After working hard to get where you are now, it’s easy to keep holding yourself to an unhealthy standard. And it gets more difficult to step back and prioritize your well-being when you picture your goals and where you want to take your career.
As a former management consultant and now a licensed therapist, I understand deeply how hard it is to cope with stress in high-intensity environments. And, as you probably do too, I know how it gets much more complex for us women.
Let’s look at the impact workplace stress can have on you, and how perfectionism counseling changes the way you manage it for the better.
When you feel everything you do has to be flawless, it gets hard to stand up for what’s in your best interests.
Most of us can’t set boundaries even when we see we’re about to be overwhelmed. The mere act of saying “no” can feel like sabotaging your professional growth, despite knowing it’s the right choice for preserving your mental health.
And that’s especially true if you’re a high achiever, always feeling under pressure to hold up the image you’ve built.
However, one of the biggest problems with perfectionism is how easily it can affect other areas of your life. Especially when you feel underwater, it’s hard to make time for self-care and for your social life.
When you’re around other people, you may also find it difficult to have the presence of mind needed to build and enjoy positive relationships.
The steps you should start taking to deal with workplace stress and the perfectionism driving it don’t just help with achieving a healthier way of working. While that’s their immediate purpose now, they can empower growth in other essential areas of your life.
For starters, here are three powerful ones:
The first step to effectively managing stress at work is to admit that you have needs you’ve been neglecting. Of course, this takes being vulnerable with yourself and others.
After identifying those needs, you have to develop the courage and self-honesty to ask, whether from your coworkers, managers, or friends.
Taking practical steps to cope with work stress requires having tense conversations.
One way to get through this difficult communication is to clarify what exactly you wish to say.
Ask:
Clarity makes it easier to steer the conversation toward real progress for a healthy life at work. And this is crucial because, at several points during the conversation, you may feel your perfectionist tendencies drawing you into a shell again.
Managing up is often an effective strategy. It helps you change the way you work with your manager and establish clear expectations and ways to lighten your load.
But it’s only possible with a willingness to be vulnerable and communicate honestly with your managers.
You may feel that your stress at work is too difficult to overcome, but perfectionism counseling in California is an effective tool I’ve used to help hundreds of other women in your position. My former career as a management consultant and my work with women like yourself show me how damaging stress can be in high-intensity workplace environments.
And these experiences give me a unique perspective on communication and managing stress that we can use to help you and create room for far-reaching personal growth.
Contact me directly at 888-987-9582, or fill in this contact form and I’ll reach out.
