Wintery burnout - are you ready?

The aisles in Aldi do not lie: the mince pies and Christmas puddings are already on display.

Before we know it, it will be Halloween, then fireworks and terrified pets, and on the road to Christmas. In just over a month, on my road at least, the first Christmas trees will be going up. Daylight is reducing - we’re getting closer to winter.

Are you ready?

WINTER REALITY CHECK:

1. Less daylight = Vitamin D deficiency = fatigue, muscle weakness, bone pain, mood changes, and increased susceptibility to infections. Vitamin deficiency is reported to jump from 1 in 6 people in the UK, to 1 in 3 people in winter months.

2. Big bills and expectations = Stress caused by financial worry and the guilt which comes with not providing more than you think you should at Christmas - the presents, stockings, food and Christmas decs - the overwhelming need to bring joy to our children at this time of year. It’s got worse due to ‘Instagrammable’ Christmases and social media comparison-it-is on the one hand, but a cost-of-living crisis on the other.

3. More sedentary = increased apathy, declining physical fitness, increasing blood sugar and cholesterol levels, less social connection or leaving your house in your free time (who wants to voluntarily go for a trek in the dark, bitterly cold wind?)

4. Christmas temptation (this is my personal weakness) = my booze consumption drastically goes up. I never drink Baileys the rest of the year but nearing to Christmas, I feel like I ‘need’ it, along with the port, the sweet desert wine, mulled wine and all the other alcoholic drinks I would never ordinarily drink. Sugary mince pies by the dozen (all covered with brandy butter), Christmas cake with thick marzipan, luxury pork pies, chocolate (boxes of it) = the knowledge I’m moving out of shape, feeling lethargic, and generally down in mood, so I grab yet another mince pie to comfort myself. It’s Christmas - why not?

5. Loneliness - maybe you don’t have much family, or they’re on the other side of the world? Winter can be completely crap - people are generally out a bit less, and then we head into Christmas. Age UK estimates that 1.4 million elderly people will expect to feel lonely this Christmas, but what about alienated parents who don’t see their kids? Couples who wanted kids but for whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out? The loneliness extends across the age groups, during an often painful season of heightened emotions.

So what’s your plan?

What do you commit to start doing to safeguard your wellbeing?

This is what I do:

1. Vitamin D supplements, every day through the winter months, from September to March. I never miss a day!
2. Commitment to team based sporting activities (so it’s harder for me to bail out on the activity when it’s only 3 degrees, there is a gale blowing and the rain is so heavy, it hurts my face). If you’ve committed to something with other people, it’s just less likely you’ll take the easy way out.
3. Firm boundaries on alcohol - it’s only available during weekends. I’m pretty solid on this boundary most of the year anyway, but it is an absolutely unbreakable boundary during winter months (other than 2 weeks over the main Christmas period).
4. No Christmas indulgence until the first full week of December has passed. No baileys, mince pies or anything else until then, so the food/booze debauchery is constrained to 2-3-week period only.
5. Our expenditure on Christmas presents is reserved for the kids (our kids), and then for wider family, we either make stuff (usually food related) or do Secret Santa’s for the adults in the wider family, so rather than buy 27 gifts for all the different in-laws etc, it’s just 1 gift for 1 person with a recommended budget (usually £20ish) which means reduced bills for everyone, less tat, less consumption and less logistical pressure.
6. Christmas neighbours party: every year, we personally invite people up and down the road to come over, so they can connect and get to know those around them on the road. It continues to be one of the highlights of Christmas (usually happens on the middle weekend of December). We always invite people we don’t know but who live on the road.
7. Winter blood tests - off to the GP each year. I’m 52, so how are my vitamin levels? My testosterone, blood sugars and Cholesterol?

These form part of my autumn-winter routine, to maintain my wellbeing and keep me in a good place in these darker, colder months, but what about you?

Are you ready?

What is your plan for thriving through winter?

If you want to bring the topic of burnout to life, either as a keynote talk, or as part of an away day, or wellbeing week initiative, or even as a collaborative, mini-podcast series for your organisation, then get in touch and let’s talk.

I’m a CPD accredited and TEDx speaker, podcaster and author, delivering entertaining, inspirational and relatable keynote talks, grounded in lived experience and global research.

Connect with me at: https://www.andrewpain.co.uk/

And/ Or let’s connect on Linkedin and DM me to book an exploratory conversation

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