Feeling the Edge Before the Holidays

The holiday season is often painted as a time of joy, connection, and rest, but for many high performers, it becomes the opposite: higher stress, increased tension, and complete exhaustion.  

Here’s the catch—this holiday overwhelm doesn’t start in December. The groundwork is often laid long before the season begins. Many high performers are already living on the edge, stretched thin by chronic stress, normalized tension, and habits that drain our capacity for calm. The holidays simply magnify these struggles, making it harder to hold peace and connection when it matters most.

Do any of these sound familiar?

•   Feeling irritable or emotionally flooded more often than usual.
•   Craving sugar or comfort foods, especially during high-stress moments.
•   Constantly checking your phone, scrolling social media, or refreshing emails.
•   Adding more to your to-do list instead of pausing to rest.
•   Over-apologizing or over-explaining in your daily interactions.

These are not just personality quirks. They are subtle signs your nervous system is already overactive and struggling to maintain balance. And if your nervous system is maxed out now, the added pressures of the holiday season will only amplify the chaos.

The Normalization of Stress and Pain

As a high-performing woman, you’re likely great at pushing through challenges. 

But how often do you pause to reflect on the cost? 

Most of my clients don’t realize the cost until a devastating diagnosis is made and they have no choice but to prioritize themselves and their health.  A most recent client was diagnosed with breast cancer and her oncologist spoke with her about how her patterns around emotions and stress as well as eating habits, including a glass of wine nightly to “wind down”, likely contributed to the diagnosis.  He set her on a path to holistic wellness, which is when she found me.

In my 15+ years working with women on holistic wellness, I’ve heard the same realization time and again:

“I didn’t realize how stressed, tense, and out of alignment I was until I started doing this work.”

It’s easy to normalize chronic pain, fatigue, and stress, especially when society celebrates busyness and productivity over rest and recovery. But here’s what happens when stress becomes your baseline:

•   Chronic Pain: That persistent tightness in your neck or lower back isn’t just “age.” It’s your body holding onto tension that hasn’t been released. 
•   Constant Fatigue: Blaming your exhaustion on a busy schedule ignores the deeper issue—your body is overworked and under-supported.
•   Silent Stress: You may not recognize it as stress because it feels “normal,” but this underlying pressure impacts your health in ways you can’t see—until it’s too late.

Signs Your Nervous System Is Overwhelmed

Your nervous system is like the control centre for your body. When it’s balanced, you feel calm, focused, and resilient. But when it’s overstimulated, you’ll notice signs that something is off:

•   Craving sugar or comfort foods more than usual.
•   Difficulty sitting still or needing to constantly “do something.” (for me I would blame my ADHD however stress had only made my ADHD symptoms worse)
•   Over-apologizing or over-explaining to avoid conflict or discomfort.
•   Increased emotional flooding—crying or snapping more easily than normal.
•   Compulsive phone-checking or feeling “stuck” in loops of scrolling and refreshing.

When these signs become the norm, it’s a signal that your body and mind are struggling to hold peace and calm. Without intervention, the holidays can take this internal chaos to a breaking point.

Rebuilding Your Foundation: The Path Forward

The good news? Success doesn’t have to mean stress. With the right strategies, you can restore balance to your body and mind before the holidays, creating a strong foundation for resilience.

1. Support Your Health

Your physical health is the cornerstone of resilience. Small changes can have a big impact when it comes to managing chronic fatigue, pain, and tension:

•   Track Your Health Markers: Use tools like a Fitbit to monitor sleep, heart rate variability, and activity levels. Identifying patterns helps uncover root causes of fatigue.
•   Hydration: Ensure you’re drinking enough water to keep your body and mind functioning optimally.
•   Hormone-Supportive Foods: Include soy, tofu, broccoli, and leafy greens in your diet to balance hormones and stabilize energy levels. These foods are particularly important as stress can wreak havoc on hormone health.

2. Regulate Your Nervous System

Stress is inevitable, but your response to it can make all the difference. The key is to proactively calm your nervous system before the chaos begins:

•   Morning Practice: Spend 5 minutes each morning “going inward before going outward.” Practices like breathwork, meditation, or journaling help you start the day with clarity and calm.
•   Daily Breaks: Incorporate short pauses throughout the day to check in with your body—roll your shoulders, take a deep breath, or step outside for fresh air.

3. Build Resilience Through Restorative Practices

Calming an overactive nervous system is a daily practice. By prioritizing rest and restoration, you can create a buffer against the holiday chaos:

•   Sleep Hygiene: Commit to a regular sleep schedule, limiting screen time before bed. Sleep is critical for processing stress and repairing the body.
•   Mindful Movement: Incorporate gentle yoga, stretching, or walking to release built-up tension and restore balance.

Worthy of noting is that if you are already at max capacity I do NOT recommend really high intensity training.  Working out and training is a stressor to your nervous system.  While it is a GOOD stress for many women living on the edge we don’t want to add more cortisol to their already overworked system. This may also require giving up your CrossFit class short term as you bring more calm back into your life, and body.

Join Me in Calm in the Chaos

If you’re feeling stretched too thin and overwhelmed by the thought of the holiday season, you’re not alone. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

Calm in the Chaos is a guided program designed to help you:

•   Regulate your nervous system.
•   Restore your energy and alignment.
•   Enter the holidays with calm confidence, rather than burnout.

This program is intentionally light on time commitment—just 5 minutes a day—making it accessible for even the busiest schedules.

🎯 Enrolment opens at 5 pm Monday Nov 18th, but spots are limited to 10 participants. 

Please email [email protected] or see https://www.ashleybrianaeve.com/ to learn more.

A New Approach to the Holidays

The holidays should be a time to connect, celebrate, and recharge—not an exercise in survival. By taking intentional steps to support your health and nervous system now, you can shift from overwhelmed to empowered.

Stress is not a measure of success. Resilience begins with rebuilding your foundation—your health, your mindset, and your ability to create calm amidst the chaos.

I hope this served you as we approach the holiday season, and if you are called I would be honoured to support you in Calm in the Chaos.

ashley