achievers
High-Performer (performance): better, faster, or more efficient than others. (Merriam-Webster) and "an individual who consistently produces superior results in their field or area of expertise."
A•chiev•er: a person who achieves a high or specified level of success.(Oxford Languages)
Another speciality within Brynne's practice is working with individuals who identify as high-level performers & achievers, including professionals engaged in demanding careers characterized by exceptional intensity, status, & responsibility, which are often accompanied by high levels of stress & burnout.
As a high-performer/achiever, you're consistently attempting to balance life, yet you often come to a crossroads between your success & your personal wellbeing. This unique dichotomy creates extraordinary challenges for you that take a significant mental toll. You often have a hard time establishing & maintaining healthy boundaries meant to ensure a work-life balance. But, due to the pressures, these boundaries often fall by the wayside. Feeling stuck between success & wellbeing can cause residual ramifications in other areas of your life, such as personal time & relationships. More examples of issues achievers often experience are listed below.
Therapy can help you understand deeper motivating factors that may be causing, contributing, and/or exacerbating your feelings of stress & anxiety. By gaining a more intimate understanding of yourself, you may be able to begin to recreate more effective & healthy boundaries, establish balance, develop coping skills, & experience less overall stress and anxiety.
PERFECTIONISM
- You burn yourself out trying to ensure every task you're assigned is
completed perfectly & on time
- Sometimes, you spend more time than you should perfecting,
reviewing & editing
- You feel personally responsible for subordinates' performance & worry it
will reflect poorly on you
- You take on more than you should & have a hard time saying no
- You have a hard time accepting compliments
- You constantly criticize yourself
- You hyper-focus on the negatives & diminish the positives
- You agonize over mistakes for days
- You expend excessive energy avoiding mistakes & failing
- You never feel good enough & you often feel like a disappointment
- You think you could be doing more & doing better
- You have extremely high, potentially unrealistic expectations of yourself
& feel ashamed if you don't live up to them
- You feel guilty taking breaks, ending a work day early, or leaving work
unfinished or unresolved
IDENTITY
- You feel unsure of your identity outside of your career
- You don't know what you want out of life,
where your interests lie, what you are passionate about, & what else
makes you you aside from your profession since much of your time &
energy has been dedicated to your professional success
- You question how & why you ended up here as well as question your
original motivations & definitions of success & happiness
- You feel resentful towards those whom you feel pressured you towards
or along with your career path or those who depend on your success
- You're uncertain if the field you're in is right for you because it
causes you so much stress
- You find yourself daydreaming or searching for other careers or positions
Self-esteem &
authentic confidence
- You struggle to feel confident in your abilities & yourself overall, despite all your accomplishments
- You have difficulties affirming & complimenting yourself - it feels
uncomfortable, inauthentic, or maybe narcissistic
- You question what you wear, say, and do, especially in crowds, around
people you don't know you colleagues
- Sometimes you say things to make yourself feel better
- You feel competitive with others & have a strong desire to prove yourself
- You struggle to get past mistakes because they linger
in the back of your mind
- You have a tendency to hyperfocus on the negative
& discredit the positive about your appearance & personality
- You have a hard time believing the compliments people give you
- While, simultaneously, you may have become reliant on your
performance to feel happy or good
- You struggle to establish secure relationships & often fear being left
- You mold yourself into the person you think others find desireable
Depression & Anxiety
- You have little to no work/life balance & have no idea what "self-care" is
- You've fallen out of all your healthy habits & have developed more
unhealthy versions to cope such as eating, drinking, shopping, etc.
- You feel excessive fear & self-doubt - you're constantly worried about
not performing well & being fired
- Your relationships feel strained & you find you often experience similar
issues within relationships & amongst your relationships
- You feel tired, unmotivated, unhappy, & unfulfilled
- You often think to yourself you should feel happy & compare your life to other's less fortunate
- You consistently feel unorganized, behind, & overwhelmed
- You believe if you could just complete your to-do list you'd feel better
- You feel exhausted but restless
- You have trouble falling asleep & staying asleep - you're repeatedly
awakened by nightmares, worry thoughts, or work stress
- You are irritable & find yourself with little patience
- You feel burnt out, unmotived, & the time you do find to sake off
doesn't feel restorative
- You've lost interest or are unable to find the time to engage in the
hobbies & activities that once brought you joy
- You avoid conflict because it makes you uncomfortable
- You rehearse conversations in your mind ahead over & over
prior to the actual conversation
- You ruminate on past conversations & feel regretful or stupid
- You feel nervous if you're not constantly plugged in
stress & Burnout
- You consistently feel overwhelmed
- You lost or gained an inappropriate amount of weight
- You're prematurely losing your hair
- You struggle with brain fog & constant fatigue
- You pick at your hair, skin, or nails
- You have chronic pain & tightness in your neck or shoulders
- You feel irritable & unsure why
- You feel like you can't get enough sleep & struggle to get out of bed
- You experience the "Sunday scaries" or "As-Soon-As-Syndrome"
- You feel like you have ADHD because you can't get anything done, you
have trouble focusing, & start various tasks simultaneously
