Ana Vilhete first turned to therapy in 2021. She was pursuing her Master of Business Administration (MBA), scaling her law firm and international recruitment agency and navigating the nuances of motherhood as the world grappled with the isolation and uncertainty of COVID-19.

Her decision to seek therapy was not born out of a crisis of ability but a desire to evolve. Yet despite doing all the “right” self-work – therapy, journaling and talking through her problems with high-achieving friends and mentors – Ana still felt stuck.

“Feeling ‘stuck’ doesn’t look like standing still,” Ana said. “In fact, it’s quite the opposite. In my day-to-day life, that ‘stuckness’ feels like highly functional exhaustion. It’s like running a marathon on a treadmill. You are putting in immense effort, doing all the ‘right’ self-work and maintaining your outward success but your internal sense of peace hasn’t moved an inch.”