What are the signs of high-functioning anxiety?

You might have high-functioning anxiety if you look like you're coping on the outside—always busy, productive, and organized—but feel overwhelmed, restless, or on edge inside. Many people with high-functioning anxiety struggle with sleep, racing thoughts, overthinking, and a constant fear of not doing enough.

How do I know if I’m a perfectionist?

If you find yourself setting impossibly high standards, fearing mistakes, procrastinating out of fear of failure, or struggling to celebrate your successes, perfectionism may be playing a role. It often shows up as harsh self-criticism, people-pleasing, and an ongoing sense of 'not good enough.'

Can EMDR help with anxiety and perfectionism?

Yes. EMDR therapy helps address the underlying memories, beliefs, or patterns that fuel anxiety and perfectionism. Clients often report feeling less triggered, more confident, and more at ease in themselves after EMDR.

Is perfectionism a trauma response?

For many people, yes. Perfectionism can develop as a response to growing up in environments where love or safety felt conditional—on performance, appearance, or behavior. Therapy can help you understand and shift those early patterns.

Do you offer virtual therapy for anxiety and perfectionism in California?

Yes. I offer online therapy to adults across California and in-person sessions at my Irvine office. Whether you're in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, or a smaller town, you can access support from wherever you are.

Anxiety and Perfectionism Therapy in Irvine & Los Angeles

Therapy for Anxiety, Overthinking, and Perfectionism in Irvine, Los Angeles & Throughout California

Support for high-achieving adults, professionals, and first- and second-generation individuals navigating anxiety and self-doubt.

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You might be used to pushing through, excelling, and managing life’s demands, but beneath that drive, anxiety could be quietly influencing your thoughts, emotions, and well-being.

Common Sigs of high functioning anxiety and perfectionism:

Overworking and struggling to set boundaries
Feeling responsible for others’ emotions
Difficulty relaxing, even when you’re “off”
Holding yourself to unrealistic standards
Physical tension (tight shoulders, clenched jaw, stomach knots)
Delaying decisions or tasks until conditions feel “perfect”
People-pleasing and avoiding conflict
Harsh inner critic or constant “shoulds”
Difficulty celebrating your accomplishments

Anxiety and perfectionism often go hand-in-hand, especially for high-achieving adults, professionals, and first-generation individuals. Perfectionism is usually a pattern that is developed early on to help us cope with anxiety and keep us safe in relationships. Therapy can help you recognize and understand the roots of your anxiety and perfectionism and start to shift those patterns.

Therapist for overthinking and anxiety smiling at the camera in Los Angeles, CA

How therapy helps with anxiety and perfectionism?

I offer anxiety therapy in Irvine, Los Angeles, and virtually across California for adults who appear put-together, but feel overwhelmed beneath the surface.

In our work together, we’ll:

Get to the root of your anxiety—not just manage symptoms
Build a more compassionate relationship with yourself
Practice mindfulness to quiet racing thoughts
Reconnect with your worth beyond achievement
Heal attachment wounds that drive people-pleasing and perfectionism

EMDR for anxiety and perfectionism:

If you've tried to "think your way out" of anxiety or self-doubt without lasting success, EMDR therapy offers a different approach. EMDR uses bilateral stimulation (like eye movements or tapping) to help your brain reprocess distressing memories and shift how you feel in the present.

EMDR helps identify specific experiences that created your anxiety patterns, often ones you might not have connected to your current worries.
The back-and-forth movements help interrupt those thought spirals when your mind gets caught in the same loops.
You may notice your body feels calmer over time, like your nervous system is learning to relax again.
Those triggering memories begin to shift, they become more like old photographs you can look at without being pulled back into the full experience.

Let’s talk to help you feel more grounded

I offer in-person anxiety therapy in Irvine and virtual sessions throughout California. I integrate EMDR, somatic approaches, and a culturally-sensitive approach Together, we'll explore the parts of you that drive perfectionism—not to silence them, but to help them work with you.

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Therapy for High-Functioning Anxiety & Perfectionism: FAQs

You might have high-functioning anxiety if you look like you're coping on the outside—always busy, productive, and organized—but feel overwhelmed, restless, or on edge inside. Many people with high-functioning anxiety struggle with sleep, racing thoughts, overthinking, and a constant fear of not doing enough.
If you find yourself setting impossibly high standards, fearing mistakes, procrastinating out of fear of failure, or struggling to celebrate your successes, perfectionism may be playing a role. It often shows up as harsh self-criticism, people-pleasing, and an ongoing sense of "not good enough."
For many people, yes. Perfectionism can develop as a response to growing up in environments where love or safety felt conditional—on performance, appearance, or behavior. Therapy can help you understand and shift those early patterns.
For many people, yes. Perfectionism can develop as a response to growing up in environments where love or safety felt conditional—on performance, appearance, or behavior. Therapy can help you understand and shift those early patterns.
Yes. I offer online therapy to adults across California and in-person sessions at my Irvine office. Whether you're in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, or a smaller town, you can access support from wherever you are.