Why High Achievers Are Often Depressed

It is true to form in realising that even Superman needs his Clark Kent days in order to re-set and re-charge, hence in being impactful towards high achievement.

High achievers are not the best in knowing when to rest and slow down, because that hamster wheel of success and abundance is appetising and appealing. When that hamster wheel (metaphorically speaking, being a metaphor for working too much and/or too hard) either stops or has a malfunction, unfamiliarity occurs. That leads to sadness and feeling depressed, without actually having or being diagnosed with depression. You feel naked. You feel lost. That sense of purpose within you has disintegrated into quick sand.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching and achieving success as a high achiever in life, through any domain from sports to music to business success. We are sold on the premise that success always leads to joy and happiness. If it does, that is short lived, as life is all about both sides. What the latter concept means is that there is a cycle for manifesting, and there is a cycle for resting. You reap what you sow in each cycle. Sadness is a signal to rest before resentment and dissatisfaction strikes, least of all burnout.

Burnout is all about a lack of balance in your life between laying low and going gung ho at something, usually a career. Burnout can also occur if you overtax the body when it comes to exercising, as well as maintaining quality relationships. There are always solutions to every single challenge. High achievers (especially in their careers) are not always the best at setting healthy boundaries in ensuring a healthier work/life balance while still hitting set targets and KPI's, and hence being in the zone on higher priority tasks when it really matters. Lower priority tasks are to be automated or delegated. Burnout does not care whether you were satisfied with your work or life prior to burnout manifesting due to the balance dynamics being out of whack. It is difficult for high achievers to know when to stop and take a break, whether a short vacation or extended time out. This too leads to sadness and resentment, where it is only natural to feel depressed when your sense of purpose and identity is being rinsed out or challenged due to a lack of rest and downtime. Layoffs and other forms of feedback can be your mentors in helping high achievers slow down, to stop and smell the roses for a bit, before a new opportunity manifests.

There is no denying the fact that the cost of living crisis, birthing inflationary and other financial pressures and crisis situations onto all of us (high achiever or not) has been detrimental in maintaining that elusive balance between resting and hard core activity. When you become overrun with work and/or too much yang based activity (in other words, manifesting all the time) without respecting the other side of the coin (yin energy) for rest, hibernation and downtime (regardless of the external season your home country is currently in) - despite needing the cash in order to keep up with merely living is something to acknowledge, yet burnout does not give two hoots about the state of the world economy either. I get it.

Be a high achiever and prioritise striving over rest, and one day, you will be whacked back down to earth with a serious illness and/or injury, and the door of illness and/or injury will knock ever so loudly until you stop, listen and receive the message to slow down and enjoy those Clark Kent moments, so that your own Superman can really shine and be a high achiever, without feeling depressed and overly sad the majority of the time.

Furthermore, if you do not listen to your body, and to the signals to stop and/or slow down; illness and/or injury will get louder and louder, hence leading to surgeries/operations and/or other expensive medical treatments (including hospital admissions) that you could have avoided, and hence you could have saved some of that hard earned money. If you are fortunate to live in a country with universal health care; there are still out of pocket expenses for some parts of your medical treatment. This is when you are forced to rest (because your body just cannot take your high achievement psyche anymore), and clearly not on your own terms. (Yours truly is speaking from lived experience here - having had two major surgeries alone in 2025, and no operations for 36 years prior. The body always keeps the score.)

External success is great and jolly, however not when you feel empty, tired, depleted and unheard on the inside. This is why light hobbies and nervous system friendly leisure activities exist outside of work, in addition to cafes, parks and beaches (to name) to either sit solo in quietude (even if you are enjoying a treat at a busy cafe), or to catch up with others when it feels great in order to do so.

Societal pressures for high achievers to feel grateful for their successes, despite feeling tired and rundown is not helping these people. Such pressures only amplify sadness and stress, the catalyst for burning out. The current economic climate (as at the time of writing) purports that to anyone employed (whether you are naturally wired, or pushing yourself as a high achiever or not) should be grateful for any job right now, even if you (unfortunately) have a job that is not right for your psyche and mental health. And/or the hours are not conducive to a quality life.

What also causes depression in high achievers:

Perfectionism. High achievers often forget that anyone with a pulse (even our four legged furry friends, just thrown in for some context) are not perfect. Nirvana were on point when they sang "Come as you are." We are here to learn and develop, and it is up to your soul agreement as to how long each skill set and talent takes to develop.

Over-responsibility. This is usually inflicted on the high achiever, either by pressure, or the inability to say no to extra work and responsibility out of fear. Fear of some loss. Taking on extra work and/or obligations in life gives high achievers more joy and variety in their life, but only in the short term until sadness and then burnout occurs. Burnout adds sadness to the plate. A little pressure is healthy (just like stress), yet when the pressure is in overdrive, this is a disaster.

High self-discipline. Procrastinators are jealous of high achievers; yet too much self-discipline to the point of overwork and overachievement comes at a high cost to the body; and to a high achievers mental health if rest and exercise are not a priority when working too much - even if you only work part-time, whether by choice or economic indicators.

Identity is tied to productivity. Everything is a cycle once again. Full moons are designed for rest and relaxation, while the new moon is all about intention setting and just going for it. This is why annual leave and personal days are a thing. In a workplace that yours truly once worked at - "mental health days" became a strong and significant meme in the office.

External validation seeking. Some high achievers are great at overworking and overachieving to compensate for not being seen and heard in early childhood. Everyone needs to be seen and heard, yet in high achievers the need for attention and recognition for their output and efforts is supercharged. This is beyond pride and the ego seeking attention. Some people tie awards and promotions to their self worth, which naturally puts them in the spotlight, while runners up either take a break or try again.

Dopamine spikes during a journey, not when the final goal is achieved. What is next always happens after a massive goal is achieved, rather than allowing a small pause to celebrate and acknowledge a goal being achieved in the first place. This is also why high achievers get depressed. Chasing the next big thing after another without the celebrations and acknowledgement is exhausting. Getting your strength back on your own after a significant injury, or a compartment of setbacks in a short space of time is a big deal. It is not merely 'nothing.'

Many high achievers at work/in their career focus on the promotion itself, the end goal, rather than the journey of arriving at the next promotion. Getting promoted is great, yet it comes at a great cost if there is immense pressure and great sacrifice along the way. The hamster wheel of climbing the career ladder gets addictive. Emotional returns get depleted when you make it to the top. "Is this all there is?" No wonder why high achievers can and do get depressed. Self worth is tied to results for high achievers. This is when resting feels unsafe, and this is why burnout is the natural next step when stress is ignored, and the high achievers feelings are tossed aside, all for the sake of productivity and achievement. Imposter syndrome also amplifies sadness and feeling depressed. We are all doing our best, and there is nothing wrong with being in an entry level role if you show up to life by being balanced. Life then shows up for you in abundant and profound ways.

When resting is and feels unsafe, cortisol rises. This means that such a high achieving person is unable to rest in their downtime. Overstressed bodies cannot assimilate the difference.

In life, all of us need help from time to time. High achievers have the most difficulty asking for help, until the proverbial sh!t hits the proverbial fan. When people hit rock bottom, they have no choice but to surrender to such help, from counselling and home cleaning, to surgery and time in hospital in many cases. Staying productive and hitting all targets comes at a high cost elsewhere if mindfulness during rest is also not a priority. Having time off from working for a little while might be the required tonic, where applying for just one job a week might feel bigger than ben hur...a telltale sign that your body needs some rest. This form of rest is that high achievers job for now.

With out there and out of reach targets at work, relationships begin to become more and more transactional, rather than meaningful. Vulnerability is sticky and difficult to navigate when empty and meaningless. Vulnerable high achievers, and vulnerable people in general are good at asking for help from others. When people are burnt out and not vulnerable, their personal values are compromised at the expense of success, having to be viral all of the time, needing recognition and constant attention. This is why some celebrities are miserable, and hence get up to mischief to compensate somehow. When the targets are reached, their meaning can quickly dilute if the acknowledgement of the sweat equity to reach such is far fetched. Many high achievers share addictive personalities, which can lead to full blown addictions to work primarily.

On the topic of depression - depression per se is often undiagnosed in high achievers due to their high levels of obvious productivity (in other words, these people still get out of bed with relative ease each morning), while for people with depression - getting out of bed is a big ask. High achievers (again, no wonder why the overwhelming majority of them are depressed) are good at hiding depression, stress, and possibly other mental health problems. This is due to high achievement and productive output, as opposed to merely doing nothing or not a lot by society's (merely capitalisms') standards (not yours) the majority and nearly all of the time. They could also be famous though their work. I know, because I've been there. They are great at wearing that mask, until a really present and grounded person (not their colleagues) takes the time to really stop and ask them how they're doing. If and when strong vulnerability really comes out, you will be pleasantly surprised.

Success is not just productive output alone. The fact that you are here, despite what is going on in the world means that you are a success, right here and right now. That you are still in touch with others. That you are able to leave the home. That you have survived a serious adversity, and/or a serious illness and/or injury. That is achievement. Resting without guilt is achievement. Therapy and/or coaching that addresses identity and self worth is also a good starting point to help high achievers be much happier, in not linking their self worth to productive economic output.

"No matter what you have done or not done, you are worthy of love." - Dr John Demartini

In concluding, yours truly is leaving you with another song. One that is perceived as being sad by being a high achiever, or by being sad in general for when the traffic (life) is not going your own way. If you are willing to heal from multiple setbacks, and from burnout from high achievement - Fix you by Coldplay is a soothing tonic. "Lights will guide you home."