Dimitrios Tsatiris, MD is a practicing board-certified psychiatrist specializing in the field of anxiety management. He is a Clinical Assistant Professor of psychiatry at Northeast Ohio Medical University. He studies and writes about the interface of anxiety and achievement. His popular Psychology Today blog “Anxiety in High-Achievers” is viewed by more than 20,000 readers per month. He is passionate about empowering people to break free from the shackles of anxiety and develop a healthy relationship with achievement. His writing has appeared in Psychology Today, PsychCentral, NAMI, ThriveGlobal, KevinMD and the White Coat Investor, among other publications. Dr. Tsatiris enjoys spending time with his wife and two young children. He also keeps close ties with family in Greece and has fond memories from his childhood there. We hope you enjoy this episode of leading the rounds where we discuss the intersection of anxiety and performance. 

Questions we asked: 

• It seems paradoxical that high performers struggle with anxiety. What do you think is the root of the intersection of performance and anxiety? 
• Can you speak more about the biological roots of anxiety? 
• Why might the people who we often believe have everything together be struggling with anxiety? 
• How can someone balance chancing excellence but being okay with failing? 
• How do we build a society that doesn’t overvalue perfection?  
• How would you define stress and how can leaders work to manage stress? 
• Can how we look at stress impact how it affects us? 
• What do you see is the role for exposure therapy in the management of anxiety? 
• How have you as a provider been able to manage your stress through the pandemic? 
• What is the relationship between grit and anxiety? 
• What is the difference between the experience of anxiety and clinical anxiety? 
• What would you tell future leaders about managing their anxiety throughout their training? 

Quotes & Ideas: 

• “To have anxiety is to be human” 
• “Pressure is fuel for anxiety” 
• Anxiety often is the fear of being vulnerable. This can manifest as fear of danger or fear of being ostracized from the group. 
• “What excellence does is it allows you to have a growth mindset.” 
• “One can try to strive for perfection but it is an unattainable and unsustainable expectation.”
• Affect forecasting: We pursue things that we believe will make us happy. We often assume that success and money will make us happy. 
• “We combat perfectionism by combatting the myth associated with personal success. Success does not equal personal happiness.” 
• “If you’re under constant stress, that is not healthy.” 
• “Let’s face your fears at your own pace… exposure is gradual steps towards reaching and conquering your fear.” 
• A challenge of the pandemic has been maintaining safe distancing, but also recognizing the physical and mental benefits of physical connection. 
• Ways Dr. Tsatiris manages his mental health: Regular exercise, gratitude meditation, connection with others, and taking moments to pause 
•  “Yes you can be gritty and also have anxiety.” 
• “An anxiety disorder is when it begins to affect your day to day functioning.” 
• “The goal is not the absence of anxiety, but making it manageable.” 
• “When we have anxiety, we are not being present in the moment… what meditation does is it brings you back to the present by focusing on your breath.” 

Book Suggestions: 

• Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey 
• Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl