Getting Over Burnout After the Holidays: Finding Your Rhythm Again

As the month winds down, many people expect to feel refreshed and ready to dive back into everyday life. But instead, it’s common to feel tired, scattered, or emotionally flat. After weeks of seudos, family gatherings, and spiritual focus, it takes time to find your balance again. Many expect to feel uplifted and renewed once the Yomim Tovim end, but often, what follows isn’t inspiration; it’s exhaustion.

If you’re feeling drained, unmotivated, or irritable after Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos, you’re not alone. This time of year can be beautiful and meaningful, yet also physically and emotionally draining. What you’re feeling isn’t laziness or lack of gratitude; it’s your body and mind asking for rest.

During the Yomim Tovim, our regular routines disappear. Sleep schedules get disrupted, meals become irregular, and our emotional energy is pulled in every direction. Hosting guests, traveling, or being surrounded by extended family can bring joy and connection, but also tension and overstimulation. Even spiritual highs require recovery. For weeks, many of us were running on adrenaline, juggling plans, expectations, and emotions. When everything suddenly quiets down, that stop can leave us feeling flat, fatigued, or a little lost.

If you notice that you feel tired even after sleeping, struggle to get back into a routine, or feel detached or emotionally numb, it may be a sign of burnout. You might even think, “I should feel inspired, not exhausted.” Recognizing these feelings with kindness instead of criticism makes all the difference.

Start by giving yourself permission to slow down. You don’t have to bounce back right away. Take time to recover your energy, both physically and emotionally. Move at a slower pace for a while. Try rebuilding structure one step at a time, rather than rushing to fill your schedule. 

Be kind in the way you talk to yourself. It’s so easy to slip into thoughts like, “I should be doing more.” But feeling worn out after weeks of giving and running around is completely normal. Try to let patience replace pressure. Sometimes that voice in your head saying you’re not doing enough isn’t reality, it’s just your tired mind talking. When that happens, take a moment to check the facts. Ask yourself, “Have I really been doing nothing? Or have I actually been juggling a lot and just need rest?” Most of the time, the facts show that you’ve been giving plenty. Remind yourself, “I’m allowed to pause. Resting doesn’t mean I’m falling behind.” Shifting the way you talk to yourself, even a little, can make it easier to recover and feel grounded again.

It’s also okay to say no. After so much togetherness, needing quiet or alone time doesn’t mean you’re antisocial; it means you’re human. Take an evening for yourself or step back from a few commitments. You don’t owe anyone an explanation.

And finally, bring back small joys. Sometimes what helps most isn’t rest, but reconnecting with things that bring a quiet smile, like music, a walk, a favorite book, or coffee with a friend. Small moments of calm and pleasure refill emotional energy in ways that sleep alone can’t.

You don’t have to push yourself back into full speed. You can ease back. Getting over burnout isn’t about doing more; it’s about doing less, with more intention. Give yourself permission to rest, reset, and return to your rhythm in your own time. You’ve given so much these past weeks. Now it’s time to give a little back to yourself.