Holiday Tech Overload and Mental Burnout Are Rising, Says Author and Health-Tech Product Manager Chris Cage
Book cover of “Still Human” by Chris Cage, a guide to staying grounded in an overstimulating world.
New book “Still Human” offers simple tools to stay grounded during the year’s most overstimulating and stressful season.
Our brains weren’t built for nonstop digital input. Many people are half in their inbox and half in their notifications. The solution isn’t pushing harder but creating intentional focus and real rest.”
VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, UNITED STATES, December 9, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The holidays are supposed to feel joyful, but for many people they now bring a familiar mix of exhaustion, digital overload, and pressure to keep up. With notifications rising, work following people home, and AI-driven tools pushing constant activity, December has become one of the most mentally overwhelming months of the year.— Chris Cage, Author and Health-Tech Product Manager
Chris Cage, a health-tech product manager and mental health advocate, says this isn’t a personal failing, it’s a design problem. “Our brains weren’t built for nonstop digital input,” he explains. “Between holiday expectations, end-of-year work demands, and the constant pull of technology, many people enter January feeling drained before the year even starts.”
Cage’s new book, Still Human: Staying Sane, Productive, and Fully You in the Age of AI, explores why modern life leaves so many people feeling scattered and overstimulated — and what they can do about it in their daily routines. Through relatable stories, practical tools, and insights from his career in health-tech, Cage lays out a simple approach to reclaiming clarity and emotional bandwidth, even when life feels “always on.”
“People think burnout comes from doing too much,” Cage says. “But the biggest culprit today is mental fragmentation. We’re never fully here — we’re half in our inbox, half in our thoughts, half in our notifications. The fix isn’t working harder. It’s learning to create intentional focus and meaningful rest.”
According to Cage, three factors are driving this holiday surge in mental overload:
• Notification pressure: a dramatic increase in alerts during Q4 work cycles
• AI-driven personalization: tools that push more content, more suggestions, and more decisions
• Emotional load: the expectations, comparisons, and social intensities of the holiday season
Still Human provides research-backed strategies to counter these pressures, including micro-practices that improve focus, reduce emotional fatigue, and strengthen mental resilience. Cage emphasizes that even small habits like tech boundaries, intentional recovery, and short mental resets can create outsized improvements in mood, clarity, and energy.
The book is part of Cage’s broader platform, The Mental Lens, which includes essays, mental clarity and productivity toolkits, a podcast, and mental-health–inspired products designed to help people slow down, think clearly, and stay grounded in a fast-moving world.
Chris Cage
The Mental Lens LLC
support@thementallens.com
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