Anxiety does not care about your career. It does not care about your wealth. It does not care about your education. Anxiety can affect anyone, at any time, for any reason.
Yet we know that some people are more prone to anxiety than others, and this appears to be true of lawyers.
There are many issues that affect the legal profession that make people not only more prone to anxiety, but depression as well.
It affects lawyers that are just starting out, lawyers that are successful, lawyers with struggling practices – the legal profession, as a whole, is simply more prone to mental health issues specifically because of their career, and if you examine the reasons why, it becomes easy for anyone to understand
First: About Me
My name is Audrey Jung, a therapist in Chandler, AZ that provides statewide psychotherapy to those in Arizona and California. Many of my clients are in high profile careers, such as attorneys, celebrities, and athletes, and I recognize how and why discretion and in-depth treatment is so important for those with these high stress, anxiety prone careers. Please reach out to me today if you need help.
About Anxiety and the Law
There are many, many reasons that lawyers tend to be more prone to mental health issues, including anxiety. These include, but are not limited to:
Winning, Losing, and Black and White Thinking
Lawyers are taught that their career and success is based on winning or losing. In some cases, the pay – or even a person’s life – rests specifically on if you’re successful. Failure is thus not an option, yet, typically, at last one of the two lawyers in court is going to fail.
That type of black and white, winning or losing thinking can be immensely damaging for a person’s mental health. It teaches the mind that success requires a win, and you worry about whether you get that win or experience sadness and mental health challenges when you do not.
The Result of a Bad Outcome
Similarly, what happens if you fail can be devastating. Fail for a person accused of a crime and they may go to prison. Fail to prosecute and they may commit crimes. Fail to represent a business may mean millions of dollars in losses and potentially a loss of their contract. There are so many risks associated with failure that many lawyers are under constant stress and pressure to perform, and ongoing stress (even if you were 100% successful with all clients) can change you brain chemistry to cause anxiety-related issues.
Deadlines
Deadlines are stressful for everyone. Lawyers, depending on the type of practice, have consistent, high stress, rapidly approaching deadlines with no room to be late. Once again, ongoing stress like this can be difficult, leading to changes to a person’s brain and body that are harmful to their mental health.
Excessive Work
It seems like all of us work a lot harder these days, but that is especially true in law. The average lawyer works as much as 60+ hours per week, and that lack of sleep, excessive work, and poor work/life balance can all lead to issues that cause anxiety disorders.
At-Work Trauma
Depending on the type of law that a person practices, it’s not uncommon to witness fairly significant trauma. Whether it’s empathic trauma watching someone get locked away, or violence, or threats – there are many fields of law where a person can see or experience first or second hand a traumatic event, and that can take its toll on a person’s mental health.
Personality and Existing Issues
Lastly, while our goal was to focus on things unique to the profession, it is also important to note that the people that tend to pursue the legal profession may also have existing issues that can create more anxiety. For example:
- Perfectionism – There are several personality characteristics that a lawyer may already have to be successful, including perfectionism. But because of the risks of the profession, that perfectionism can be exacerbated and become much worse.
- Expectations – Law tends to be a family business, and the expectations that a family might have on a person could give them stress and nervousness, resulting in an anxiety disorder.
- Substance Use/Abuse – The culture in law can occasionally be harmful, with substance abuse and alcoholism a real risk. Substance use and alcohol can both create anxiety and make anxiety worse.
Lawyers, due to a variety of factors may also be less willing to seek help. Without help, a person with anxiety is going to find that their anxiety worsens over time.
Get Started Today Jung Psych Services
Let me help. I am a therapist that specifically provides support for anxiety, among other conditions, and I believe that – working together – we can get you the help you need for your anxiety. Lawyers may be more prone to anxiety, but that doesn’t mean you have to live with it. Give me a call today to get started.