When Joy Feels Out of Reach: Navigating Burnout, Numbness & Seasonal Pressure | Mid Week Tease

This week on the Mid Week Tease, Adelle opens up a gentle, grounding conversation for anyone who feels emotionally out of sync with a season that demands joy. If you’re navigating burnout, numbness, sadness, or simply feel “flat” during the holidays, this episode offers validation, psychology-backed insights, and practical tools to help you honour your emotional truth.

We explore why joy sometimes feels far away, from allostatic load and emotional blunting to comparison culture and end-year fatigue and how to give yourself permission to feel exactly how you feel. Adelle also shares personal reflections and science-supported exercises to help you reconnect with yourself in soft, realistic ways. Whether you’re overwhelmed, exhausted, or just not in a festive mood, this episode reminds you that you’re not broken, not behind, and not alone. Your humanity is welcome here.

In This Episode You’ll Learn:

• Why some people feel numb, low, or disconnected during the festive season
• How burnout and emotional overload affect your ability to feel joy
• The psychological roots of emotional flattening: allostatic load, emotional blunting & seasonal depression
• How societal pressure creates “performative joy”
• Personal reflections from Adelle on seasons when joy felt out of reach
• Science-backed practices to support you through this season:
  • Name It To Tame It (neuroscience-backed emotion labeling)
  • Micro-Joy Scan (positive psychology)
  • A 30-second nervous system reset
  • A CBT-inspired reframing for lowering unrealistic expectations
  • A “permission slip” exercise to soothe internal shame
• Why joy eventually returns and how to create room for it gently

Perfect For You If You’re Experiencing:

• End-of-year burnout
• Emotional numbness
• Seasonal depression
• Comparison-triggered shame
• Pressure to be joyful
• Low energy, anxiety, or overwhelm
• A desire for honest, soothing companionship

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