Publicist Jane Souza, 31, saw her demands double in the months leading up to the end of the year. Since the company she works for is going on a group vacation, she needs to prepare all the marketing materials to publish during the break, in addition to doing her normal routine.
“We have an end-of-year campaign and collection launch,” he says. “I try to organize myself, but whenever I think I have everything under control, new orders arrive.” “It seems that at the end of the year, everyone wants everything for yesterday.”
Jane also does freelance work to supplement her income, and has noticed those requests have increased. Your personal goals and spending time with your family and spouse end up falling by the wayside this time of year, adding to the feeling of emotional overload.
“There is still a need to resolve the backlog by the end of this year, to enter the next cycle with everything decided,” says Ari Rehfeld, a virtual existential psychotherapist and professor at PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo).
Rehfeld explains that on the eve of breaks or vacations, time seems to slow down due to the expectation of rest. “As we get older, we feel that time passes faster and that there is less space to do everything we want.”
Physiotherapist Vivian Dalto, 44, says that at the end of each year she finds herself faced with a series of school reunions and presentations by her two daughters. “I struggle with the anticipation. I always promise I’ll take on fewer obligations, but I realize they’re increasing year after year.”
In addition to the accumulated issues, Rehfeld highlights that this period held a social ideal of happiness, union, and enthusiasm for new things. This expectation can generate feelings of guilt in those who are not as excited as they think they are. Family conflicts and difficult relationships also make the holidays a source of anxiety for many people.
Psychologist Larissa Fonseca points out that pressure to “tie up loose ends” can create a sense of urgency that isn’t always real. The promise of satisfaction when everything is completed is often frustrating, with the demands continuing into the following year.
This is how student Wagner Estevam, 22, feels. The end of the year coincided with the closure of the college, the handover of TCC, and the end of training. “I want to finish everything feeling like I did the best I could, with the time and resources I had,” he says. “It’s overloaded because I’m putting more energy into everything.”
Plane pilot Gabriel Morari (30 years old) says that the coincidence between the end of the cycles in his life and the end of the year contributes to the feeling of overload during this period. This year, preparing for the airline selection process increases the number of flights you get called for, filling your schedule.
Experts say the emotional effects of this buildup include mental fatigue, irritability, memory failure, difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, anxiety, and lack of motivation. Jane, Vivian, Wagner, and Gabrielle say that motivation, sleep, and anxiety become out of control at the end of the year.
Vivian reports that she feels guilty for not being able to fulfill all of her obligations. “I find it difficult to say no and feel physically and mentally exhausted.” Jane noticed this too. When you feel exhausted, you give up free time and lose the desire to go to parties. “It was supposed to be something fun, but it turned into just another mission.”
For Wagner, internal pressure is heavier than external pressure. He moved from Cariasica, in the Vitoria metropolitan area (Spain), to study software engineering in São Paulo. Since he was young, he has received support from his mother, who raised him alone, and from institutions such as the Ponte Institute and the Simmer Institute.
“I want them to be proud of me and that the opportunities I got were not in vain,” he says. “Balancing all of this is very difficult.”
End-of-year overload is usually episodic, but experts warn that it does not develop into conditions such as burnout or mental exhaustion.
“One-time overload happens when you have a busy week and recover after resting,” Fonseca explains. “With fatigue, no amount of rest can do that.”
The most common symptoms include persistent fatigue, lack of motivation, constant feelings of being late, loss of pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, and social isolation. “It’s profound physical and emotional exhaustion, which can cause headaches, muscle tension and digestive problems,” Rehfeld adds.
To avoid worsening the condition, psychologists suggest some strategies: delegating tasks, reviewing expectations, listing priorities, declining some invitations, limits communication, reserving moments for rest, maintaining a minimum sleep and eating routine and respecting signs of fatigue.
Jane says that attending regular psychotherapy sessions, which she has been doing since 2021, helps her get through this period. Wagner tries to maintain at least three physical activity sessions per week. Vivian relieves the pressure when she finds little moments to do nothing, although she finds them rare. Gabriel, on the other hand, likes to write things down in his diary and feels relieved when he sees the step completed.
“Learning to simplify processes doesn’t have to be so stressful,” says Rehfeld. “Sometimes we solve things more easily when we stop to think about the process, not just the outcome.”