The Mental Health Costs of High Achievement
Why high-performing professionals often avoid therapy — and how this undermines their personal and professional growth.
In law school, a mentor once urged me to remove my experience as a crisis counselor from my resume. Why did he suggest this? He didn’t question its relevance; many of the skills that I developed as a crisis counselor (e.g., listening attentively, communicating clearly, and staying grounded under pressure) are valued in legal practice.
He said it would make me look “too soft.”
His suggestion reflects a deeply-entrenched mindset in many professional environments: empathy and compassion indicate ineffectiveness. This same mindset deters many professionals from seeking mental health support when they need it. If offering emotional support is considered suspect, needing it is viewed with even greater disdain.
And now, as a clinical psychologist, I repeatedly see how counterproductive these beliefs can be. They lead people to needlessly suffer in silence, undermine their psychological well-being, and sabotage their professional performance. The real risk isn’t in seeking support. It’s in pretending that you don’t need it when you actually do.
The Shared Illusion of Mental Health in Professional Settings.
In many professional environments, individuals are socialized to believe that truly competent professionals don’t experience psychological distress (from their job or otherwise). They are also implicitly expected to participate in a shared illusion that their workplace is somehow free of the conditions that create such distress. This dual denial creates an atmosphere where burnout, anxiety, and emotional strain are simultaneously widespread and ignored in plain sight. In these workplaces, psychological struggle is framed as a personal failure rather than a natural response to the unrelenting pressure, unrealistic demands, and toxic dynamics that often define these environments. Help seeking, all the while, remains quietly stigmatized and individuals resort to unproductive coping strategies.
High Achievement as a Risk Factor for Psychological Struggle.
Driven and accomplished professionals are generally assumed to be coping effectively simply because they perform competently. However, such individuals are often at heightened risk for conditions like anxiety, depression, and burnout because the traits that help them excel (e.g., holding oneself to impossibly high standards, a relentless drive, a willingness to ignore personal needs) are also risk factors for psychological distress and can create barriers to seeking help. Additionally, such high achievers often gravitate toward demanding and high pressure professions that normalize, reinforce, and reward these traits, often at the expense of well-being.
Psychological Support as a Strategic Investment.
Your mental health is your most valuable personal asset. Neither ignoring your psychological distress nor coping with it ineffectively are sustainable strategies for long-term personal or professional growth. Your ability to succeed — and to define what “success” authentically means to you — requires an honest relationship with your inner experience. It also requires you to develop effective coping skills, formulate goals based upon your personal values and priorities, set workable boundaries, emphasize self-care, and make needed changes whenever possible. Sustainable personal and professional growth are forged when we engage with our inner world deliberately, compassionately, and non-judgmentally.
Therapy can offer the structure and space to do just that.
Consider Thrive Theory PsychologyTM
At Thrive Theory Psychology, we specialize in helping high-achieving professionals and students navigate the internal pressures that often accompany their outward success.
Our work is grounded in evidence-based approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness-based methods — frameworks that can help individuals build clarity and sustainability in their personal and professional lives.
You don’t need to hit a breaking point to benefit from support. Learn more about our services here, explore answers to common questions here, and schedule your free consultation here. Let’s work together to create a path that aligns with your goals and values.
Disclaimer: The content of this blog is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute clinical advice or establish a therapeutic relationship. If you are experiencing psychological distress or need professional support, please consult a licensed mental health provider in your area.
