Why Do Vacations Feel So Hard? Parenting, Transitions, and the "Capacity Gap"

Feeling dread instead of excitement about family trips? Here's what's happening in your nervous system and how to partner through capacity differences. Vacations feel hard when one partner carries more mental load because their nervous system is already operating near capacity. High-stress situations like travel don't just add more tasks—they push an already depleted partner into survival mode where even basic tasks become overwhelming. This reveals existing imbalances in how mental load is distributed.