The Days Between Christmas and New Year's: Why They're Quietly the Hardest
The week between Christmas and New Year's is the quietest and often the hardest for women from difficult families. A trauma therapist names why. (143 chars)
- The Quiet That Follows
- What This Week Actually Is: The Psychology of Liminal Time
- The Neurobiology of the Post-Holiday Crash: What's Happening in Your Body
- How Driven Women Experience This Week Differently
- The Specific Grief of the Holiday That Didn't Deliver
- Both/And: The Week Can Feel Empty and Hold Real Possibility
- The Systemic Lens: Why January 1st Is Both a Beginning and a Burden
- What to Do With the Days: Intentional Use of the Liminal Window
- Frequently Asked Questions
The Quiet That Follows
It is December 27th. Jordan sits alone in her Washington, DC apartment amid the city’s unusual stillness. The festive crowds have vanished, and the last signs of Christmas are tucked away. Though New Year’s Eve approaches, the calendar feels suspended, caught between two moments once filled with hope. Jordan does not feel the sadness she anticipated, nor relief that family visits have ended. Instead, she senses a quiet weight,an unnamed stillness that leaves her disconnected from both her surroundings and herself.
The days between Christmas and New Year’s often form a liminal space, a psychological threshold where the acute stress of holidays subsides but the renewal of a new year has yet to arrive. For women like Jordan, who come from difficult family backgrounds, this time holds a distinct emptiness. The idealized warmth of Christmas did not materialize, and unresolved feelings settle quietly in its wake. She is left with lingering thoughts caught between echoes of family conflict and the pressure of impending change.
Liminal Time
Liminal time refers to a transitional, in-between period where the usual markers of identity and routine are suspended. It is neither the crisis moment nor the resolution, but a threshold where change is possible yet not fully realized.
Kitchen-table translation: It’s that weird stretch when you’re not sure what day it is or how you’re supposed to feel because you’re stuck between what just happened and what’s coming next.
Dr. Gabor Maté, MD, a physician and trauma researcher renowned for his work on stress and emotional regulation, describes this post-activation window as a phase when the nervous system attempts to discharge heightened arousal without completing integration. Jordan’s holiday visit reactivated old relational trauma, leaving her nervous system unsettled. Protective hypervigilance softens, yet emotional processing remains incomplete.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, a neurobiologically-informed therapist and author of The Heart of Trauma, highlights this as a neurobiological regulation window. After defensive activation during stress, the nervous system gradually returns to baseline in an uneven, fragile descent. This week between Christmas and New Year’s is a vulnerable space requiring gentle attention rather than swift fixes.
For many women from challenging family environments, this post-holiday week feels like emotional limbo. External demands have eased, yet internal work remains unfinished. The lack of structure often leaves them alone with unresolved grief, disappointment, and relational wounds that the holidays masked but never healed.
Jordan’s experience is common but seldom named. Terms like “post-Christmas blues” or “holiday hangover” fail to capture this nuanced, suspended ache. Recognizing this period as a distinct clinical phenomenon fosters compassionate self-understanding and invites intentional care during a vulnerable time.
If you find yourself here, know your feelings reflect a natural response to difficult relational history combined with the physiological aftermath of sustained stress. This liminal week is not a failure of resilience but an invitation to gentle witness and gradual recovery.
What This Week Actually Is: The Psychology of Liminal Time
LIMINAL TIME
The term “liminal” originates from the Latin word limen, meaning “threshold.” In psychological and anthropological contexts, it describes a transitional or in-between state during which a person is no longer in their previous condition but has not yet entered the next. This phase is often characterized by ambiguity, suspension, and a sense of being betwixt and between.
Kitchen-table translation: It’s like standing in a quiet hallway after one door has closed but before the next one opens. You’re not quite where you were, and you’re not yet where you’re going.
The days between Christmas and New Year’s exemplify liminal time in a clinical sense. This week is neither the emotional activation of the holidays nor the forward momentum of the new year. Instead, it occupies a psychological threshold marked by suspended self-experience and a lack of clear temporal or emotional anchors.
Dr. Gabor Maté, MD, a physician and trauma researcher known for *The Myth of Normal*, describes this post-activation period as a critical window following acute stress. After the heightened nervous system arousal of the holidays, the body begins to discharge accumulated activation. Yet, integration,the process by which the nervous system and psyche restore equilibrium,has not fully begun. Maté stresses that this liminal phase is vulnerable but essential for nervous system recalibration. Without recognition or support, individuals may feel lost or stuck.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, a neurobiologically informed therapist and author of *The Heart of Trauma*, further clarifies this as a neurobiological regulation phase. She explains that the nervous system’s transition from defensive activation back to baseline is slow and uneven. During this time, people may experience flatness, disconnection, or emotional numbness. Badenoch’s framework underscores that this liminal period is natural and necessary after emotional activation but can feel disorienting.
For many women from difficult family backgrounds, this week carries additional complexity. The emotional labor of managing relational trauma during the holidays leaves little room for processing grief or disappointment in the moment. Once external demands ease, emotional residue,grief, loneliness, unmet expectations,can surface, deepening the tension of this liminal time.
Clinically, this week is not simply “post-holiday blues” or “end-of-year burnout.” It holds its own neurobiological and emotional signature. Recognizing its liminal nature allows for a more compassionate understanding of the emptiness many experience and guides support toward nervous system regulation and integration.
If you find yourself in this suspended state, know it is not a personal failure. It is the nervous system’s natural response to transitioning out of extended activation without fully entering the new year’s rhythm. This liminal week invites a gentler pace and clinical awareness that you are crossing a threshold,into something new, even if not yet visible.
For more on how relational trauma intersects with holiday experiences, see my article on triggering holidays and relational trauma.
The Neurobiology of the Post-Holiday Crash: What’s Happening in Your Body
The days following the holidays often bring a distinct neurobiological response. After weeks of heightened stress and social engagement, your nervous system moves into what trauma researcher and physician Gabor Maté, MD, describes as a recovery phase characterized by physiological shutdown and recalibration. This state is not clinical depression but a natural, though uncomfortable, period of nervous system conservation and restoration. Recognizing this helps reframe the emotional numbness and flatness many experience as an essential part of healing.
Throughout the holiday season, your sympathetic nervous system,the branch responsible for fight-or-flight activation,operates at an elevated level. Cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, rises to sustain alertness amid family dynamics and emotional labor. When the holiday pressures ease, cortisol levels decline, but the nervous system does not immediately return to baseline. Instead, it shifts into a dorsal vagal dominant state, a term Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, neurobiologically-informed therapist and author of The Heart of Trauma, uses to describe the body’s conservation mode following prolonged sympathetic activation.
Dorsal Vagal Shutdown
Dorsal vagal shutdown refers to the parasympathetic nervous system’s deep rest-and-digest response that can manifest as emotional numbness, low energy, and a sense of disconnection from the environment. It is the body’s way of conserving resources after extended stress or trauma exposure, often resembling a freeze or immobilization state.
Kitchen-table translation: After your body’s “alarm” has been ringing nonstop, it hits the pause button by slowing everything down. You might feel flat, foggy, or like you’re running on empty, even though you’re physically safe.
This shutdown is both protective and vulnerable. It enables recovery from the taxing demands of the holidays but also reduces immune efficiency and impairs cognitive functions such as executive processing and emotional regulation. You may notice difficulty concentrating, muted emotional responses, and a pervasive emptiness distinct from sadness or anxiety. These symptoms explain why the week after Christmas can feel aimless and draining despite fewer external stressors.
Executive function,our brain’s ability to plan and regulate behavior,declines during dorsal vagal dominance, leaving you stuck in low-energy inertia and blunted emotional responsiveness. This often triggers self-criticism or worry about “not bouncing back.” Dr. Maté stresses that this is a normal, embodied recovery process and not a personal failure.
Clinically, this period offers a crucial window for nervous system integration requiring patience and self-compassion. Understanding this state as recovery rather than pathology is especially important for those with difficult family histories, who may otherwise internalize their flatness as emotional deficiency, deepening relational trauma.
For example, Jordan, introduced earlier, experiences this shutdown as profound emptiness in her Washington, DC apartment. The holiday social noise has faded, yet her nervous system remains in a protective pause. Watching reruns and feeling disengaged is not laziness or depression but the body’s necessary recalibration after sustained activation.
To explore how relational trauma shapes nervous system responses during the holidays, consider reading this article on triggering holidays and relational trauma. Recognizing the neurobiology behind the post-holiday crash is the first step toward compassionate self-care and reclaiming your agency during this transitional time.
How Driven Women Experience This Week Differently
Elena’s experience reveals a unique challenge faced by women accustomed to persistent productivity during the days between Christmas and New Year’s. While her social media displays festive joy and ambitious plans, she finds herself passively watching a familiar show, not out of pleasure but because the week feels unmoored. The usual markers of time and achievement vanish, leaving a void where structure and purpose once provided stability. For women conditioned to operate in goal-driven modes, this pause disrupts their very sense of identity.
Neuropsychologist Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, author of The Heart of Trauma, describes this as an identity disruption triggered by the absence of external demands. When the scaffolding of goals and deadlines disappears, the nervous system struggles to recalibrate. For women who rely on achievement for self-definition, this liminal time can feel disorienting and even threatening. Without the pressured rhythm of the holidays, the days become an unfamiliar blank slate that unsettles the nervous system.
Identity Disruption
Identity disruption occurs when the usual frameworks that support a person’s sense of self,such as roles, goals, or routines,are removed or suspended, leading to feelings of uncertainty, emptiness, or disorientation.
Kitchen-table translation: It’s like suddenly losing your usual map for who you are and what you’re doing, leaving you feeling lost and unsure.
For Elena, this manifests as a flattening of motivation accompanied by a quiet anxiety that resists easy naming. She cannot summon the energy for holiday cheer or New Year’s reflection because the week feels suspended in time. This is not avoidance but a nervous system still processing the aftermath of sustained activation. Gabor Maté, MD, physician and trauma researcher, notes that this period represents a nervous system beginning to discharge stress without yet integrating the experience. The mismatch between typical activation patterns and enforced rest can amplify restlessness and emptiness.
This absence of external structure also exposes relational wounds. Women from challenging family backgrounds may find unresolved grief or emotional pain intensifies in the quiet. Without distractions, the emotional landscape feels raw, and the usual drive to “keep going” is temporarily unavailable. This makes the week between Christmas and New Year’s a uniquely vulnerable emotional space.
Social engagement can become complicated as well. Elena’s reluctance to post contrasts with curated narratives of celebration she sees online, deepening feelings of isolation or failure. Recognizing the legitimacy of this liminal state, rather than forcing positivity or productivity, invites gentler self-compassion and realistic emotional appraisal.
Clinically informed strategies encourage honoring this disruption without judgment. Resting without guilt, viewing the pause as nervous system integration, and resisting cultural pressure to perform hope prematurely allow for healing. For women like Elena, this week is less about producing outcomes and more about creating space for nervous system regulation and emotional processing,a subtle but profound shift.
For additional support, explore resources on relational trauma and nervous system regulation at Triggering Holidays and Relational Trauma or consider therapeutic guidance tailored to these challenges at therapy with Annie.
The Specific Grief of the Holiday That Didn’t Deliver
For many women from difficult family backgrounds, the days following Christmas carry a quietly profound grief. During the holiday itself, emotional labor,managing expectations, navigating family dynamics, and sustaining festive appearances,often leaves little room to fully feel this sorrow. The idealized warmth and connection promised by the season frequently remain out of reach, though the pain is deferred until the external demands subside.
This grief surfaces in the liminal space after the holiday, when the nervous system begins to settle. Gabor Maté, MD, a physician and trauma researcher, highlights that following acute stress, the nervous system undergoes a discharge phase where suppressed emotions and unresolved experiences emerge. Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, a neurobiologically-informed therapist, describes this window as one of vulnerability but also potential neurobiological integration,if met with compassionate presence rather than avoidance.
Clinically, this grief often manifests as a low-grade ache, a pervasive emptiness, or a subtle sadness distinct from typical holiday blues or seasonal affective symptoms. It mourns the “what should have been”,the connection, safety, and recognition promised by the holiday script but never realized. This grief is relational trauma in miniature: a reactivation of early wounds triggered by rituals intended to heal or celebrate connection.
| Experience | Clinical Characteristics | Examples | Distinguishing Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-Holiday Emotional Exhaustion | Nervous system fatigue after sustained activation; flat affect; low energy | Feeling physically drained, difficulty concentrating, muted emotions | Physiological recovery state; typically resolves with rest |
| General Seasonal Affective Symptoms | Mood changes linked to reduced daylight; irritability; sadness | Low mood starting in late fall; improved with light therapy or outdoor exposure | Tied to environmental factors, not relational context |
| Grief of the Holiday That Didn’t Deliver | Relational trauma grief surfacing post-holiday; feelings of loss, abandonment, or invisibility | Feeling unseen by family, mourning the absence of warmth, sorrow over repeated disappointment | Triggered by family dynamics and unmet relational needs; surfaces after holiday ends |
This grief is best approached with precision and compassion. It is not mere sadness but a complex emotional response rooted in early attachment injuries and ongoing relational trauma. Validating this grief during the post-holiday week prevents internalized shame or self-blame that often arise from unmet family expectations.
Jordan’s experience illustrates this well. Throughout Christmas, she maintained a fragile peace amid family conversations. Only after departing did the hollow absence where connection should have been become palpable. This grief arrives quietly but insistently once the festive noise fades.
Recognizing this grief as distinct allows women from difficult families to hold themselves gently rather than rush toward premature resolution or force a narrative of holiday success. This liminal week becomes a space where grief and healing coexist, the nervous system begins integration, and new relational patterns may quietly take root.
For deeper understanding of relational trauma during the holidays, I recommend my articles on triggering holidays and relational trauma and holiday grief for the family you wished you had. These explore how relational wounds interact with holiday stress and grief, illuminating this unique emotional terrain.
Both/And: The Week Can Feel Empty and Hold Real Possibility
The week between Christmas and New Year’s occupies a unique psychological space. It is a pause marked by an absence of external demands and disrupted routines, creating conditions ripe for both rest and reflection. The lack of structure and fading holiday urgency can make the days feel aimless, yet these very qualities offer a rare chance for internal recalibration.
Gabor Maté, MD, physician and trauma researcher renowned for *The Myth of Normal*, frames this period as a critical integration phase following acute stress. After the heightened nervous system activation of the holidays, the body begins to discharge tension and move toward a vulnerable state. This liminal window is neither crisis nor recovery but a quiet, sometimes uncomfortable, space that invites deep internal work.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, neurobiologically-informed therapist and author of *The Heart of Trauma*, highlights this post-activation phase as ideal for nervous system regulation and relational attunement. The gradual return from defensive alertness to baseline is subtle and slow. With diminished external stimuli during this week, the nervous system’s regulation becomes more accessible, reframing feelings of emptiness or flatness as neurobiological recovery rather than depression or failure.
“The interruption of normal time during this liminal week is uncomfortable and disorienting, but it also creates a rare container for nervous system repair and emotional integration.”
Gabor Maté, MD, physician and trauma researcher
Clinically, this means the week’s emptiness is not a void to rush past but a space to inhabit with mindfulness. Jordan’s experience of quiet unmooring after a holiday visit exemplifies the nervous system’s need for this pause. Rather than forcing productivity or emotional highs, this stillness is a meaningful phase of recovery.
This both/and perspective transforms the week’s aimlessness into an asset. The absence of external demands loosens rigid internal expectations and creates space to witness emotions like grief, relief, or exhaustion without pressure to resolve them. It also opens an internal relational space to begin gently reorienting toward new intentions before the new year arrives.
In practice, this may look like resting in stillness, journaling fragmented thoughts without judgment, or noticing bodily sensations without trying to change them. For women carrying relational trauma and unmet expectations, this week serves as a natural container for neurobiological and emotional processing.
Recognizing the week’s paradox invites compassion toward oneself. Feeling stuck or empty is not failure but evidence of essential nervous system work. Holding this tension gently can transform isolation into subtle healing and the quiet possibility of new beginnings.
For further clinical insight, see Article #1 on triggering holidays and relational trauma and Article #19 on managing anxiety spirals on Christmas Eve. These resources deepen understanding of navigating this liminal holiday week with clarity and compassion.
The Systemic Lens: Why January 1st Is Both a Beginning and a Burden
January 1st carries a cultural significance that can feel both promising and heavy. The Western narrative of a fresh start encourages transformation and optimism. Yet, for women emerging from challenging family dynamics, this moment often imposes a demand to perform hope rather than experience it authentically. The pressure to embody a “clean slate” frequently clashes with the emotional residue left by the holiday season’s relational wounds. This tension reflects systemic cultural expectations that can unintentionally deepen feelings of inadequacy and unresolved grief.
Gabor Maté, MD, a physician and trauma researcher known for his work in *The Myth of Normal*, highlights how societal narratives around wellness and productivity often overlook trauma’s complex aftermath. Maté warns that the pervasive “resolution industrial complex”,the flood of self-improvement promises each December,can retraumatize by suggesting that an inability to change or feel hopeful signals personal failure rather than the nervous system’s current state. For women who have endured emotionally draining holiday interactions, the expectation that January 1st should feel like a fresh start can become an added burden instead of relief.
Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, a neurobiologically informed therapist and author of *The Heart of Trauma*, offers insight into the nervous system’s nonlinear healing rhythms. She notes that the cultural demand for immediate emotional shifts on January 1st often bypasses the essential, gradual process of integration. For those whose nervous systems remain in states of shutdown or hyperarousal after holiday stress, this pressure can intensify dysregulation and internal conflict rather than foster renewal.
Clinically, this systemic pressure often surfaces as an internal dialogue: “Why can’t I just feel hopeful? Why do I still feel hollow or stuck?” These questions signal a nervous system and psyche still in recovery. The January 1st cultural script rarely accommodates this slow emergence from trauma. The systemic lens invites a compassionate reframe: January 1st is not only a fresh start but also a continuation of healing,a day holding both possibility and burden.
Many clients describe the new year as a “performance” rather than a genuine emotional shift, feeling alienated from collective optimism and more isolated. Recognizing this dynamic allows space for a nuanced relationship with the new year,one that validates ambivalence and honors the slow pace of nervous system integration.
For women with relational trauma, cultural narratives can mask deeper grief,the loss of ideal holidays, unmet family warmth, and exhaustion from emotional labor do not disappear with the calendar change. Naming these realities is crucial to dismantling the shame and self-blame often reinforced by New Year’s resolution culture.
If January 1st feels paradoxical,filled with desire to move forward yet weighted by past pain,you are not alone. This experience reflects both your individual healing and the broader cultural context. For further support, consider exploring [Triggering Holidays: Relational Trauma](/triggering-holidays-relational-trauma/) and [Holiday Grief: The Family You Wished You Had](/holiday-grief-family-you-wished-you-had/).
Ultimately, January 1st need not be a day of forced hope. It can be a moment to acknowledge your burden, honor your resilience, and gently create conditions for healing on your own terms. The systemic lens encourages resisting cultural rush and cultivating a compassionate, embodied relationship with the new year,one that holds difficulty and possibility together. The next section offers practical ways to use this liminal time intentionally, bridging what has been with what might still be.
What to Do With the Days: Intentional Use of the Liminal Window
The days between Christmas and New Year’s create a unique psychological and neurobiological opportunity. Gabor Maté, MD, physician and trauma researcher, describes this liminal window in his book The Myth of Normal as a period when the nervous system begins to release sustained activation, yet full integration of recent experiences has not occurred. This time invites intentional, compassionate engagement through three modes: recovery, reflection, and preparation.
Recovery honors the body’s need for restoration after extended sympathetic arousal during the holidays. Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, neurobiologically-informed therapist and author of The Heart of Trauma, stresses the importance of low-stimulus environments to support nervous system regulation. Gentle walks, mindful breathing, or warm baths provide restorative activities that do not demand cognitive or emotional effort. This approach is active self-care, acknowledging the physiological impact of prolonged stress rather than avoidance or laziness.
Reflection encourages gentle, honest integration of holiday experiences without harsh judgment. This mode invites compassionate inquiry into relational patterns, emotional responses, and unmet needs surfaced during the season. For many women from difficult family backgrounds, post-holiday grief emerges as a common theme. Journaling about triggering moments or noting absences can bridge raw experience and insight. Elena’s choice to disconnect from festive social media exemplifies turning inward rather than comparing outward, facilitating meaning-making often missed during the holidays.
Preparation shifts focus toward the future with intention instead of rigid resolutions. The typical New Year’s pressure can overwhelm those recovering from relational trauma and holiday exhaustion. Instead, this mode supports crafting a framework for the year rooted in values, boundaries, relational intentions, and self-compassion. Practical steps include drafting a personal manifesto, choosing a guiding word or phrase, or creating small rituals honoring your needs. This aligns with relational trauma frameworks where agency grows from self-knowledge rather than external demands.
For more guidance on shaping holidays and transitions, see our companion piece, Building Holidays of Your Own. It offers tools to reclaim agency during seasonal experiences and create space for healing.
In this liminal time, there is no need to “fix” discomfort or rush past emptiness. Intentional recovery, reflection, and preparation invite transformation of this quiet week into a meaningful passage. Listen deeply, rest generously, and step forward gently,carrying what serves you and releasing what does not.
Q: 1. Why do I feel so empty and flat between Christmas and New Year’s?
A: The days between Christmas and New Year’s represent a liminal space, a threshold between the acute stress of the holidays and the fresh start of the new year. Dr. Gabor Maté, a physician and trauma researcher, explains that this period is when the nervous system begins to discharge from prolonged activation but has yet to fully integrate the experience. Neurobiologist Dr. Bonnie Badenoch adds that this is a window of neurobiological regulation where the body is shifting from defensive activation to baseline. This transition often feels like emptiness or flatness because it is a physiological state of recovery rather than clinical depression.
Q: 2. Is it normal to feel depressed after Christmas even when Christmas itself was okay?
A: Yes, it is common to experience low mood or a sense of melancholy after Christmas even if the holiday itself went smoothly. The post-holiday period often brings a dorsal vagal shutdown response, a neurobiological conservation mode following extended stress exposure. This means your body is lowering cortisol and immune function while your emotional responsiveness is muted. Dr. Badenoch emphasizes that this is not necessarily clinical depression but the nervous system’s way of recalibrating. Recognizing this can help you respond with compassion rather than self-judgment.
Q: 3. Why does the week between Christmas and New Year’s feel so aimless?
A: This week feels aimless because it exists in a temporal no-man’s-land. The usual external pressures and holiday urgencies have lifted, but the new year’s intentions and resolutions have not yet taken hold. For women from difficult families, this absence of structure can be particularly disorienting. Elena’s vignette in this article illustrates how the disruption of goal-oriented identity can leave one feeling unmoored. The week’s suspension of normal time creates both discomfort and a rare opportunity for reflection and rest.
Q: 4. How do I use the days between Christmas and New Year’s intentionally?
A: Intentional use of this liminal week can take three gentle forms. First, recovery mode encourages low-stimulus, restorative activities that support nervous system recalibration. Second, reflection mode invites you to gently process what unfolded during the holidays and what you want to carry forward. Third, preparation mode involves quietly setting intentions for the year ahead without the pressure of rigid resolutions. This approach honors the week’s unique neurobiological and emotional landscape, offering a compassionate alternative to the usual performance-driven expectations.
Q: 5. Why does the New Year feel more sad than hopeful when I come from a difficult family?
A: For women from difficult family backgrounds, New Year’s Day can feel like a burden rather than a fresh start. The cultural mandate to perform hope and optimism often clashes with lingering grief from unmet holiday expectations. Dr. Maté’s trauma research highlights how this unresolved emotional pain surfaces in the liminal space after the holidays. Recognizing the systemic pressures around New Year’s resolutions can help you approach this day with realistic compassion, allowing space for both sadness and the possibility of gentle new beginnings.
Related Reading
- Betrayal Trauma: The Complete Guide, A comprehensive resource on trauma’s relational roots and healing pathways.
- Triggering Holidays and Relational Trauma, Explores how family dynamics intensify holiday stress.
- Surviving the Holidays with a Narcissistic Family, Practical strategies for managing toxic family gatherings.
- Building Holidays of Your Own, Guidance on creating new traditions that honor your emotional needs.
- Christmas Eve Anxiety Spiral, Understanding and calming the pre-holiday anxiety cycle.
If this article helped you name something important, you do not have to keep navigating it alone.
Annie Wright, LMFT
LMFT · Relational Trauma Specialist · W.W. Norton Author
Helping ambitious women finally feel as good as their résumé looks.
Annie Wright is a licensed psychotherapist (LMFT #95719) and trauma-informed executive coach with over 15,000 clinical hours. She works with driven, ambitious women — including Silicon Valley leaders, physicians, and entrepreneurs — in repairing the psychological foundations beneath their impressive lives. Annie is the founder and former CEO of Evergreen Counseling, a multimillion-dollar trauma-informed therapy center she built, scaled, and successfully exited. A regular contributor to Psychology Today, her expert commentary has appeared in Forbes, Business Insider, Inc., NBC, and The Information. She is currently writing her first book with W.W. Norton.
