The High Achiever

Male, 50, Investment Banker, Overweight, Single
Goal: Wants to be happy and healthy

With a high-level banking role, a seven-figure income, and a luxury apartment with a skyline view, the client described his life as:
“Everyone thinks I’m successful, but I’ve failed miserably in things that truly matter. I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. I have everything but I’m not happy.”

When he talked about his day-to-day, he was emotionless. He’d leave the office late and go home to an empty apartment. There was no one to talk to, he was too tired to go out for drinks alone, and the only presence in his life was the steady stream of work emails that made him feel worthy of existence.

He wasn’t someone who complained. He had spent his entire life pushing through. People at work valued his contribution and he excelled at what he did.

Doctors had raised concerns about his weight and blood pressure. He was exhausted, overweight, and quietly giving up.

One night, at 2 a.m., he realized he had eaten an entire pizza when he wasn’t even hungry.
“What am I doing? What’s the point of all of this?”

His Therapy Experience

During hypnosis, he accessed a memory he hadn’t thought about in decades:
He was a young boy holding a report card with straight A’s and one B. His father barely glanced at the A’s before pointing at the B and saying, “Not good enough. Do better.”

For years, he had dismissed that memory as “just how things were back then.” But during our session, he finally saw what he had never allowed himself to feel. Therapy helped him see that the voice pushing him wasn’t ambition, it was that little boy still trying to earn his father’s approval. Once he saw that, it felt like someone had loosened a tight knot he’d been carrying for decades.

He said, “It’s strange how something that small can shape your entire life without you realizing it.”

Where He Is Now

He still works hard, but now he truly enjoys his work. He’s no longer using achievement to fill the silence and he no longer feels like he must earn rest or affection.

He described his transformation as:
“For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m allowed to be a person, not just a performer.”

He’s now genuinely happy because he finally understands who he is without all of the labels, titles, and expectations.

For him, that’s the real definition of success.

Symptom Tags:

#Overeating #Loneliness #Stress #Burnout #LowSelfWorth #Workaholism #AlcoholDependence