Why Toxic Stress Is Making Ambitious Women Sick
By Louise Rumball – Integrative Health Practitioner
Today, ambitious women are trying to do it all - build the career, maintain the relationship, work out, keep a social life, eat well, meditate (hard fail for me), heal childhood wounds, listen to the Therapy Podcast, post on Instagram, and maybe squeeze in a facial, too because… anti-aging, am I right? This is without the reality of laundry, sheet changing, life admin - creating and raising children, and so much more.
The truth? As the ultimate Type A ambitious overachiever, while I LOVE the pace of life, and how exciting every day is (I always say your whole life can change in one micro moment). We were never designed to live at this pace. And even if your body can hold it for a while, the adrenaline, cortisol, and chemical byproducts of being constantly on eventually become toxic. Most of us are carrying a chronic load of stress hormones our bodies were never built to handle. This state - what I call ‘toxic stress’ - slowly chips away at your health, hormones, and happiness, creating an internal environment that is inflamed, dysregulated, and out of balance and just not leaving you feel the hot, happy, healthy version of you that you are sprinting towards.
And the worst part? Society never teaches us the signs or the damage it causes. Instead, we’re told to suppress it, smile through it, and keep achieving… until it’s too late. Burnout, Saturdays on the sofa, hormonal challenges - and more.
If any of this sounds familiar, you might be living in a state of toxic stress that leads to:
Never slowing down, even on weekends
Over-scheduling yourself to the minute
Measuring your worth by productivity or external validation
Comparing yourself endlessly to others
Always thinking “next week will be quieter” (it never is)
Avoiding rest because it feels like “falling behind”
Never actually ‘resting’ - always scrolling, or trying to remain productive (saving TikToks, etc).
The truth? Stress Turns Into Symptoms
You can’t truly feel enough if your vessel - your body - is toxic, stressed, or lethargic. Your body is the container for creation, joy, abundance, and freedom. You are not “unmotivated” or “lazy” or “not creative.” More often, your physical, emotional, and spiritual toxicity is simply draining the energy you would use to be brave, innovative, and fulfilled.
The Domino Effect of Toxic Stress
When cortisol stays higher than natural, or intended for weeks, months, or years, here’s what happens - layer by layer:
Your nervous system functions in permanent overdrive – You live in fight-or-flight mode just purely from the speed of life, never allowing our nervous system to come back to baseline.
Vagus nerve dysregulation – Your body forgets how to feel safe and calm; stillness feels uncomfortable and speed becomes normal.
High, consistent cortisol steals from sex hormones – PMS, PMDD, acne, and low libido become regular visitors.
Detoxification slows down – Toxic stress has metabolic byproducts. It’s already working hard, but over time, your liver struggles to do it’s job as efficiently, leading to brain fog, low energy, and estrogen dominance (hello cellulite and skin issues).
Gut issues – Chronic stress throws off our microbiome, leading to chronic bloat, inflammation, and digestive issues.
Neurotransmitter depletion – The consistently high cortisol causes our serotonin and dopamine tank, bringing anxiety, overthinking, and burnout - so much so that some days we just won’t have the energy to keep going even if we LOVE our life on the good days.
Thyroid, adrenal, and metabolic dysfunction – Over time, this dysfunctional leads to weight changes (it becomes harder to lose weight), temperature sensitivity, sluggishness and excessive hair growth. For many, PCOS symptoms worsen.
Emotions suppress in the body – Being too ‘busy’ means that our fascia and muscles hold unprocessed emotions that we do not allow to move through and out of our system. If we are too ‘busy’ to cry, or breakdown, or process how we feel, instead living in our head, staying busy, productive and on-the-go, over time this can lead to chronic pain and tension as well as ‘unexplainable’ conditions.
And more!
The Big Picture
Toxic stress isn’t just “being stressed.” It’s a biochemical storm that impacts every system in your body - from your hormones to your gut to your brain.
Your body becomes inflamed.
Your mind becomes overactive.
Your soul stops feeling safe in your skin.
And until you start discharging that stress, regulating your nervous system, and building resilience at a cellular level, you’ll keep running on empty - even if you’re ticking all the “success” boxes.
My Best Advice for the Ambitious Woman
If you recognise yourself in any of this, it’s not because you’re weak or doing life “wrong.” It’s because your body is doing exactly what it’s designed to do under constant pressure - protect you. The problem is, protection mode isn’t meant to be permanent. You don’t have to abandon your ambition, slow down to a crawl, or give up the parts of life you love. But you do have to build in daily, non-negotiable rituals that help your nervous system come back to baseline, process stored emotions, and create space for real recovery and resilience.
Think of it like brushing your teeth - you wouldn’t wait for cavities before picking up a toothbrush. In the same way, you can’t wait for burnout before you start regulating your stress response. Start small. One intentional breathwork session. A 10-minute walk without your phone. A somatic shake after a tough meeting. A shift walk or a manifestation walk before the day begins, or as it’s coming to an end. Tiny, consistent practices are the antidote to toxic stress and the foundation for a life where you feel hot, happy, healthy, and deeply at home in your body. Because high performance is only truly sustainable when your health is part of the plan.
