Anxiety Therapy for High-Achieving Adults
Anxiety therapy helps you reduce chronic worry, overthinking, and the physical stress response that keeps your mind and body on high alert. If you feel “high-functioning” on the outside but tense, restless, or exhausted internally, you’re not alone. I’m Dr. Jennifer Olson-Madden, a licensed psychologist based in Denver, Colorado, and I provide evidence-based anxiety treatment using ACT, CBT, and mindfulness-informed approaches - so you can feel steadier, clearer, and more like yourself again.
Anxiety therapy helps adults understand persistent worry, overthinking, physical tension, avoidance, and the pressure to remain capable even when their internal experience feels increasingly difficult.
Common Signs of Anxiety
Anxiety can show up in thoughts, emotions, and your body. You may notice:
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Racing thoughts, “what if” loops, or constant mental rehearsal
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Feeling on edge, keyed up, or unable to relax
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Muscle tension, headaches, or tightness in the chest
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Sleep disruption or waking up already stressed
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Irritability, indecision, or difficulty concentrating
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Panic symptoms (racing heart, dizziness, shortness of breath)
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Avoidance of situations that feel uncomfortable or uncertain
When anxiety begins to interfere with work, relationships, health, or rest, therapy can help.
High-Functioning Anxiety in Denver Professionals
High-functioning anxiety isn’t a formal diagnosis - it’s a useful way to describe anxiety that hides behind competence. You might be productive, reliable, and successful, but internally you feel driven by perfectionism, people-pleasing, pressure, or fear of falling behind.
In therapy, we work on practical tools that reduce overthinking and strengthen your ability to tolerate uncertainty - without asking you to become a different person or give up your ambition.
Anxiety vs. Stress: How to Tell the Difference
Stress is often tied to external demands and may improve when the situation changes. Anxiety tends to include persistent fear or apprehension, especially about the future, and can remain even when things “should be fine.” The good news: anxiety is highly treatable, and you can learn skills that change how your mind and nervous system respond.
How Anxiety Therapy Works
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
CBT is a gold-standard approach for anxiety. We identify patterns like catastrophizing, reassurance-seeking, avoidance, and perfectionistic thinking - and replace them with skills that help you respond more realistically and effectively.
CBT helps you:
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Catch anxious thinking patterns and reduce mental spirals
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Build confidence through behavioral experiments and exposure (when appropriate)
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Strengthen problem-solving and coping in real life
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT helps you build a new relationship with anxious thoughts and feelings. Instead of waiting for anxiety to disappear, you learn to make room for discomfort while choosing actions that align with your values.
ACT helps you:
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Defuse from thoughts (“I’m having the thought that…”)
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Increase tolerance for uncertainty
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Move from fear-driven habits to values-based action
Mindfulness and Nervous-System Support
Mindfulness trains attention and helps reduce reactivity. We may use present-moment grounding, breathwork, and body-based strategies to support regulation and recovery- especially when anxiety shows up physically.
Telehealth can work especially well for anxiety because we can practice skills in real time in your actual environment. Research broadly supports telehealth interventions as comparable to in-person care for anxiety and related conditions when evidence-based approaches are used.
Types of Anxiety I Treat
I work with adults experiencing:
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
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Panic attacks and panic disorder
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Social anxiety
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Health anxiety
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Obsessive thinking and rumination (including OCD-related patterns)
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Perfectionism, imposter syndrome, and high self-pressure
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Chronic stress that has become anxiety over time
What You Can Expect When We Work Together
Therapy is collaborative and practical. We’ll clarify what anxiety looks like for you, what maintains it, and what helps you feel grounded and effective. Our work often includes:
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Mapping your thought–emotion–body patterns
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Reducing avoidance and building confidence
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Learning skills you can use between sessions
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Clarifying your values and setting sustainable boundaries
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Strengthening self-compassion (without losing your edge)
Anxiety Therapy in Denver and Online Across Colorado
My practice is based in Denver, Colorado. I provide secure virtual services locally for adults across Colorado. I also practice via PSYPACT in participating states where appropriate, depending on licensing and fit - PSYPACT participation can change, so I verify availability before we begin.
FAQs About Anxiety
What is high-functioning anxiety?
High-functioning anxiety is an informal term for anxiety that coexists with outward competence and achievement. A person may meet responsibilities while privately experiencing persistent worry, overthinking, physical tension, sleep disruption, reassurance seeking, or fear of making mistakes. Because functioning remains intact, the emotional and physiological cost can be easy to overlook.
Can stress be mistaken for anxiety?
Yes. Both can cause racing thoughts, irritability, muscle tension, sleep problems, and difficulty concentrating. Stress is usually more closely tied to identifiable demands and may ease when circumstances change. Anxiety often includes persistent apprehension, threat anticipation, or avoidance that continues even when the immediate demand has passed.
What are warning signs that anxiety is becoming a problem?
Anxiety may need attention when worry is difficult to control, sleep or concentration is impaired, your body remains chronically tense, you avoid important situations, or reassurance and checking consume significant time. Interference with work, relationships, health, rest, or decision-making is more informative than whether you appear functional to others.
Why can I not stop overthinking even when I know I am safe?
Overthinking is often an attempt to create certainty, prevent mistakes, or regulate uncomfortable feelings. Intellectual understanding does not automatically deactivate a learned threat response. Therapy helps you notice the loop, reduce reassurance and avoidance, tolerate uncertainty, and redirect attention toward effective, values-aligned action.
Can anxiety cause exhaustion and burnout?
Yes. Persistent vigilance, muscle tension, poor sleep, rumination, and overpreparation consume psychological and physical resources. Anxiety can contribute to burnout, while burnout can make the nervous system more reactive and increase worry. Treatment often addresses both the anxiety process and the conditions producing chronic overload.
Does anxiety therapy include exposure?
It may. Exposure is an evidence-based component of treatment for several anxiety conditions and involves gradually approaching feared situations, sensations, thoughts, or uncertainty without relying on the usual safety behaviors. Exposure should be collaborative, purposeful, and appropriately paced; it is not about forcing you into overwhelming situations.
What is the difference between ACT and CBT for anxiety?
CBT often focuses on identifying unhelpful predictions, testing beliefs, changing avoidance patterns, and building coping skills. ACT emphasizes changing your relationship with thoughts and feelings, increasing willingness, and choosing action based on values. The approaches overlap and can be integrated according to your needs.
Can online therapy effectively treat anxiety?
For many adults and anxiety presentations, secure video-based therapy can be effective when evidence-based methods are used. Suitability depends on symptom severity, privacy, safety, technology, location, and personal preference. An initial consultation and assessment help determine whether telehealth is an appropriate format.
When should anxiety symptoms be medically evaluated?
New, severe, rapidly worsening, or unexplained physical symptoms should be evaluated by a medical professional rather than assumed to be anxiety. Seek urgent care for symptoms that may indicate a medical emergency. Psychological and medical evaluation can work together when anxiety and physical health concerns overlap.
Consult Today about Therapy Options
If you’re ready to feel calmer, clearer, and more resilient—without losing what makes you driven—I invite you to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.