Why Holiday Stress Hits High-Achieving Women Harder

(And the Neuroscience Solution That Actually Works)

A Target parking lot meltdown taught me everything I needed to know about holiday stress — and nothing about rest

It was December 18th, and I was sitting in my car in a Target parking lot, crying over Christmas ornaments.

Not just any ornaments. The specific silver and blue ornaments that would make our tree “perfect.” They were sold out. And in that moment, surrounded by holiday shoppers hustling past with overflowing carts, something inside me cracked open.

I wasn’t crying about ornaments. I was crying because I had spent three months running a marathon in holiday heels, and nobody — including me — had noticed I was barely holding it together.

Here’s what nobody tells you about holiday stress: It doesn’t hit everyone equally. And if you’re a high-achieving woman managing a demanding career in finance or tech, you’re carrying a disproportionate load that makes the “most wonderful time of the year” feel like an exhausting endurance test.

While everyone else gets misty-eyed about twinkling lights and family traditions, you’re secretly calculating how you’ll survive the upcoming gauntlet without a complete nervous system breakdown. Between year-end deliverables, family…