Dec 10 2012

Are you suffering from ‘End of Year’ stress?


At the end of the year, we often find ourselves suffering from burnout. I remember that when I was teaching in South Africa, everything seemed to crowd into one small space, so that by the end of term, I felt like I’d been through the wringer. It was so great to walk out of that school gate and know that for the next month, I was on holiday. Christmas came in the middle of summer, so there was often a visit to the coast for a couple of weeks of rest and relaxation. Here in America, I don’t think you have such a long holiday to get over the stress, before starting the treadmill of the New Year once again. To relax you just for a few minutes, I thought I’d post my Smiling Dolphin pic. Just take a deep breath and focus on Dolly’s happy face.

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I’m sure you’re feeling better already. 🙂

Now, I have a little stress test for you. It’s really simple and quick, and at the end of it, you’ll know on a scale of 1-10 just how stressed out you are. Are you ready? Read these instructions, and then look at the picture below.

You are going to see two dolphins jumping out of the water.
The  dolphins are identical.  A closely monitored
scientific study revealed that, in spite of the  fact
that the dolphins are identical, a person suffering from
stress would  find differences in the two dolphins, and
the more  differences a person finds between the
dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.
Look at the photograph and if you find more than one
or two differences you are in dire need of a holiday….

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😆

109 comments on “Are you suffering from ‘End of Year’ stress?”

  6. FOUL! So foul, Adin. I was already preparing my respond of I do am suffering from a holiday burnout. And then …. You got me…. big time. Thanks for the laughter and smile. 😀 😀 😀

      • You are a genius. And not only that I have a bone to pick with you! You look like you are about 30!!! What’s up with that if you’re telling Ralph you are his age, and he is my husband’s age of 66, and I’m an ancient 61. Even if you are 46, you look great! And that’s no joke! Having a bone to pick is, though. Just thought I’d better say that because statistics say that people only understand about 7% of messages they read because they can’t see the sender’s facial expressions, hear the voice, or catch the body language.

        Looking forward to your next post! I’m going to be on guard for a trick, though. 🙂

      • I’ll pretend you didn’t say that 61 is ancient, Marsha. Anyway, 60 is the new 40. I really believe that. No more tricks up my sleeve at the moment, but be on your guard just in case. 🙂 xx

      • When we moved into our first house in England. I answered the door, with my baby in my arms, and the salesman asked to speak to my mother. He wouldn’t believe I was the ‘lady of the house’. I had to produce my ID book to prove I was eligible for a pensioner’s discount at the cinema, and the bird park. When I was young, I wished I could look older, but nowadays, I don’t mind. 🙂 I’ll have a look at your FB page, and see if there’s a part young enough for me. 😆

      • hahaha I looked very young when I was young, and I thought, “Great, when I’m old, I’ll look young.” Results have been mixed. I had several ask me if I was a Holocaust survivor when I was escorting a real survivor (the average age of survivors was 83 at the time, and I was 56.) Now there are a FEW that think I look younger than I am. (Nobody gets me mixed up with a 30-40 year old, though – go figure.) Marsha 🙂

      • Oh my gosh, that must have been a bit of a bummer. I’m sure that person’s eyesight must have been really bad, or maybe their knowledge of history was very skewed. 🙂

      • Yes, probably both, but seeing that it actually happened on three different occasions, I did have a bit of a complex. I mean come on… 83? Really. People don’t know their history!

  9. Honestly, I never knew what stress meant until I move to America. People don’t realize that earning dollars is not the secret to happiness nor a peaceful life. Everything has a price. And everything needs to be covered, taxed and insured in this side of the world. So, yes, to take away that stress is a relief and intact, its one of the best CHristmas gift there is. Looking at the dolphins and having to laugh at the last pic made me feel better already. Thanks.

    • I’m so glad you enjoyed my Dolphin pics. I know what you mean about paying all the bills in America. My son has lived and worked here for more than ten years, and I can’t believe his outgoings every month. 😯

  16. Damn here I am semi retired, feeling no stress, and now I’ve discovered I need a hoilday… there were so many differences I thought I saw a cow… Oh well on Saturday I’m off to the Kalahari on holiday till the 8th of January, so I save this post and see if the holiday helped…..

  19. That was fun! Good timing. Two more weeks of school and then a week off. Looking forward to the break and time with the family. Enjoyed your post today and especially the dolphins!

  25. I obviously am in DIRE need of a holiday, Sylvia. Because those two dolphins look completely different to me!! 🙂 I feel exactly the stress you are talking about from your teaching days. Now at the university, we are so stressed out, but the worst thing is we have no assured holiday to look forward to. As Oman doesn’t celebrate Christmas, and there is only a one week break FOR THE STUDENTS between semesters, we have a long road ahead with no break. Only if the Chancellor, out of the goodness of his heart, decides to give the teachers the same ONE WEEK break between semesters, do we have any kind of break to look forward to!

    • I really hope that you get that much deserved break, Cathy. It will be beneficial to both teachers and students alike. I ‘m sure the Chancellor must see the sense in that. Tell him I said so. 🙂

      • I will definitely relay your message, Sylvia. The university wants to get as much work out of us as possible for their money, so it often happens they want us to show up at work and twiddle our thumbs!! Giving the appearance we are working! 🙂

  28. oh my gosh! i am in dire need of a vacation… being a mom and doing all the chores and feeding 3 beautiful kids sometimes take its toll.. at the end of the day, i do feel a little burnout, probably feeling more burnout at the end of the year though. i love that cow LOL.

  38. Your blog is great, so much new and attractive and interesting and beautiful is always giving us the best. thank you my dear friend for this. Have a nice day – with love maxima

  45. Oh my goodness, I adore that dolphin photo. And yes, apparently I’m stressed based on looking at the second photo. Happy Holidays!

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