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November 26, 2025 15 mins

4. messages to ease holiday anxiety

The holidays are supposed to be joyful. So why do so many of us feel anxious instead? For some, it's the pressure to create the perfect holiday. For others, it's dreading family time. For me, it's the gifts - the coordinating, the planning, the mental load of it all. In this episode, I tune into the energy of holiday anxiety and share three messages about what it's trying to tell us and how to ease it. If the holidays feel like another job, this one's for you.


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The holidays are supposed to be joyful. Magical. A time to celebrate and connect.

So why do so many of us feel anxious instead?

For some, it's the pressure to create the perfect holiday - the decorations, the meals, the traditions, all of it flawless. For others, it's dreading the time with family - the dynamics, the judgment, the old roles you thought you'd outgrown. And for others, it's the absence - missing the people who used to make the holidays feel like home.

For me? It's the gifts. The coordinating, the planning, the mental load. No matter how early I start, the timing always closes in on me.

High-achievers especially feel the weight of the holidays because we've turned it into another thing to optimize. Another thing to get right. Another thing we're responsible for making perfect for everyone else.

The holidays become a job. A project. A list of tasks that must be completed flawlessly or we've failed somehow.

In this episode, I'm exploring the energy of holiday anxiety - what it is, why it shows up for achievers, and what we need to know to ease it.

Here's what came through.

 

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU'LL HEAR:

  • 00:00 Introduction to The Unraveling Achiever
  • 00:41 Why High-Achievers Feel Holiday Anxiety Differently
  • 03:48 Message One: The Performance Element
  • 05:02 Message Two: The Importance of Love & Desire + A Practical Framework
  • 10:37 Message Three: The Collective Energy of Love – Connection & Conversation
  • 13:02 Recap: Three Messages to Ease Holiday Anxiety
  • 14:46 Soul Reading

 

THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU IF:

  • The holidays feel like another job or project to complete
  • You carry the mental load of holiday planning and coordination
  • You feel pressure to create the perfect holiday for everyone else
  • You're exhausted by gift-giving obligations
  • You crave simpler, more connected gatherings
  • You want to experience the holidays without constant anxiety
  • You're ready to do the holidays differently this year

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Framework for evaluating holiday responsibilities:

  • How can I do it differently?
  • How can I see it differently?
  • How can I delegate it?
  • How can I get rid of it?

Process for creating an aligned holiday:

  • Ground yourself (get centered, breathe, tune in)
  • Organize (make lists of holiday responsibilities)
  • Check in with your heart's desires (what do you actually want to experience?)
  • Alter your lists (run them through the framework above)


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READY TO GO DEEPER?

If what you heard today resonated, I'd love to support you in going deeper.

Soul Reading is a 75-minute one-on-one session where I open your Akashic Records and help you reconnect with what your soul already knows about your path, your purpose, and what's next.

Learn more: ⁠⁠⁠www.angelamckayllc.com/soul-reading⁠⁠⁠

 

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LET'S STAY CONNECTED:


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ABOUT THE PODCAST:

The Unraveling Achiever is for the person who's done everything "right" and is questioning what that even means. Host Angela McKay - former SVP of HR turned intuitive career coach and soul reading practitioner - helps accomplished folks stop defaulting to what looks good and start building what feels true. You don't have to turn your life upside down. Just point your achiever energy towar

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