There is a common misconception about therapy. Most people believe that it’s the last resort; something they turn to once they hit rock bottom.
Certainly, if you’re a successful individual, there’s no way you should need therapy, right? However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Being successful can never make you immune to any of the multiple reasons why people seek therapy or counseling. These might include depression, stress, anxiety disorders, burnout, addiction, emotional issues, or even marital or parenting problems.
The reality is that absolutely everyone can benefit from therapy in some way. That’s because, fundamentally, its function is to help the recipient find out more about themselves.
Here, we have seven reasons why high achievers can also benefit from either therapy or counseling.
1) To ensure that stress doesn’t get the better of you
High flyers, needless to say, have large workloads and many obligations to manage. Therefore, it wouldn’t be surprising if stress, or even burnout, were to appear.
Meeting such obligations over a prolonged period of time, especially if paired with intense (internal or external) pressure to maintain a level of success, can become overwhelming. This can take its toll on both mental and physical health.
Through therapy, such individuals can develop new mechanisms that can help them to manage or even reduce their stress levels. This can help them achieve a balance between a fruitful life beyond the workplace and still achieving their goals.
2) To ensure that any new success isn’t overwhelming
There’s always room for improvement, in every aspect of life. And this is something that successful people tend to be driven by.
However, when new levels of success arrive, which is most often the end goal, some people don’t find it easy to cope with.
Transitioning to a new level of success can entail many changes. Your workload could increase, your responsibilities could change or you could find yourself mixing in different social circles. All these might require a completely different set of skills from those that might have served you well in the past.
All people who begin a new or different phase of life need to develop and adapt to new patterns of behaviour. Therapy is just one way that can help you evolve and integrate new ways of doing things.
3) To prevent non-work issues from interfering
Having a successful business or being financially well-off is no exemption from having issues outside of work.
Your business might be thriving while, at the same time, you could be dealing with substance abuse or problems in your relationships with family or loved ones.
A lot of successful individuals compartmentalise work and private life. But this isn’t always a healthy approach to take.
Having therapy can help to ensure that one doesn’t end up affecting the other.
4) To maintain your level of motivation
Motivation is a key part of achieving success. Without it, you can’t achieve your goals nor can you maintain or grow that success.
They say that, in general, you’re always moving either backward or forwards. That’s why when someone believes they’ve achieved all they can, they then need to select new goals.
This is where a therapist can be of help. Therapy can help you to identify the initial underlying motivation or drive that got you your success in the first place. Then, you can decide what new targets will ensure your continued success in the long term.
5) To better understand what makes you happy
It may be a cliché, but happiness isn’t always found in expected places.
In fact, a phenomenon that often occurs is when someone finally gets what they always wanted – and then finds that they’re still not happy.
Some people pursue objectives with misguided expectations. For example, they might think that never having to worry about money again will finally make them happy. However, it’s never so simple.
Therapy can help people to re-evaluate their perspective and separate what they want from what they need. Just simple adjustments can make your success a lot more rewarding overall.
6) To tackle insecurity about your success
It’s a natural emotion to feel insecure about your success from time to time. It often happens that high achievers wonder if they might be a fraud or if they’re unworthy of their success.
For example, they might have inherited a successful company or wealth from a relative, or their business boomed because they were simply in the right place at the right time.
Some people constantly put themselves down, attributing their success to luck, rather than their ability. This is often referred to as ‘impostor syndrome’.
In the long-term, having this persistent feeling of feeling out of your depth can create other problems such as anxiety, depression, or addiction.
Therapy, on the other hand, can help you to gain perspective on your achievements and align your feelings with reality.
7) A rare opportunity to let your guard down
Successful people, especially if they are CEOs, government ministers, or of a similar high profile, often can’t show their “real self” to anyone – not even their families. Keeping up appearances is a part of daily life.
However, doing this 24/7 is not healthy. Everyone needs to be able to communicate freely at some point – and speaking to a therapist could be that opportunity.
During sessions, patients can speak freely and confidentially about any topic and this can help massively to relieve stress and put an individual at ease.
Therapy at White River Manor
At White River Manor we have extensive experience in dealing with the struggles experienced by successful individuals.
We understand that privacy and discretion are of the utmost importance. With us, you know that your treatment and therapy will be treated not only with total confidentiality but also in stunning, private surroundings.
We also know that your time is precious, so we work hard to ensure that you develop positive habits that mean you never have to come back. Using a combination of traditional methods, ancient philosophy and cutting-edge science, the team at White River Manor can help you to change the perceptions and belief systems that shape your reality, allowing you to view your world with a brand-new perspective and outlook.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think we can be of help to you!
