Not always in their words — but in what sits underneath. A quiet kind of tiredness.
A sense that this year has asked more of us than we expected.
For some, it’s been a year of change; for others, a year of simply holding on.
Work pressures, financial strain, parenting, health issues, relationships stretched thin. Life in our region is full and fast — even when it looks steady from the outside.
What we’re feeling here mirrors what’s happening nationally. Research across Australia shows burnout is rising sharply.
A recent analysis from the University of NSW found that burnout was no longer a fringe issue, with the complexity of modern life taking a bigger toll than ever before.
We see headlines pointing to societal costs of $39 billion a year — but even that number can’t capture the human experience behind it: the late-night worry, the emotional load, the quiet moments where you realise just how much you’ve carried.
And as the festive season arrives, the load doesn’t necessarily lighten. For some, it’s a highlight.
For others, it’s complicated — full of organising, travel, tricky family dynamics, old hurts that resurface, empty chairs at the table, or simply keeping the wheels turning when you’re already running low.
Many of us take a breath at this time of year and realise we’ve been holding it for months
We’re good at pushing through. We show up. We do the work. We shoulder responsibility without making a fuss.
But that doesn’t mean the load isn’t real: the short fuse, the aching tiredness, the sense that the list never ends, the unexpected curveballs that arrived when you could least afford them.
This time of year has a way of showing us what we’ve carried — and also how much we’ve managed to get through, often quietly and without recognition. We don’t give ourselves much credit for that.
Jack Kornfield puts it simply: “If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.”
It’s okay to acknowledge when something has been a lot.
It’s okay to recognise the things you’ve held together — the things you handled, the things you kept moving even when you were running on empty.
As the year winds down, I hope you find a moment — even a brief one — to notice the road you’ve travelled and the effort it took, and to take good care of yourself as the year concludes.
Dr Dan Harrison is a psychologist and founder of Lumenara. His coming 'Resilient' workshop is raising funds for Movember and Beyond Blue. For more details on the workshop, or to learn more about Dan's work, you can visit him at Liberation Health Echuca, or pop in and see Amy Harrison.
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