people view the Christmas holidays as a chance to relax after a stressful year. Once the nightmare of Christmas prep is over, all that’s left to do is rest and recuperate, so when the new year rolls around, you’re energised and ready to face it. But what happens when January arrives, and your burnout is as bad as it was before Christmas – or possibly worse?

If this new year has greeted you with stress and a side order of January burnout, rest assured you’re not alone.

Deidre’s story

Deirdre Olson

For writer and filmmaker Deidre Olson, Christmas is never a relaxing time of year. In years past, it was a time for huge family gatherings with all the classics – too much alcohol, consumerism, and mandatory festive cheer. Even now with much smaller events, Deidre finds herself exhausted from the stress.

“I always feel like I need another week to recover from everything,” she explains. “I don’t ever find Christmas relaxing. It is a lot of food, lazing around, and socialising, which is a huge departure from my routine. I always feel like I need another week to recover from everything. I always try to make it through the holidays with as little damage as possible, and I’m mostly on autopilot.”

Deirdre says that the recovery after Christmas takes a while, but she’s learned that she needs to really take care of herself.

“I need to sleep for an entire weekend post-holidays. The first week back at work is hazy and I have to adjust and get back in gear. I am making sure to sleep well, exercise, and cook healthy meals. I am not making any big plans because my social battery is maxed out for the foreseeable future.”

MC’s story

As a London-based freelancer in the fashion industry, MC is used to burnout. Freelance work can make it difficult to maintain a clear work life balance, and MC often finds herself slipping back into work autopilot despite burnout. And with holidays few and far between, Christmas came as a welcome respite from the constant grind of work.

“There’s a freelancer’s guilt that comes when I take breaks, and feel like I’m letting down a lot of people by implementing a holiday. So with Christmas I felt good about everything and was excited to finally decompress.”

I feel like an engine that just has no more power to push on

Burnout for MC might be regular, but it’s nonetheless still debilitating.

“I usually experience burnout via complete exhaustion and fatigue,” she explains. “I feel like an engine that just has no more power to push on, and typically feel it once I’m in the thick of the burnout. Sometimes my burnout occurs hand in hand with getting ill. At the start of January 2023 [after a big project] I got incredibly stressed, exhausted, and extremely ill.

“In May 2023, I was likewise just finishing a super stressful demanding project and afterwards caught the chickenpox for the first time. I think my immune system just responds to stress like this after experiencing immense adrenaline or stress.”

Christmas didn’t fix my burnout

While January did offer MC that much needed lull period, it didn’t come without its difficulties. The constant socialising left them drained and deflated by the new year, both mentally and physically. It was as if Christmas had opened the floodgates that the constant workload had held shut for so many months, leading to sickness and exhaustion.

After Christmas my body caught up with all the adrenaline rushes and social activities … I sat around January 2nd and felt completely deflated

“Unlike usual New Year ‘newness’ and ‘freshness’ I felt like an old rag that was just overused and had nothing left to give,” she explained. “After Christmas my body caught up with all the adrenaline rushes and social activities, and is coming down with it now. I sat around January 2nd in my living room and felt completely deflated.

“I had so many exciting achievements and beautiful experiences in 2023 and a part of me felt ashamed to even feel this at the start of a new year. It felt like there was a ceiling above my eyebrows that kept pushing my head down and cramping me in. I wasn’t ready to get back to work and felt like this whole cycle of work, vacation, work, vacation, work, vacation, is just unhealthy.”

With the burnout comes a whole lot more than just exhaustion. Dissatisfaction with your work, sadness, depression, frustration, and shame can all go hand in hand with burnout – and MC’s had to deal with the whole lot.

What causes burnout?

Psychology Today defines burnout as physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress. This stress can be from working long hours, or doing too many things at once. But burnout can just as easily be caused by a lack of support, recognition, or influence at work, or working towards a goal that doesn’t fulfil you.

Alongside exhaustion, workplace burnout can cause increased mental distance from your work, negative or cynical thinking and reduced productivity. All of these only make work more difficult, which can often make burnout even worse. So, for many of us, Christmas and other holidays come as a welcome break. They’re a chance to break the burnout cycle and get some relaxation in.

So if Christmas supposedly offers us a respite from our stresses, why do many of us then face January burnout?

Signs of burnout

Think you might be burnt out? Here are some ideas of what to look for.

One of the most common symptoms of burnout is exhaustion, whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or some mix of the three. Exhaustion can make it difficult to keep on top of your workload, causing further loss of motivation and stress. This stress can also make sleep difficult, leading to irritability, weakened immune system, and heightened emotional responses, such as crying. And even worse exhaustion.

As MC told us, burnout and depression can often go hand in hand, as well as feelings of shame, dissatisfaction and a lack of motivation.

“I feel the burnout usually accompanied by sadness or a depression and will sit with it for usually a week or two,” MC explained. “I’ll try to go to the gym, get my endorphins up in a spin class or treadmill walk, but often lose motivation quickly on keeping it consistent. I will daydream about going to a cafe and getting out but once it comes to doing it, I feel like it’s this massive daunting task and I’d rather stay in.”

Why Christmas doesn’t help

According to psychologist and relationship advisor Barbara Santini, Christmas often fails as a burnout remedy.

“Burnout, fundamentally, is the culmination of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” she explained. “It’s characterized by three dimensions: feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”

And Christmas, despite being hailed as a respite, does not properly address these aspects of burnout. Instead, the festive stress can make things even worse.

“The pressures of social gatherings, financial concerns, and the emotional labour involved in maintaining the facade of festive cheer can further deplete one’s already strained resources. This ‘holiday paradox’ – the clash between the idealized expectations of relaxation and the reality of holiday-related stress – can leave individuals more exhausted than they were before.”

“We adjust to a certain level of activity and stress,” Wanic explains. “Taking time off creates a new set point with lower stress and energy expenditure.”

And then, unlike December, there’s no holiday on the horizon. There’s no festivities, no merriment or excitement for the festive season. Where you may have been clinging to the approaching Christmas break, January offers no such promises. So, with no oasis in sight, the disconnect and exhaustion of burnout can be easily felt.

Plus, mindset psychologist Dr Rebekah Wanic tells us that taking a break resets your expectations of stress and activity. This means that the effort levels you could put in before the break no longer match with the levels you can put in when you get back. Your mind is prepared for much lower levels of activity and stress, which doesn’t line up with the amount of hard work you may be used to.

“We adjust to a certain level of activity and stress,” Wanic explains. “Taking time off creates a new set point with lower stress and energy expenditure. As a consequence, getting back into the grind can be extra challenging. (Think of it like the pain of going back to the gym after taking a few weeks off.)”

So we can often be left feeling dissatisfied and disappointed with our productivity levels after a break.

How to effectively tackle January burnout

Clearly, banking all our rest time on periods like Christmas doesn’t work. So how can we better protect ourselves and recover from January burnout?

…if we’re already burned out, how do we use breaks like Christmas as a helpful recovery period?

Santini offers us a few strategies, emphasising that proactive and consistent self-care is a vital part of burnout recovery. This applies to both the holiday period and working life. Burnout cannot be prevented by only resting and taking care of yourself during the holiday period. As much as many of us want to keep up productivity – whether it’s for ourselves or for others – the likelihood of burnout will only increase if we don’t allow ourselves to be unproductive once in a while. It seems like an obvious solution, but for a lot of us, hearing that we’re allowed to be unproductive can take a huge weight off. Taking time off is not only recommended but encouraged.

Christmas still remains the most consistently available holiday for most people. So, if we’re already burned out, how do we use breaks like Christmas as a helpful recovery period?

The big thing that prevents Christmas from being restful is the unrealistic expectation that the festivities will be some sort of panacea. The letdown of our ailments not being cured by some festive cheer only makes the January burnout worse. Instead of setting yourself up for New Year disappointment, engaging in genuinely restful activities with realistic expectations can allow this period to actually replenish you.

Next steps

Santini offers us a simple 6 step plan on how to recover from January burnout.

1. Conscious disconnection

Whether you’re still on holiday or back to work, conscious disconnection can help you keep burnout at bay. It’s about taking time to genuinely disconnect from work and work-related activities or thoughts. For example, not answering work calls or emails outside of work hours can help you maintain clear boundaries between work and rest. This helps your mind to take a real, beneficial break from stressors.

How to avoid burning out by saying no

2. Mindful relaxation

With the free time you have, it’s best to spend it wisely. And that means doing activities that bring you relaxation, enjoyment and fulfilment. This could be reading, going for walks, sports, or any other kind of hobby. If you constantly interrupt restful time by doing things you should be doing, it can be hard to feel truly rested.

3. Reflect and reassess

Take your downtime as time for introspection. What kind of stress have you been experiencing lately? What has been building up to make you so burned out? It could be your workload, a lack of support, insufficient rewards or any other factors. Figuring out what has led to your burnout can help you to effectively tackle it once you return to work.

4. Plan for change

Once you’ve narrowed down some of the root causes of your burnout, it’s time to address these issues. This may be through setting boundaries at work, changing your work habits, seeking support, or even planning for a career change. If you haven’t gone back to work just yet, then this may be the ideal time to begin the planning process.

5. Restorative practices

Recovery can’t all be about thinking and planning. Resting is just as important for tackling burnout, helping to reset your stress response and improve your ability to handle long term stress. Restorative practices can be any restful activity such as yoga, meditation or mindfulness.

6. Seek support

If the January burnout has truly overwhelmed you, consider seeking support from a mental health professional. Through this, you can gain numerous tools and strategies to better manage your work life balance, ease your stress and finally tackle burnout once and for all.

Take a look at some of Deidre’s award nominated work

Aiden Winn

Aiden is an editorial and production staffer at Title Media. He’s constantly looking for opportunities to have fun and get creative, whether it be art, baking, storytelling… you name it!

The post January burnout – why Christmas didn’t fix it appeared first on Silver Magazine.

After a life-changing retreat to Kalukanda House, Harriet Forde turned 60 and ditched her 36-year career in interior design for an exploration of food and a more holistic lifestyle. We spoke to her about the transformational journey, and about the retreat. And now we want to go too.

Do you even know who you are anymore?

The emotional fallout over the last few years has made a retreat from the fast pace and crushing pressure of the ever-growing, extremely demanding, corporate world particularly appealing. But knowing whether to alter your actual career can be difficult to figure out.

The career change is something that had been brewing for a long time

Your identity may be rooted in a working environment if you have been in one line of work for many years. Discovering who you are, without that foundation, may seem daunting and make it harder to know when to move on.

Harriet Forde is an interior and textile designer, mother of two, wife, and founder of Harriet Forde Design. Approaching 60, Harriet felt that she was ready for change. But it was her stay at Kalukanda House that truly allowed space for reflection. And gave her a clearer perspective on the way forward.

“The career change is something that had been brewing for a long time,” she says. “Staying at Kalukunda house reinforced the need to let go of the old and create space for the new.”

Harriet’s experience

Harriet Forde

While being a successful entrepreneur, Harriet has always enjoyed the moments of “me time” she has got from cooking, yoga, travelling, massage, meditation and reading. Yet it was her experience at this retreat that was the pivotal moment in her journey to her new career in food and nutrition.

She described the retreat as “perfectly put together,” and great for those who need some time out to be surrounded by like-minded creatives. Harriet explained that each activity had its benefits: “Doing yoga every day was definitely a plus for my body – I loved the stretch! The gong bath and cacao ceremony are still clearly in my mind seven months later. The massage was amazing too… I knew I needed this week of unapologetic devotion to my body.”

Harriet explained she took part in the Journey to the Heart retreat because it called to her and everything she craved. She had no nerves when embarking on this journey because she had so much faith in the people and the process. She knew one of the founders, Dee Gibson, and decided it was the right call for her.

“Dee described the programme and I felt it chime with me. I needed time out, and to be surrounded by like-minded creatives.  I have done several retreats before and so I had an idea about what works for me – this looked like it would.”

She described Dee as a good person and a top host for the retreat. Harriet recommends the experiences to all travellers, especially solo ones.

“I knew I needed this week of unapologetic devotion to my body.”

Ultimately, it is simple. The space gave her time to breathe, away from the chaos and emotional turmoil the past through years have put us through. The healing and revelations that came from Kalukanda House, and all that it has to offer and nurture, finally gave her the momentum she needed to plan her new ventures with the Slow Food movement.

Read more: The healing power of horses helped mend my heartbreak

What is Kalukanda House?

Founder, Dee Gibson

Sri Lanka is a well-known hotspot for beautiful beaches to relax and unwind on, which can make it a rather busy destination. However, if you travel south to the sandy coast of Weligama, you will uncover many hidden gems, such as the shallow coral reefs, the prized Taprobane Island, and Kalukanda House.

The designers have created decadent rooms to “nourish your heart and soul.” The handcrafted beds, fluffy pillows, organic toiletries, and deluxe power showers emphasise the importance of rest and rejuvenation while supporting local craftspeople. Every morning you can open the hand-carved shutters to reveal a jungle garden bursting with song and endemic wildlife.

The yoga shala and pool are great areas to uplift your spirit through exercise, conversation, or daydreaming, set against blue sky and palm trees or candle-lit dusk. The landscape is a slice of paradise, watched over by an ancient (some may say magical!) Bodhi Tree. It is a safe space in which to lose yourself, and a place where you ultimately find a deeper sense of who you want to become.

Relaxing at the pool at Kalukanda House

What happens at the retreat?

They apply a personally tailored program to dedicate your day to individual healing and guided wellness practices. You will be part of an intimate group of six to eight women. This will help you to find comfort, strength, and security during uncertain times. As you take part in consultations with wellness practitioners and engage in yoga, meditation, and body treatments, the aim is to listen to your inner silence to unlock your highest potential and find a new grounding for the new challenges ahead of you.

“It is a safe space in which to lose yourself, and a place where you ultimately find a deeper sense of who you want to become.”

You will spend your mornings engaging in yoga, meditation, and breathwork, followed by breakfast. Afterwards, they encourage you to converse, journal, and reflect with the others. You then have some downtime to explore the village via the abundance of tuk-tuks, or surf and scuba with trained professionals. Then it is time for lunch, freshly prepared by the on-site chef using locally sourced ingredients.

Your afternoons are spent having a massage or ayurvedic consultation, followed by a gong bath, cacoa ceremony, or reiki. Then there is time for more meditation and finally dinner, drinks, and snacks. It truly is the most luxurious dip into experimental travel.

Yoga at Kalukanda House

How have things changed for Harriet?

In the spirit of taking each day as it comes, Harriet’s new plan is ever-evolving. Which, at the age of 60, she is delighted about. After taking a deep dive into herself and reconnecting her head with her heart, Harriet realised she needed a complete break from her old career in interior design to give space for the new.

“I have continued experimenting in my own kitchen with food, fermentation, and foraging. I have completed a short writing course with producing copy in mind. As well as this, I have joined the Slow Food movement and looked into a variety of NGO organisations in the UK to do with sustainability and food education to see what chimes with me.”

And, inspired by the vast array of delicious meals she enjoyed in Sri Lanka, Harriet has joined the ZOE nutrition programme. This has allowed her to better understand how what she eats, affects her body. Which will maintain the wellbeing she gained from her time at Kalukanda House.

Harriet’s essentials for the trip of a lifetime

We will leave it up to you to pack the basics. But here are a few extras you may not think of:

• Noise cancelling headphones for the plane journey
• An inspiring book
• An idea for a piece of jewellery to be made in Galle
• A set of very open senses – “the smells, tastes, and sounds of Sri Lanka need to be soaked up.”

Kalukanda House at night

If you are looking to make a positive social impact, here are some more details…

Journey to the Heart December 2023

Register here: stay@kalukandahouse.com

Special inaugural retreat only price of $412 (per person)

Private room – $520 (per person)

Twin room – $260 (per person)

Note: $50 per guest is donated to a local charity empowering women and girls

Beth Pratt

Beth is one of Silver’s interns. She loves reading and studying literature. Entering her final year of university, Beth still finds time to dance, swim, and have a pint with friends. Her favourite hobby is going to coffee shops, if you can call it a hobby!

The post How a life-changing retreat transformed this 60-year-old’s life appeared first on Silver Magazine.

We’re all feeling a bit mad after the pandemic, aren’t we? It feels like everything has changed, but nothing has changed at the same time. If you’re not feeling ‘quite right’, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. But are you burnt out after the pandemic, or finding other mental health issues rearing their heads?

Lockdown was amazing for some people. I’ve seen friends – normally under massive pressure in busy offices, slogging through a daily commute – thrive in lockdown, working at home. Free from the shackles of their nine-to-five, they had the time to do yoga, plan good nutritious food. And have a productive, uninterrupted working day, followed by self-care activities and hobbies in the evening. 

And for many of those furloughed, it was just as positive. With time at home, spent with children, family, pets. Just time to breathe, and engage in enriching activities like writing, crafts, or sunbathing. Time spent living, not working. Complete bliss.

Coming up to retirement? Here’s how to avoid the downsides of retirement

Not everyone had a great lockdown though

However, we can’t ignore that this wasn’t the case for everyone. A third of adults reported smoking more and drinking more to cope with their mental decline during lockdowns. 

Many struggled with the lack of social connection, particularly those living alone. We had to cope with the loneliness of missing close friends and family for months at a time. 

Now it’s been over a year since Covid restrictions were lifted, and almost eight months since the need to legally self-isolate was removed. 

But it certainly hasn’t been an overnight return to ‘normal’. And reactions have been mixed: some glad to be reunited with an abundance of human connection. While others have been missing the freedoms of time that came with lockdowns. 

So, how has our mental wellbeing been impacted in the post-pandemic world? 

Making sense of post-pandemic life

We spoke to psychologist Gabrielle Treanor to try and make sense of what she’s called the ‘post-pandemic emergence’. 

Treanor discusses how throughout the pandemic, the majority of us were in a state of permanent survival. This was a time categorised by anxiety and fear. We were always on our toes, worried about paying bills, our health, the health of loved ones, death, and loneliness. 

In the post-pandemic shift, we’ve come out of some of that anxiety surrounding coronavirus. However, we’ve been thrown straight into new fears. The war in Ukraine, adapting to a Brexit society, and even the emergence of Monkey Pox. 

Psychologist Gabrielle Treanor (Image: gabrielletreanor.com)

Our energy stores have been heavily depleted, Treanor says. Now we have no resources to fall back on when facing these new threats. Many of us are simply burnt out.

Treanor explains that a lot of the time during the pandemic, we felt we weren’t thinking straight, often distracted and tired from overthinking situations, or from simply having nothing else to do but think all day, stuck in the house. 

we have no resources to fall back on when facing these new threats. Many of us are simply burnt out.

Although our freedom of movement has returned, largely, we are still coping with the effects of such a massive change in lifestyle, and many people are struggling to re-adapt.

How can we learn to adapt again?

Decision making

From being stuck in the house for months on end, we’ve learnt not to make rash decisions. After having had the time to slow down, many of us were able to take a step back and consider our lives and decisions. Remembering this in post-pandemic life can serve us by taking time when it comes to making big choices. 

Valuing what matters

We’ve learnt to pare things back, and focus on the things that really matter to us. Whether that’s spending quality time with family, or seeing friends that you don’t speak to enough, or making time for ourselves, we need to hold on to that. We have a better grasp on what we value as individuals, and should remember that going forward. 

Resources

Put some time into rebuilding your resources. When we become emotionally and mentally exhausted from overthinking, anxieties, and uncertainty, our resources deplete. Take time to recoup when you feel burnt out. 

Creating space in which you can recover is vital to rebuilding your emotional resources. Find a safe environment, where you feel free from responsibilities, like work. Relax and do what you enjoy. Spending time in nature is also a sure way to reduce stress and benefit your wellbeing.

Staying ‘mentally healthy’

In such turbulent times it’s important to maintain your mental health, so here are our tips to be as ‘mentally healthy’ as you can. 

• Focus on your hobbies – make sure to dedicate time to doing the things you love. Working on crafts, sport, playing an instrument, or reading.
• Keep track of tasks – keep a database of your tasks and break them down, so that you can see them clearly and it doesn’t take up unnecessary mental resources thinking and planning in your mind.
• Connect with loved ones – after so long of not being able to socialise, reaching out and spending time with friends can feel quite stilted.
• Reach out for professional help – If you’re struggling, here are some links for further help,

Mind, Anxiety UK, Mental health.gov – where to find resources. 

Lana Hall

Lana can usually be found spinning her collection of records, or writing odd poems in her phone notes. Her mixer of choice is a ginger beer, and you’ll never find her away from the sea for more than a few weeks.

The post Are you feeling burnt out? How to get back on track… appeared first on Silver Magazine.