Perfectionist, People Pleaser or Avoider: What's your anxiety archetype?
The 7 archetypes explained (do you identify?) + meet the psychologist who'll help us understand and manage High-Functioning Anxiety at tonight's live author event.
Hello everybody 👋
Tonight is the third of our live therapist-author events and we’ll be joined by award-winning psychologist, Dr Lalitaa Suglani, to celebrate the release of her brand new book, High Functioning Anxiety (A 5-step guide to calming the inner panic and thriving).
Dr Lalitaa will be online with us from 7pm, teaching us about the 5 steps, as well as her 7 archetypes of anxiety (you’ll find a quick description of each below) and - crucially - some of her 12 ‘powers’ aka ways to manage our mental health with compassion and self-love so that we can thrive.
(paid subscribers will find their joining link at the end of this email)
The 7 Archetypes of Anxiety (take the quiz for a more in depth look)
THE CARETAKER: Often preoccupied with taking care of others’ needs, sometimes at the expense of their own well-being. May feel responsible for keeping things together and struggle to prioritise their own needs.
THE PERFECTIONIST: Driven by a relentless pursuit of flawlessness and constantly striving for excellence in all areas of life. May experience anxiety when things don’t go according to plan or when they perceive they’ve fallen short of their own high standards.
THE OVERTHINKER: Characterised by a tendency to overanalyse and ruminate on past events or potential future outcomes. May struggle to make decisions or take action due to excessive worrying and may feel paralysed by the fear of making mistakes.
THE ACHIEVER: Motivated by a strong desire to excel and achieve success in various domains of life. May set ambitious goals for themselves and push themselves to their limits to accomplish them.
THE ORGANISER: Likes to appear responsible and together and able to manage multiple things on behalf of themselves and others. May take on others’ tasks, mistakes and even emotions as they attune own needs to those of others.
THE PEOPLE PLEASER: Driven by a need to gain approval and validation from others, often sacrificing their own needs and boundaries in the process. May go to great lengths to avoid conflict or criticism and may struggle to assert themselves in relationships.
THE AVOIDER: Tends to avoid situations or experiences that provoke anxiety or discomfort, sometimes resorting to avoidance behaviours as a coping mechanism. They may procrastinate on tasks, avoid social interactions, or withdraw from challenging situations to minimise stress.
I’d love to know; which of these archetypes do you most relate to?
NB If - like me! - you relate to lots or even most of these archetypes at different times, you are probably not suffering from anxiety, or high functioning anxiety (HFA affects 18% of the population) BUT you will still probably learn something tonight that could make an impact on your own mental health and/or help you understand and communicate better with anxious loved ones or colleagues…
“Everyone has moments of not feeling good about themselves, but when it becomes a continuous cycle that drags us down and keeps us away from happiness, it’s time to act.”
Dr Lalitaa Suglani