Packed schedule? Atlanta career coach offers tips to avoid holiday burnout.

For many busy professionals, the pressures of the holiday season begin to build well before the first glimpse of tinsel.

First, the December calendar starts filling up. Then, the pressures of holiday shopping heighten.

Throughout December, life becomes more hectic juggling a growing mountain of things to do and events to attend — making it easy to forget that it’s all supposed to be a season for joy and conviviality with family and friends.

Americans are more anxious about the holidays than they were last year, according to a poll by the American Psychiatric Association. Younger adults are feeling more pressure than older adults, with 49% of those ages 18-34 anticipating more stress this year. The APA poll also found that nearly a third of adults are worried about dealing with “challenging family dynamics” or being lonely.

“There’s a lot of tension that is arising in families,” said Kiki Ramsey, an Atlanta psychologist and career coach who goes by Dr. Kiki.

What stresses people most at the holidays

The top stressors are grief or missing someone, followed by worries about affording or finding holiday gifts, according to the APA poll.

“People are just not making enough money to really make the ends meet. Everything is so much more expensive,” Ramsey said. “It’s been really difficult for people.”

An Ipsos poll showed similar concerns, with 65% of respondents feeling stressed or worried about paying for gifts, while 32% were worried about managing family relationships or obligations.

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker poll asked respondents what they are stressed or worried about this holiday season. (Courtesy of Ipsos)

But others are feeling grateful and looking forward to seeing family and friends and eating good food, the polls found. It’s important to recognize varying perspectives through the season, according to APA President Theresa Miskimen Rivera.

“While many enjoy the holidays, this is a time of year that can be fraught with stress for some, driven by various circumstances such as finances, family relations, and grief,” she said in a statement.

Mounting demands

Ramsey, whose company offers positive psychology coaching, said women who tend to be nurturers may find the holiday period to be particularly stressful.

Dr. Kiki Ramsey, a career coach and positive psychologist, says it's OK to try and not do it all during the holidays. "A lot of women are people-pleasers. It should be OK to say no, and to delegate tasks to other people." (Courtesy of Kiki Ramsey)

They might have responsibilities of hosting friends and family, coordinating meals and overnight stays, and shepherding kids to school events for the holidays.

“You have to take off work to do those, because those are during the middle of the day,” she said. “All these things that are happening (make) life so hard.”

And then there are the pressures many face of attending work holiday events and parties.

Even for extroverts, “it gets to be a little too much for people,” Ramsey said. Some may want to skip events, but “most people go, show their face, grin, bear it — because it’s what expected.”

Ramsey said it’s important to know your boundaries.

“A lot of women are people-pleasers,” she said. It should be OK to say no, and to delegate tasks to other people, Ramsey added.

“This is a muscle that we can learn to practice ourselves, so that we can ultimately get better,” she said. “Because if you continue to take all this stuff on, that’s the thing that burns you out.”

Employers can play a role

Employers can also play a part in reducing the risk of holiday burnout, said Ramsey, who gives talks to organizations on happiness, leadership and diversity. Some companies shut down during the last week of December. Others can offer more flexibility, she said.

“During the holidays, there can be an unwritten rule that we want to give more flexibility, because we understand that the holidays can be stressful,” she said. “Maybe they give you another work from home day … so that you can deal with everything that you need to get done.”

Outside of work, emotional stressors can also intensify during the holidays. Relationships may be more strained because of finances or the political climate with different beliefs between family members, she said.

Family tensions

Within a family, someone may feel “I believe what you believe is harmful to me,” Ramsey said. “I think that that’s another real cause of stress during the holidays.”

And others may end up feeling responsible for trying to ease family tensions between relatives.

Ramsey also emphasized that the season can be particularly hard on people who are “inherently lonely.”