You’re doing everything right–you’re hitting your numbers. You’re saving aggressively, investing early, and tracking every dollar. You should be ahead. And still, something feels off. It’s like you’re running a race with no finish line. That’s not a budgeting problem; that’s a mental health problem.
What The Atlantic Got Right
It’s not your situation or even “the economy.” In a recent piece on Gen Z’s financial anxiety, The Atlantic spoke with our founding psychiatrist Dr. Lanre Dokun about what he’s seeing with clients across age groups. His observation was sharp and worth sitting for: for younger high achievers especially, financial stress isn’t situational. It’s existential. At Healthy Minds NYC, we see how money serves as a “chronic background stressor” for high achieving individuals, in spite of their income level (sometimes because of it). If that hits somewhere familiar, keep reading because you’re not alone.
The Anxiety Isn’t About the Money
Financial uncertainty is like a constant companion for many New Yorkers, regardless of socioeconomic status. We see it all the time: high performers who are objectively doing well, but whose nervous systems haven’t received the press release. The late-night budget checks that spiral into dread. Promotions that bring more travel and responsibility and far less peace. The perpetual fear of AI, market shifts, and political instability undoing everything you’ve built.
This is what financial anxiety actually looks like at this level. And it’s complicated because money represents more than numbers on a spreadsheet. Money is a proxy for safety, control, and proof that you’ve finally made it.
That’s a lot to ask of your bank account. Which is why you might need a therapist alongside your financial advisor to wade through some of the emotional challenges and psychological hurdles that accompany your money story.
This is Where Financial Therapy Comes In
Financial therapy sits at the intersection of mental health and money. It’s not financial planning and it’s not traditional therapy alone. When you work with a financial therapist, you grow to understand the emotional patterns, early experiences, and core beliefs of schema driving your relationship with money. In financial therapy, you’ll bring to the surface the underlying beliefs dictating your actions so you’re more empowered to build a financial life that reflects the reality of your wealth and values.
It’s for the person who grew up with parents who struggled to make ends meet and now flinches at their own success. For the high earner who intellectually knows they’re secure but can’t stop catastrophizing. For the visionary who’s so focused on building the future that they’ve stopped being present in their life right now.
At Healthy Minds NYC, we’re trained to work at this intersection. We understand your ambition. We get the pressure to perform at a high level in an expensive, fast-moving city. But most importantly, we know how to help you untangle the knot of anxiety you’re facing so you can move with clarity instead of fear.
The Real Cost of White-Knuckling Life in NYC
Dr. Dokun said it well in The Atlantic: financial anxiety often stems from the illusion that perfect decision-making will guarantee safety. But it won’t. The energy wasted trying to control every variable, manage every risk, or out-save uncertainty is energy that could be better spent on living…right now.
You don’t have to feel stuck between financial responsibility and mental freedom. They can coexist. Good financial therapy makes it possible.
Ready to Build A Rich Life?
If you’re carrying the weight of financial anxiety right now, it’s time to put down the burden. We work with high achievers who are ready to stop white-knuckling their way through life and start living from a place of genuine confidence. We have new openings this month. Book a free consultation today. It might be the best fifteen minutes you’ll invest.