Why You Still Feel Knackered Even After A Holiday

Hell yeah! you've finally booked a week off work. 

The diary is cleared, the out of office response is on baby, and you have absolutely nothing planned but pyjamas and Netflix or maybe there's a cheeky getaway booked.  

Your looking forward to sleeping for ten hours a night.... 10!  Not 5 with a 3am rude awakening to pee.  You're picturing being so chill you'll be giving Snoop a run for his money.

You're already daydreaming of the afternoon siestas and not lifting a damn finger.. not one!

Firstly... how did the leave go?

Did it live up to your dreams and expectations or was there glitches?  Tensions?  Things to do you'd forgotten about?  Fall outs with loved ones?  Children chaos?

What really happened?  Tell me all.

Before you know it though... you blinked and pooooof it was Monday 'bloody' morning again.

You're asking... 'how is it possible to feel heavier than I did before I stopped'. 

You're groggy, irritable, and your brain feels like it is wading through treacle again and your convinced there is not enough coffee to see you through the day and asking "Why am I still so bloody tired?"

I've been there and know countless people who've been the same.

If rest alone could fix the stress and burnout, we'd all be cured after a good Sunday lie-in. 

But stress burnout isn't just a battery that's in need of recharging. 

It's a symptom of a nervous system that has forgotten how to switch off.  A nervous system that it so hypervigilant it is on guard all day and all night whirling in the background and it is triggered AF by Mondays.

The difference between sleep and safety

When you're feeling stressed burnt out, depleted and a bit lost,  your body is often stuck in a sympathetic nervous system state. You've heard of "fight or flight" mode right?  That's the one. 

You might be physically lying on the sofa, chilling with a good book (Romantesy anyone 😉) but your subconscious is scanning for danger, worrying about that email, or replaying a conversation from last week, last month... three years ago.

Your body is still spending energy just to keep you "safe" from these perceived threats. 

This is why you can sleep for twelve hours and wake up exhausted. Your body is technically rested, but your nervous system didn't.

Why numbing isn't resting

We often confuse numbing out with resting. Scrolling through TikTok for three hours or binge-watching a series until your eyes burn isn't rest. It is dissociation.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good binge-watch. But when we use it to escape the noise in our heads, we aren't actually processing the stress cycle. We are just pressing pause. As soon as the TV goes off, the stress is still there waiting for us.

So, how do we actually recover?

Recovery requires a shift in identity, not just a gap in your calendar. It requires showing your nervous system that it is safe to let go.

• Active Rest: This might look like gentle movement, creative hobbies, or being in nature. Things that gently engage your brain without stressing it.
• Subconscious Safety: We need to work on the beliefs that drive your burnout and stress.  Do you feel you have to earn your rest? Are you worried people won't like you?  That you'll get things wrong? What is it trying to protect you from?
• Reiki and Energy Work: Sometimes we need help to shift the stagnant energy that keeps us in that high-alert state.

There is a reason why you can't relax.  

You're brain is just protecting you in the only way your body knows how right now.  

Once you start to identify the patterns things can start to shift.

If you are ready to stop running on fumes and start actually living, let's look at what's going on beneath the surface.

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