When Stress Shows Up as Headaches and Heartbreak
You’ve had the same headache for three years. Or maybe it’s not a headache … it’s a low hum of irritability that won’t lift. A sadness that doesn’t match your actual life. You wake up…
You’ve had the same headache for three years. Or maybe it’s not a headache … it’s a low hum of irritability that won’t lift. A sadness that doesn’t match your actual life. You wake up…
Meetings stack. Messages ping. You jump from screen to screen, solving one thing while another unravels. You’re “on” all day, yet by noon you already feel disconnected from yourself. You tell yourself to push through.…
Most of the women I work with are not confused. They are intelligent. Reflective. Highly capable. Many lead companies, manage teams, raise families, and carry serious responsibility. And yet, they still struggle to consistently execute on the things that matter most.
Many women move through their days holding multiple roles as a leader, caregiver, partner, colleague, and friend, shifting between responsibilities without much space to pause. Over time, constant pressure without recovery affects both the mind and the body.
“Hope is not a strategy!” The phrase often carries a tone of dismissal, suggests removal of agency and can signal a belief that hope creates passivity and even implies reduced effectiveness.
For February 14, many of us focus on giving to others. But remember that taking care of ourselves with self-love and self-care help us stay steady, clear, and resilient.
If the job market feels shaky right now, you’re not imagining it. We entered 2026 with another wave of change. US employers cut nearly 110,000 jobs in January alone according to CBS News. During 2025, analysts report that employers eliminated more than 1.1 million roles. There seems to be little time to catch one’s breath as the “efficiency era” keeps rolling and firms shift dollars from payroll to AI infrastructure.
Kimberly Errigo, MCC, is our lead coach and founder of the Exhale Network.