Why High-Achieving Women Stop Responding to “Self-Care”

Why High-Achieving Women Stop Responding to “Self-Care”

From Project Joyful by Tracy Tutty

May 14, 2026 · 22 min · Season 2 · Episode 234

About this episode

Tracy Tutty explores why self-care practices may stop working for high-achieving women and discusses the impact of performance pressure on restoration.

Sometimes high-achieving women become incredibly good at doing restorative things… without actually feeling restored by them. The yoga classes. The supplements. The meditation apps. The herbal teas. The massages squeezed into lunch breaks while mentally rehearsing tomorrow. And somewhere underneath all of it, the shoulders are still tight. The jaw still aches. The mind keeps moving even in moments that are supposed to feel restorative. In this episode of Project Joyful, Tracy explores why self-care can quietly stop working when the nervous system experiences it as another performance metric. This is a sophisticated conversation about anticipation physiology, optimisation culture, leadership capacity, adaptogens, and the difference between forcing restoration versus allowing responsiveness. You’ll learn: • Why many high-achieving women unconsciously approach rest with achievement energy • The difference between optimisation and nervous system responsiveness • Why pressure and performance can become unconsciously linked • How anticipation physiology affects restoration, creativity, and decision making • Why adaptogens work differently from force-based wellness strategies • The…

People in this episode

Host: Tracy Tutty

Topics covered

  • self-care
  • high-achieving women
  • nervous system
  • restoration
  • optimisation culture
  • leadership capacity

Keywords

  • self-care
  • high-achieving women
  • nervous system
  • restoration
  • optimisation culture
  • leadership
  • adaptogens

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