The Anxious Achiever Hypervigilance: When Everything Feels Like a Threat
Apr 16, 2025
Tanvi Gautam, an executive coach and managing director of Leadershift Inc., shares her insights on hypervigilance and its impact on high achievers. She discusses how this heightened alertness often stems from trauma and manifests in the workplace. Tanvi explores the detrimental effects on leadership and health, offering practical strategies for managing stress and improving interpersonal connections. She emphasizes self-compassion, adaptability, and the need for supportive environments to navigate anxiety and uncertainty effectively.
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Morra's Childhood Hypervigilance
- Morra Aarons-Mele shares how as a child during her parents' separation she felt hypervigilant on journeys between her mom and dad.
- She constantly scanned for threats and imagined worst case scenarios, a habit she sometimes still has today.
Hypervigilance as a Stress Response
- Executive clients often intellectually understand advice but act hypervigilantly under stress, fixating on perceived threats.
- Hypervigilance creates a narrative of suspicion that may not be accurate and is a constant nervous system background activity.
Building Safety to Address Hypervigilance
- To address hypervigilance, build psychological safety and explore clients' life experiences gently.
- Use perspective shifts by imagining how a trusted person might view a stressful interaction more generously.