10 Practical Tips for Managing Anxiety as a High-Achieving Millennial
In today's fast-paced and productivity-focused world, high-achieving millennials often find themselves juggling several responsibilities and striving for success in numerous sectors of life. The pressures of dating, family planning, career success, financial burdens, and social media all HAVE to be kept up with. Even if the motivation and desire to keep up with everything have the potential to produce positive results, they also come with a fair amount of worry and anxiety. More research continues to show that millennials are feeling higher levels of stress and anxiety compared to other generations.
Why are millennials so anxious? Some of the culprits include perfectionism and social media. The pressure to be “perfect” doesn’t seem like it could be a bad thing, until you realize that achieving perfection isn't real. If the goal posts are unreachable, we’re left feeling like we’re not good enough, and are constantly spinning to get to unattainable goals. High-achieving millennials frequently find themselves balancing several duties and aiming for success in various spheres of life in today's fast-paced and cutthroat society. It may be extremely stressful to achieve academic excellence, have a good profession, keep up social contacts, and manage personal relationships. Moreover, self-doubt and self-criticism can creep in, leading you to question your abilities.
Social media, while a great tool in connecting us with one another, can also foster comparisons to what others are doing, leaving us feeling like we’re not doing enough or living our lives as fully as others. You know FOMO (fear of missing out)? That comes from the endless scrolling of other people’s perfectly curated lives, which leaves us feeling like there's MORE we SHOULD be doing. All of this leaves us feeling worried that we’re not living up to our potential.
These worries and anxieties can feel debilitating and are interfering with our ability to enjoy our success, hobbies, relationships, and lives. So how do we deal with the anxiety? Here are 10 practical tips that can help with managing anxiety as a high-achieving millennial:
Recognize and Validate Your Feelings: Recognize that it's normal to have some anxiety. Sometimes, certain levels of stress can help us feel motivated to accomplish certain tasks, but when it becomes paralyzing, it can be easy to be self-critical. Accept your feelings without passing judgment.
Identify Triggers: Pay attention to situations, themes, and recurring thoughts or behaviors that trigger your anxiety. Increasing your awareness of triggers enables you to more effectively manage them and implement helpful coping strategies in the moment.
Set Realistic Expectations: Focus on setting more grounded expectations for yourself. Try using a method such as SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-oriented) to provide you with clarity in goal-setting. When you don’t meet a goal, use that as an opportunity for growth to learn from rather than self-criticism. Don’t forget to acknowledge and celebrate progress and small victories along the way.
Challenge Imposter Syndrome: Challenge the belief that you don’t belong or aren’t good enough in your job. Imposter syndrome that goes unchecked can lead to increased anxiety and burnout. Remind yourself that your success is a result of your work and skills. When you tell yourself that once you get to “X” the feelings will subside, it puts more pressure on you to keep spinning your wheels endlessly. Focus on separating feelings from facts, appreciating what you HAVE accomplished, and recognizing decisions you’ve made that have worked out.
Practice Self-Care: Make self-care activities that refresh your mind and body a priority. Engage in regular movement, hobbies, and quality time with loved ones. Taking breaks and setting limits is crucial for maintaining balance and reducing stress.
Practice Mindfulness and Stress Reduction Techniques: Practicing mindfulness can help bring unhelpful thinking patterns to light and help you learn to focus more on the present moment. Noticing bodily sensations, practicing deep breathing exercises, becoming attuned with your 5 senses, and journaling can help reduce anxiety symptoms and prevent our experiences from feeling diluted by distractions.
Embrace Life Transitions: Life transitions, such as career changes or becoming a parent, can be challenging. Sometimes we try to plan ahead to better anticipate the challenges of transitions, but often experience that anxiety multiple times. Embrace them as opportunities for growth. New things can feel scary, especially when you’re outside of your comfort zone. Acknowledging those stressors can help make new experiences slightly more bearable.
Foster Self-Compassion: Approach yourself with understanding and kindness rather than self-criticism when you make a mistake or fail at anything. Cultivate self-compassion by practicing affirmations. Believe in yourself and your abilities by reminding yourself that you are worthy of success.
Create a Well-Balanced Routine: Establish a schedule that balances work, play, self-care, and social interactions. Set aside time for the things that make you happy and feel fulfilled. Remember that maintaining a healthy work-life balance is important for overall well-being.
Seek Support: Don't hesitate to reach out for support when needed. Remember that you're not alone in these struggles, and you can work with a millennial therapist to learn better coping strategies for anxiety as a high achiever.
It's important to keep in mind that dealing with anxiety is unique to each individual, and what works for one person may not work for another. However, by experimenting with different methods and learning what works for you, you’ll be able to create a unique toolset for managing your anxiety that will enable you to thrive under the pressure of being a high achiever.
