Don’t get me wrong, I love the Holidays. It’s a time for celebrations and festivities. But it is also a time when stress and tension are at their highest.
Many activities and demands arise during this season, with challenging or unrealistic deadlines to meet before the holidays. Additionally, this is the season when many of us embark on travels that often require weeks, or even months, of planning. A lot of us are also preparing for family gatherings. And let’s be honest here: we all know that spending time with family can also be triggering.
These things can do a number on our nervous system.
It can leave us feeling tired but wired, burnout, which is a state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion.
When burnout creeps in, it can make you feel lethargic. You may notice that your sleep quality is going down the drain, it’s easier for you to catch colds and/or coughs, you may experience brain fog, or maybe the opposite, you overthink everything.
Unexplained weight gain, feeling easily overwhelmed, and symptoms of hormonal imbalance like irregular periods may appear commonplace and harmless. Still, they could actually be happening due to the year-end stress.
No wonder our New Year’s Resolution usually revolves around health & wellness since many of us feel dog-tired by the time the clock strikes midnight on the 31st of December.
So, how do we beat the year-end exhaustion?
Well, you can start by not waiting until you feel burned out.
Here are some suggestions to avoid the year-end burnout…
Check-in with yourself
Make it a habit to check in with yourself daily. We are so good at checking our phones or checking in on our loved ones, but we hardly ever stop for a moment and ask ourselves if we are ok. You can start by doing so once a day, but ideally, you want to check with yourself a few times a day. Ask yourself how you feel? What about your thoughts? Is your mind racing or foggy? Ask yourself what you need at that very moment. If it needs rest, then give yourself time to rest. Even sitting back on your chair, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breath for a moment can be relaxing.
Keeping it regular
Try to keep it regular when it comes to eating, sleeping, waking up, and moving your body. This means you eat, sleep, wake, and exercise at, or approximately around, the same time each day. By keeping these life essentials regular, we are supporting the behavioral, mental & physiological aspects of our body so that each of them is able to function optimally, which is very much needed, all the more so during stressful periods in our life.
Ask for help
Author and activist Hellen Keller once said, “Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much.” I couldn’t agree more. As your daily task and workload increases towards the end of the year, ask for help. Don’t feel bad about it. It is not a sign of weakness. Get family members to help out with house chores and/or running errands. Gather a team at work that could help you complete a project. Let’s normalize asking for help.
About the Author
Gwen Winarno is a certified Holistic Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).
She is living and working remotely from Bali to help clients worldwide with her Living Well with Gwen coaching programs that focus on mind and body health.
Gwen Winarno
Holistic Health Coach
Instagram: @livingwellwithgwen
Website: www.livingwellwithgwen.com
E-mail: livingwellwithgwen@gmail.com
English