Why December Hits Teachers So Hard (And Why It Makes Sense)
If you’ve found yourself typing “teacher burnout December” or “why am I so exhausted before Christmas?” into Google, it’s not because you’re failing.
December asks teachers to keep going when their energy has already been spent.
The pressure rises, the noise increases, and your capacity quietly drops.
Your exhaustion makes sense.
Why Getting to Christmas Feels So Draining
By now, most teachers aren’t looking for long explanations — they just want to understand why everything feels so hard.
Common searches at this time of year include:
“I can’t switch off before the holidays”
“end of term anxiety teacher”
“teacher December stress”
These searches come from a nervous system that’s been in alert mode for months.
When you spend every day managing behaviour, emotions, emails, noise, and constant demands, your body doesn’t relax just because Christmas is near.
It keeps bracing — because that’s what’s kept you going.
That’s why you feel tired more quickly now.
That’s why small things feel overwhelming.
That’s why rest feels out of reach.
This isn’t weakness.
It’s the cost of sustained pressure.
The Pressure to “Get Everything Finished”
December has its own kind of internal checklist:
clear the inbox
catch up on marking
finish off assessment odds and ends
make sure support plans are updated
tie up loose ends
try to feel “ready” for next term
But by this point in the term, most teachers are running on fumes.
What if December didn’t have to be about finishing everything?
What if it was about doing what’s realistic — without losing yourself in the process?
A slower pace still counts.
“Enough” still counts.
When Your Body Won’t Switch Off
Many teachers describe this feeling:
“It’s quiet, but I’m still on edge.”
That’s not a personal flaw — it’s a nervous system that hasn’t had a real pause.
If your body has spent months waiting for the next issue, email, or behaviour challenge, it doesn’t instantly trust the quiet.
It’s not that you can’t switch off.
It’s that you haven’t had a real chance to.
Small, Kind Shifts That Help
You don’t need to fix everything right now.
Sometimes it’s enough to bring the pressure down one notch:
naming your exhaustion without judging it
letting a few non-urgent things wait
protecting small pockets of quiet
allowing “good enough” to be enough
Trying your best doesn’t have to mean sacrificing yourself.
How Therapy Can Help (Without Pressure)
Therapy isn’t about learning how to push through more.
It’s a space to understand:
why you keep going past empty
why switching off feels so hard
why December hits you like this every year
why rest comes with guilt
It’s somewhere you don’t have to hold it together.
Somewhere your tiredness is taken seriously.
Somewhere you can slow down without explanation.
If this blog feels uncomfortably familiar, you’re welcome to reach out.
Not because you’re failing — but because you deserve support in a role that asks so much.
If you’d like to learn more about working with me, you can find that here.