When it Feels Like a Tuesday
For context, I write this blog post on the Tuesday after Blue Monday in January 2026. Without oversharing, I felt that it was important to address the topic of Burnout. I’ve seen a number of clients in the last 3 months wrestling with this, and I admit that last year I was taken out by it too.
Poor mental health should not feel shameful to discuss. I share this in an attempt to tackle some of the stigma around it, with the hope to create awareness of what burnout is, and where appropriate, generate healthy conversation.
Autumn slide into Winter
Aside from the very real effects temperature changes on body, and the changes in daylight hours on the body, the occurrence of burnout in Autumn and Winter affects more than half of the UK’s workforce (54% in a 2025 study).
How does Burnout happen?
Psychology Today has written a brilliant article on this (click here for the link). On reading this article, the biggest thing that stood out to me was the section about the psychological impact around the pressure to achieve and perform in the final quarter of the year when energy levels are most depleted. I don’t know about you, but this is sounding very familiar to me!
The “Art of Wintering” is something that I feel is underrated. The natural energy of the living things around us slows to a gentle rest; a peaceful turn inward towards a type of centreing. Comparatively we still race around to keep up with busy commitments, while using more energy to battle against the elements to “get stuff done”, which one could argue feels much less arduous, even a pleasure, in Spring or Summer. I think we can agree that it’s much easier to swim with a current rather than against one.
PSA for Anyone Struggling with Burnout
After seeing a number of clients experience burnout this winter, I thought it pertinent to share this for anyone who is currently in the quagmire of this horrid phenomenon, or for anyone teetering on the precipice. This blog post is an attempt to show some solidarity.
Can Reflexology help with burnout? To an extent.
Can Massage help with burnout? Maybe.
Can Access Bars help with Burnout? Possibly.
Once you’ve identified that you might have reached burnout, listen to your body, and see what feels right. Hitting the gym hard might feel too harsh for some, and a release for others. Being outside more might feel revitalising, or abrasive. Find what works for you… your body knows what it needs, so let it inform you.
The only thing I can say for sure is that you will come out of the other side. I promise.
What does Burnout Feel like?
This is the closest analogy I can come up with for burnout. Or at least this is how it felt for me. for anyone who has no experience of burnout, this will likely make very little sense and seem abstract. For those who have lived through it… firstly you are incredible, and secondly, I feel sure that this will sound familiar.
I wonder how this will resonate with you?
If it does sound familiar, perhaps its time for a conversation. Maybe that’s with the GP, maybe that’s taking back control of booking in that regular Reflexology session, or meeting up with friends for a coffee? If you’re not sure, that’s okay too. We can chat if that would help.
It feels like a Tuesday.
To me burnout feels like a Tuesday.
Definitely not a Monday, nor the quite hopefulness of a Wednesday, nor the pre-giddiness of a Thursday for Friday, and most certainly not freedom days of Friday or Saturday, and certainly not the mellowness of a Sunday, which in the evening turns into the “Sunday scaries” for an anticipatory Monday feeling. Definitely… Tuesday. Or at least, I know how a Tuesday feels to me, but since I can’t accurately define what a Tuesday feeling is, I wonder if my Tuesday feels more like your Thursday?
I can tell you what I’m not feeling.
It’s one of those: I’m not sad, I’m not happy, I’m not hungry, I’m not thirsty, I’m not tired, I’m not worried, I’m not stressed. But I can tell you that I don’t feel like me. Or I don’t feel like a version of me that I fully recognise, but know that this is still me.
What’s happening in my body? I’m shaky, like an internal organ vibrating sensation. But I’m not cold. My chest feels tight, but my breathing and daily activities are unaffected. When I go to the gym and lift heavy weights, this makes tears run down my face, which I quickly wipe away so that no one sees. But remember, I’m not sad. When I stretch after a session, I cry, but I’m lying down so no one can see the pools of tears gathering, which then cascade down my face. But I’m not sad… or stressed. My joints ache and I feel heavy, but I’m not ill.
What are my thoughts? Incoherent and jumbled. Some good, some not so good. I won’t say bad because they feel like they are based in reality. But it would be fair to say that some thoughts aren’t kind.
I feel like I’m pushing to be present, but I admit that I’m more present in body than mind. I actually feel hollow. But hollow isn’t necessarily good or bad. Like an Easter Egg, is just an Easter Egg. Is impassive the word?
The GP says that I need to rest. Burnout apparently. I know that I’m not fine, but I’m also not ill. I need to give my brain and body time to recalibrate, reconnect, recentre. How long will it take until I feel more like me, and less like Tuesday? No one can give me a straight answer.
What I can tell you.
Five weeks on, I feel like I’ve got my edges back. I hadn’t noticed that my ability to feel had become dulled. I’m feeling joy again. Where it fills up your body, like feeling full of yellow. I can’t explain how it feels exactly, but it feels solid, comforting, familiar and most importantly, tangible. Either way, I’m feeling less like a Tuesday.
I’m making a conscious effort to make plans for things that make me feel more yellow. Booking dates in the diary to see friends, go to the cinema, learn a random skill. Do things for my brain, body, and soul that feel nourishing not depleting. I’m putting my boundaries back in place, instead of everything leaching into an amorphic mess. I feel better for managing my time to make it work for me, instead of racing to keep up. Perhaps it’s the old adage, some may see it as impressive to have worked your fingers to the bone to own a seven bedroom house, but remember that you can only sleep in one bed at a time. I definitely do not have a seven bedroom house, but to use the metaphor, I can only exist in one moment at a time. How I choose to spend that moment IS within my control.
So, I’m taking back control. And Tuesday. Tuesday is feels friendlier. I have nice things planned on Tuesdays. I might not be able to define what Tuesday feels like completely, but I choose to take ownership of how I can feel on Tuesday.
Resonate?
If any of this unexpectedly resonated with you, like I said earlier on, perhaps it’s time to have a conversation.
Taking time to rest is super important. It’s vital for your brain and body to function effectively.
If you want to find out more about rest and relaxation, check out my very first blog post about this here.
Links found in this Blog Post
Hummingbird Holistic Therapies: Rest Vs. Relaxation https://hummingbird-holistics.co.uk/rest-vs-relaxation/
IFA Magazine: World Mental Health Day | New study sheds light on burnout rates in the UK, with over 1 in 2 suffering. https://ifamagazine.com/world-mental-health-day-new-study-sheds-light-on-burnout-rates-in-the-uk-with-over-1-in-2-suffering/
Psychology Today: The Fall of the Fall: Why Autumn is Burnout Season. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-psychology-of-work/202510/the-fall-of-the-fall-why-autumn-is-burnout-season
