Therapy for Anxiety, Overthinking, and Perfectionism

LOS ANGELES • CALIFORNIA • ORANGE COUNTY

How Do I Know if I Am an Anxious Overthinking Perfectionist?

  • You overwork and struggle to set boundaries with your time

  • You feel responsible for others' experiences and emotions

  • You see mistakes as a sign of being unworthy and not good enough

  • You hold back from sharing your work or ideas until they're "perfect

  • You feel physically tense much of the time (tight shoulders, jaw clenching, stomach knots)

  • Even after success, you focus on what could have been better rather than celebrating

  • You delay starting projects until conditions feel "perfect"

  • You engage in people-pleasing behaviors and have a hard time saying “no.”

  • You hold yourself to standards you'd never expect of others

  • You use words like "should," "must," and "have to" frequently

Anxiety and perfectionism often go hand-in-hand. 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 and break those patterns.

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

How does talk therapy with me help with anxiety, overthinking, and perfectionism?

  • You will learn to recognize negative self-talk and develop skills such as self-compassion to better connect with your inner-worth.

  • You will develop mindfulness skills  that help you understand what your anxiety is trying to tell you so you can find a sense of ease and belonging in your body.

  • You will learn to separate your self-worth from your accomplishments.

  • You will cultivate and develop a growth mindset around failure and mistakes.

  • You will work on recognizing and addressing past traumas that contributed to anxiety and perfectionism (this is where EMDR is very helpful).

How Does EMDR therapy help with anxiety, overthinking, and perfectionism?

If you've tried to "think your way out" of anxiety or self-doubt without success, EMDR's unique approach of using eye movements or gentle taps can help your brain process things in a new way.

EMDR For Anxiety and Overthinking:

  • 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.

EMDR for Perfectionism:

  • You'll process specific memories where you learned your acceptance or safety depended on being perfect.

  • EMDR can reduce the anxiety spike that happens when you perceive you've made an error or fallen short.

  • Many find their harsh inner critic naturally softens into a more supportive voice.

If you're stuck in the cycle of anxiety, overthinking, and perfectionism, therapy can help you find more ease and self-compassion. Together, we'll explore the parts of you that drive perfectionism—not to silence them, but to help them work with you. I offer therapy for high-achievers in Los Angeles, Irvine, and throughout California. Reach out today to get started.