Vacation time won’t cure burnout or rust out
Since November hit, I’ve wanted to jump ahead to January to get away from all of the buzz of November and December.
Some of the buzz feels nice - like downtown trees all lit up with lights, more baking to both warm up the kitchen and our stomachs, and candles and fires. Nature shows us this season is for slow down, rest, a turn inward, and connection with loved ones. I imagine myself reading a book tucked under warm fluffy covers with hot tea.
But so much of the buzz feels icky and stressful. I notice this with clients who have started coming to our sessions more stressed, overwhelmed, and unsettled right now than usual. Hell, it was 3 years ago in November 2020 when I went on FMLA due to “increased stress, anxiety, and depression that cause most job functions to be unmanageable, especially administrative tasks and planning.” The burnout had been building and then the added bullshitery that comes after Halloween was too much.
How, then, do you work and live more intentionally and slowly within a capitalistic system? How do you stay connected to your values and embody boundaries that keep you out of shoulds, overwhelming spirals, and the like?
First, we accept and acknowledge that these times are exhausting, and anxiety/depression are added exhaustions.
This pace of living is meant to keep you in chronic burnout. It’s not natural nor humane. The need for rest will go against the at-all-costs work ethic that drives capitalistic profit making in this country. To rest will, at first and for a while, feel uncomfortable.
In the words of a past Reclaim You participant, the professional work system (be it healthcare, academia, corporate), “will try to take your soul, and they'll pay you pennies for your brilliance." And then the system will blame you for your burnout or rust out, saddle you with recovery, and expect you to feel grateful to have a few days off for winter holidays.
There are so many forces at play that work against genuine rest this time of year. As you read each of these, identify what patterns or people are particularly draining for you:
Social and cultural norms
Family ‘traditions’ and expectations
Workplace demands and culture of year end and performance
Your own expectations and wants for this time of year
Capitalism’s pressure for spending and doing more
This is the icky buzz of this time of the year. You'll likely go into these far too few vacation days with a long list of things to do, places to go, and the desire for rest. And then return to work in January more exhausted but blaming yourself. Or is that just me?
Second, we learn to rest differently - and more intentionally.
And it needs to be in sync with what you need otherwise rest becomes one more thing on your to-do list.
In my work, I have found that true rest requires embodiment and embodied boundaries.
For the last few winter seasons I’ve talked about how there are 7 types of rest that high-achievers and overers need in order to rebuild rest in a regenerative way. Regenerative rest means think of yourself as an ecosystem. And when a part of your inner ecosystem is awry, then other parts get out of whack. Regenerative rest might look like incorporating restorative practices into your routines and schedule. Or creating more space to grab that 30 minutes of reading under the covers in front of the fire. Or grab tea with a colleague and catch up for a few.
Ultimately, what I want you to know is that learning to be embodied often starts with structured, scaffolded practices to improve self-regulation so that you awaken the physical body and strengthen the mental and emotional.