Why Do High Achievers Burnout Easily?
Discover These Top 5 Reasons Why High Achievers Experience Burnout
As a high-achiever, you have spent a lot of time and energy working towards meeting the goals you have set.
It’s what you do, and who you are, and brings a sense of pride and accomplishment.
However, the things that keep you going can also bring you down.
Continuously chasing the goal to the point of exhaustion, stuckness, and, lack of desire probably means you have hit the stage of burnout.
Burnout happens for a lot of high achievers and it is one of the many challenges high achievers experience.
Today, I am sharing with you 5 reasons high achievers burn out easily.
I am a therapist for high achievers in Wilmington, NC. I exclusively work with high-achieving women that are stressed out and anxious due to perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and burnout.
I provide online burnout counseling in North Carolina and Maryland.
Ready to get started? Click the button below to schedule your free 15-minute consultation with me.
Keep reading to learn 5 reasons why high-achievers burn out easily.
5 Reasons High Achievers Burnout Easily
Women high-achievers and entrepreneurs are no strangers to burnout. According to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety.
As you get deeper into the phases of burnout, anxiety, and depression are much more likely to occur.
Reason #1 High Achievers Experience Burnout: Difficulty asking for help
High achievers operate on a different level than most and they are used to being very independent.
But doing it all and doing it all solo doesn’t work and continuing to push yourself (sometimes you don’t even realize it) will result in experiencing burnout.
Reason #2 High Achievers Experience Burnout: Increased stress and anxiety
Women notoriously take on a lot more and also have different challenges they are up against constantly. These things only lead to an increase in stress and anxiety.
Partner that with demands from work, family, relationships, and other obligations, it’s easy to see why burnout happens.
Reason #3 High Achievers Experience Burnout: Ignore self-care
Self-care isn’t just about treating yourself to a spa day.
Self-care is also taking care of your mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial health too.
Throughout all of these things comes setting boundaries and limits for yourself as well as with other people in your life.
It’s easy for high-achievers to ignore boundary setting, take care of themselves, and go towards the goal. This can create a recipe for disaster and make you more susceptible to burnout.
Learn easy ways you can start practicing self-care today.
Reason #4 High Achievers Experience Burnout: Overly focused on goals
As mentioned before, high-achievers are goal getters but when the goal remains the only focus and you ignore other areas of your life, it creates an unhealthy dynamic.
In addition, when the focus is solely on the outcome of the goal, the process is often ignored. This is often something perfectionists vs. high achievers can encounter.
Reason #5 High Achievers Experience Burnout: Perfectionism pressure
It is easy to get wrapped up in the space of high-achiever perfectionism.
You don’t want to fail because that would be a whole thing, you need to make sure you can look and act that part although chances are you’re probably very qualified, and the pressures you put on yourself and the pressures you receive from others…that’s exhausting.
Exhaustion, stress, and negativity are symptoms of burnout.
Burnout Counseling in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
It isn’t always easy to recognize when you are on the path of burnout until you reach the point. It is important to be able to know the signs of burnout and be aware.
High-achievers are highly susceptible to experiencing burnout due to pressure from self and others, perfectionism, and stress and anxiety.
At Calm Waters Counseling, I use a style of therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.
ACT can be a very helpful form of therapy when working to overcome burnout for many different reasons. Learn more to see if ACT would be helpful for you.
Using ACT for burnout counseling
Get started in therapy at Calm Waters Counseling by following these 4 simple steps:
Click the button below to schedule your free 15-minute consultation
Complete the brief questionnaire sent to your email before the consultation
Meet with your caring therapist
Start meeting your goals and living your life in rich and meaningful ways
Therapy for High Achiever Women in Wilmington, NC at Calm Waters Counseling
High achievers can benefit from therapy for many reasons including stress and anxiety levels, low self-esteem, and perfectionism.
High achievers also come with some unique challenges that not everyone understands. Especially, the high-achieving women entrepreneur and business owners. There is a lot of pressure.
But I do get it.
Learn more about me and my Wilmington, NC virtual therapy practice.
Check out the helpful services at Calm Waters Counseling, listed below:
Anxiety therapy in Wilmington, NC
Treatment for Perfectionism in Maryland
Burnout Counseling in Wilmington, NC
Therapy for Imposter Syndrome in Wilmington, NC
Online Burnout Counseling in North Carolina
Getting into the office may not always work or maybe you prefer your therapy appointments from the comfort of your own space.
I’m down with that too!
Join me virtually from your comfy couch or your favorite chair. Wherever, your favorite spot is, I can be there with you using online therapy.
Thankfully, online therapy is effective and offers the flexibility and convenience to meet your needs right where you are.
Interested in online ACT for burnout treatment?
If online therapy seems like a good option for you, click the links below to learn more about where you live.
online burnout therapy in North Carolina
online burnout treatment in Maryland
Have a few more questions? Get some answers!
Written by: Laura Rippeon, LCSW, LCSW-C