Extreme Pressure
Signs of High Functioning Burnout at Work
Signs of high functioning burnout at work are easy to miss, because you keep delivering. I’m Nicky Anstey. As a Leadership Mindset Rewiring Specialist and executive psychotherapist at Transform to Perform Coaching, I help business owners and senior leaders who are still performing but running on empty. I’ve been through burnout myself, and my REWIRE Method™ deals with the pressure at its root before it turns into burnout. I work in person across Surrey and the South East, and online across the UK and internationally.
- Multi Award-Winning Executive Psychotherapist
- Master NLP Coach & Master Hypnotherapist
- 1,000+ Clients Over 15 Years
Spotting the signs
Signs of high functioning burnout at work
High functioning burnout doesn’t look like falling apart. It looks like you, still delivering, right up until you can’t.
Here’s what to look out for.
- Your success feels stressful, hard work and exhausting
- You’re still performing, but mental fatigue and exhaustion are building up
- Every decision takes more energy than it should
- You make a call, then second guess it
- You mean to delegate, then take the work back
- You give ground you’d planned to hold
- Your head is full of anxious thoughts, overthinking and overwhelm
- Fear of failure is driving you, rather than calm confidence
What is high functioning burnout?
I think of pressure as a spectrum. Healthy, productive pressure sits at one end and burnout sits at the other. Most business owners and senior leaders I work with are in the middle, in a zone of extreme pressure where high functioning anxiety and high functioning burnout live.
You’re still getting results, but how you feel inside no longer matches them. My aim is to help you deal with that pressure before it becomes burnout.
The World Health Organization describes burn-out as a syndrome caused by chronic workplace stress that hasn’t been successfully managed, and classes it as an occupational phenomenon rather than a medical condition.
Why being good at your job doesn't protect you
Success tends to bring more responsibility and more pressure with it.
Without nervous system regulation, high performers stay in survival mode, and survival mode leads to exhaustion and burnout. Underneath, there are often patterns like perfectionism and people pleasing, and imposter syndrome that fires hardest when you’re most visible, like at 5am before a board meeting.
Who I help
The leaders I work with
I work with business owners and senior leaders who are still hitting their targets but feel like they’re running on empty. Many carry significant responsibility at work, are the main provider at home and feel pressure to perform consistently. Some have outgrown traditional coaching or counselling.
You’ll find me in Elstead, Surrey, between Farnham, Godalming, Haslemere and Guildford. I work face to face across the South East, including Surrey, London, Hampshire, Kent and Sussex, as well as online with leaders around the UK and internationally.
What to do if this sounds like you
Take the free audit
My Pressure and Performance Reset Audit is a free self-assessment that brings the hidden stressors in your work and home life to the surface.
Check where you are
My extreme pressure hub and the burnout and cognitive fatigue page in my Diagnosis Room help you see whether perfectionism, people pleasing or imposter syndrome sits underneath the pressure.
Book a Reset Call
Tell me what’s happening, one to one, with no obligation. I read every enquiry personally.
Deal with the root cause
The REWIRE Method™ brings together NLP, clinical hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and nutritional science, through my eight-week, one to one REWIRE Coaching Programme. Clients tell me their energy and joy come back, their decisions improve and success starts to feel lighter. You can read more about my extreme pressure and burnout coaching, and if burnout has already hit, my guide on how to recover from burnout covers what comes next.
If exhaustion is affecting your physical or mental health, please speak to your GP as well. The NHS guidance on stress explains where to get support.
Get in touch
Signs of high functioning burnout at work are worth acting on while you’re still performing, before the pressure forces you to stop. Give me a call on 07795 467090, drop me an email at nicky@transformtoperformcoaching.com, or use the booking form at the bottom of this page. You’ll also find all my details on my contact page.
My story
Why this matters to me
I’m Nicky Anstey, and burnout is part of my own story. In my corporate career I didn’t realise stress could damage your body, but it did. My body was screaming for help through constant health issues and operations, so I walked away from my job.
What changed things was rewiring my unconscious mind, and that became the foundation of the REWIRE Method™. I share my full story on the site. Since then I’ve trained in neuroscience, NLP, hypnotherapy, psychotherapy and nutrition, and worked with more than 1,000 business owners and leaders over 15 years. I’m an award winning Leadership Mindset Rewiring Specialist and executive psychotherapist, and my work has featured in Men’s Health.
Ease the Pressure Before It Stops You
A free, no-obligation chat with me about what’s driving the pressure for you, and what rewiring it would involve.
Ready to Book Your Reset Call
Twenty minutes, one to one with Nicky.
Share a little about what is going on. Nicky reads every enquiry personally.
Book your free Pressure and Performance Reset Call
No obligation · Confidential · 20 minute call