Managing Anxiety as a High-Achiever: Calming Strategies That Work

Written By Carrie Freshour

Balancing the demands of your career, family, and personal expectations can feel like juggling fire - constantly leaving you on edge and gripped by anxiety. When your mind is buzzing, and there's no off-switch, you're not alone. Many leaders and high-performing moms face this very challenge. If you feel overwhelmed by the weight of expectations, both external and self- imposed, you're in the right place. Today, I want to share proven strategies to help you calm your anxiety and rediscover peace, even in the midst of chaos.

Panic Attacks: Therapists and Coaches Have Bad Days Too

As a trauma therapist and coach, I'm often seen as someone with answers. But that doesn't mean I'm immune to anxiety. My journey with anxiety is ongoing and sometimes raw. It has shaped my work in profound ways. Recently, I felt the rise of panic. It wasn't sudden but the result of mounting stress and perfectionism. I tried my usual tools - breathwork, journaling, and prayer-but anxiety sometimes pushes through despite our best efforts. That day, a small stressor triggered a full-blown panic. I couldn't breathe and was consumed by emotion. But here's the truth: crying and releasing those feelings wasn't failure — it was my body finding its way back to calm.

The Power of Listening to Your Anxiety

One transformative lesson I've learned is to view anxiety as a messenger. When anxiety shows up, it's often telling us something needs attention. Tuning in can reveal what's fueling the stress and allow us to make necessary adjustments. For me, this often means letting go of impossible standards and recognizing when I'm carrying too much weight.

Practical Strategies to Manage Anxiety as a High-Achiever

If you're a leader or a high-achieving mom trapped in cycles of anxiety, these strategies can help you regain calm:

 
 

Want to dive deeper into my personal leadership journey? My book shares insights on managing anxiety and trauma. ORDER HERE

Don't Miss Out On Valuable Tools To Help Manage Stress And Anxiety. And Checklists! Visit my resources page for free guides!

Carrie Freshour

Carrie Freshour is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and founder of Carrie Freshour Consulting, LLC, a firm that empowers and equips individuals and teams to maximize their potential, navigate systems change, and break down stigma to address the long-standing needs in the behavioral health field. Equity, fairness, and equality are at the core of the strategies she guides her individual and group clients to implement. Carrie leads from a purpose-filled lens of strength and resilience, weaving together her lived experience, clinical training, and executive leadership. She’s not afraid to have hard conversations to help teams, organizations, and people break through barriers to achieve and sustain results.

As a clinical social worker for over twenty-five years, she has extensive experience developing programs and public awareness efforts, writing policies, and creating training curricula in diverse settings. She’s a dynamic speaker and facilitator, leading community conversations and conducting community-wide assessments. In addition, she has led internal organizational operations and created inclusive cultures that empower teams to work authentically and transparently.

http://carriefreshourconsulting.com
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