A Healthy Start: The Risks of Stress and Burnout and Healthy Ways to Counteract It.

Write: Shivam Patel

Introduction:

At the start of every year, millions of people feel the urge to transform themselves for the better. Whether it be giving up habits, making habits, or just achieving more, the “New Year, New Me” mindset is very popular. However, with this popularity, many people accidentally create unrealistic expectations for themselves. This causes them to become stressed and burnt out shortly after starting their year. Current research argues that the way in which people set goals has a strong influence on both their mental and physical health (Segerstrom & Miller).

Health and Harmful Goal-Setting:

Research studies on behavioral changes highlight that small and achievable goals are far more successful that goals that call for drastic action or total re-works of a person’s life. For example, committing to work for 15 more minutes a day is more feasible and more likely to succeed than a goal to work for 3 more hours a day. Establishing goals like a consistent sleep schedule or staying hydrated are both feasible and have health benefits that can reduce stress (Kuyken et al.).

On the contrary, setting ambitious goals can trigger experiences of failure, anxiety, and guilt if progress is slow. The brain responds negatively to repeated failure, which can cause both a decrease in self-esteem and motivation (Sahdra et al.). For these reasons, experts recommend small changes in habits rather than total changes in lifestyle overnight.

The Risks of Stress and Burnout on Physical Health:

Many people are unaware of or underestimate the effects of stress on the body, both physically and mentally. Stress causes the release of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones have positive effects on the body when they occur for short periods of time, but persistent release of these hormones can have negative effects. Some of these effects are a suppression in immune function, increased inflammation, and even accelerated aging (Jiang et al.; Segerstrom & Miller).

An article from 2025 demonstrated the negative effects of stress on immune regulation. This disruption in the immune regulation left individuals more vulnerable to infections and illnesses like fatigue, headaches, digestive problems, and poor sleep. Over time, these effects can hurt and progress towards self improvement. 

Burnout goes beyond exhaustion, it is the state of emotions, mental, and physical depletion caused by stress (Dou et al.). People may experience burnout when they are unable to reach their expectations. A 2025 study of workers in different fields found that self-compassion and mindfulness significantly reduced stress levels. This highlights the importance of building habits and dividing your goals into small, achievable steps.

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion:

Mindfulness and self-compassion are two practices that have been shown to reduce stress and improve well-being. A 2020 study on mindfulness programs in communities found a significant increase in self-compassion in these communities. This highlights the ability of mindfulness to reduce both stress and self-judgement (Soler et al.). In medical and caregiving populations, mindfulness and self-compassion was shown to improve sleep quality and lower burnout frequency (Dou et al.). Programs that combine mindfulness and self-compassion have been proven to improve emotions and stress management (Neff & Germer). An important study that represented the effects of these programs was conducted for parents of children with special needs. In 2025, a 10 week program with mindfulness and self-compassion training led to an overall enhancement in the well-being of the parents (Sahdra et al.). These findings suggest that introducing mindfulness and self-compassion into one’s daily routine can help them work towards a goal with improved emotional control.

How to Properly Set Goals and Form Habits:

From prior research, experts suggest that there are multiple evidence based strategies to get realistic goals. 1: Prioritize habits that improve mental and physical health like sleep, exercise, or eating (Segerstrom & Miller). 2: Practice self-compassion by treating difficulties as progress, not failure (Soler et al.). 3: Restrict the number of goals, a few changes are more likely to succeed than a lengthy list (Kuyken et al.). 4: Track progress in small steps. Finding small improvements can help maintain a high motivation (Sahdra et al.). 5: Have external support. Sharing goals with others will help create accountability and motivation (Neff and Germer). Research in habit formation suggests that small repeated actions, rather than massive changes, have a greater likelihood of becoming automatic over time (Kuyken et al.). Focusing on daily progress will improve long-term success.

A Healthy Approach to the New Year

The new year can be a beneficial symbol of reflection and growth, but transformation does not need to be drastic or immediate. Effective change comes from small steps. By recognizing the effects of stress and burnout and utilizing techniques for mindfulness, self-compassion, and habit-focused changes, New Years can be reimagined not as a complete rework of ones like, but rather as the beginning of a gradual process of personal growth (Sahdra et al.).

Works Cited:

Balcerowska, Marta, and Paulina Kwaśnik. “The Multifaceted Impact of Stress on Immune Function - Molecular Biology Reports.” SpringerLink, Springer Netherlands, 10 Oct. 2025, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11033-025-11134-6.

Cengiz, Mine, and Dilek Kılıç. “The Effects of Mindfulness-Based Self-Compassion Training on Stress, Psychological Resilience, and Well-Being in Parents of Autistic Children: A Randomized Controlled Study - Current Psychology.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 27 June 2025, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12144-025-08101-6.

Charvin, Laurent, et al. “MBCARE, a Mindfulness- and Self-Compassion-Based Intervention to Decrease Burnout and Promote Self-Compassion in Health Care Providers - BMC Psychology.” SpringerLink, BioMed Central, 19 May 2025, link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-025-02745-6.

Dou, Jin, et al. “Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on Burnout, Resilience and Sleep Quality among Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials - BMC Nursing.” SpringerLink, BioMed Central, 1 July 2025, link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12912-025-03101-0.

Golden, Hannah L., et al. “The Impact of Mindfulness-Based Programmes on Self-Compassion in Nonclinical Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - Mindfulness.” SpringerLink, Springer US, 25 Sept. 2020, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-020-01501-8.

Schutte, Nicola, and John Malouff. “The Link between Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: A Meta-Analysis - International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology.” SpringerLink, Springer International Publishing, 19 May 2025, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41042-025-00228-y.

Segerstrom, Suzanne C, and Gregory E Miller. “Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry.” APA, Psychological Bulletin, 24 Nov. 2003, www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/bul-1304601.pdf.