Empowering Minds: An Exclusive Interview With Aliki Myrianidi on Navigating Mental Health in High-Pressure Environments

IMPACT MAGAZINE
Jun 24
15 min read

In this exclusive interview, we delve into the world of ThriveMind Consultancy, a pioneering force in the realm of mental health, psychotherapy, and coaching for professionals, business owners, and leaders. Founded by Aliki Myrianidi, an Accredited Psychotherapist, Psychologist, and Executive Coach with over a decade of experience, ThriveMind Consultancy offers tailored solutions to address the unique challenges of anxiety, stress, and sleep difficulties faced by individuals in high-pressure roles.

With a commitment to practical, evidence-based strategies, Aliki empowers her clients to cultivate resilience, improve decision-making, and achieve sustainable change. Through personalized 1:1 sessions, innovative online courses, and impactful workplace workshops, ThriveMind Consultancy is dedicated to enhancing mental health and performance in demanding environments.

In this interview, Aliki Myrianidi sat down with Impact Magazine to speak about the psychology of high performance in leadership, the silent battles of anxiety and stress, and how she supports professionals and businesses in managing mental health effectively. Here’s what she had to say on these critical topics. Read more to discover her insights and wisdom.

1. Can you share your personal journey that led you to establish ThriveMind Consultancy? What inspired you to focus on mental health in high-pressure environments?

At the start of my career, I was in the corporate world fast-paced, high expectations, long hours. Like many people, I pushed through stress thinking it was normal. But over time, I began to burn out. I felt exhausted, unmotivated, and increasingly disconnected from the work I was doing.

That’s when I tried coaching for the first time. It was a turning point. Having that space to slow down, reflect, helped me realise I wanted something more meaningful from my work. While still in corporate, I trained as a life coach and I loved it.

Eventually, I left the corporate world to train as a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner, later as Psychotherapist and began working in the NHS. I went back to university, studied therapy models, and worked with people experiencing anxiety, depression, trauma often in high-pressure roles themselves.

Later, I trained as an executive coach and started working with leaders and professionals. On the outside, they looked successful but inside, many were anxious, or quietly burning out. I could relate. I’d been there myself.

All of that led me to create ThriveMind Consultancy. I wanted to build something that offered both depth and flexibility, thoughtful space where individuals and teams could pause, reflect, and move forward in a healthier way. Now, through ThriveMind, I work with clients as a psychotherapist and executive coach, but I also design and deliver meaningful workshops to organisations and teams. It’s incredibly important to me that these aren’t just tick-box sessions they’re tailored, relevant, and rooted in real-world experience.

2. In your experience, what are the most common mental health challenges faced by professionals and business leaders today?

One of the biggest things I see is chronic stress that constant, pressure that builds over time. A lot of my clients are always “on”, answering emails late into the evening, juggling deadlines, and trying to hold everything together. Even when they’re technically off the clock, their mind hasn’t switched off it’s still going, still planning, still worrying. Burnout, really.

Another big one is anxiety, especially around performance. There’s often this unspoken pressure to be perfect to always have the answers, always look composed, never drop the ball. I work with people who seem completely in control on the outside, but inside they’re overthinking everything, questioning themselves constantly, and barely sleeping.

And then there’s this quiet isolation that not many people talk about. Especially for business owners or senior leaders they often feel like they can’t talk about how they’re really doing. They don’t want to worry their team, or they feel like they should just “handle it.” That kind of silence can feel really heavy.

In my sessions and workshops, I help people make sense of all that. Sometimes it’s learning to spot the early signs of burnout. Sometimes it’s setting boundaries between work and rest or working through anxious thoughts that keep looping. But often, it’s just about creating space with what actually matters to them.

3. How do you tailor your approach to psychotherapy and coaching to meet the unique needs of each individual or organization?

The first thing I always do whether I’m working with a person or a business is listen. Really Active listen. Every individual and every team has their own story, their own pressures, values, and ways of working. So I don’t come in with a fixed formula. I take time to understand what’s going on underneath the surface not just the problems, but the bigger picture around them.

In 1:1 sessions, I blend evidence-based therapy with coaching tools, depending on what someone needs. For some, it’s managing anxiety or overthinking. Others are working through burnout, setting boundaries, rebuilding confidence, or figuring out their next steps during a life or career change. Some clients like a clear structure and tools to take away each week, while others need a slower, more reflective space and we adapt as we go.

When I work with organisations or teams, it’s a similar process. I spend time understanding the culture, the pressure points, and what they’re hoping to improve whether that’s reducing stress, improving wellbeing, or supporting stronger leadership. Then I design workshops or programs that are practical and relevant to what they’re actually facing, not just generic advice. I often include follow-up sessions or tools to help the learning stick I want it to have a real impact, not just be a one-off.

What matters most to me is that people feel safe, seen, and understood whether they’re coming in as an individual or as part of a team. My goal is always to help them feel more grounded, more focused, and more equipped to deal with whatever life or work throws their way.

4. What practical tools do you find most effective for helping clients manage anxiety and stress in their professional lives?

A lot of the anxiety I see in professionals comes down to uncertainty. It might be worrying about making the wrong decision, not knowing what’s coming next, or feeling overwhelmed by things outside their control. That kind of uncertainty is unpleasant.

Rather than trying to get rid of uncertainty which isn’t really possible I help clients learn how to live alongside it in a more balanced way. One of the tools we often start with is recognising when their mind has gone into “what if” mode. You know the spiral what if this goes wrong, what if I fail, what if they think I can’t handle it. Once they can spot that pattern, we look at how to pause and respond differently. That might mean grounding themselves in the present, asking what’s actually in their control, or letting go of the rest even if just a little.

We also talk about shifting the focus from needing certainty to building self-trust learning to feel more confident in their ability to handle whatever happens, even if they don’t know what’s coming. That mindset shift can really lower anxiety over time.

In sessions and workshops, I introduce tools like acceptance-based strategies, stress regulation techniques, and small daily habits that support mental clarity and emotional balance. These aren’t quick fixes they’re consistent, practical things people can actually use in their day-to-day life.

For people in leadership roles, we often focus on managing pressure, protecting time and energy, and staying calm in the middle of unpredictability. Whether I’m working 1:1, running a group session, or delivering an online program, I always try to make the tools feel personal and relevant something they can use when things get busy, not just when life is calm.

5. Can you discuss the importance of resilience in leadership and how your workshops address this critical skill?

Resilience is absolutely essential in leadership, especially now, when so much is uncertain and constantly shifting. But I think it’s often misunderstood. It’s not about pushing through, putting on a brave face, or pretending you’re unaffected. Real resilience is about staying steady in the face of challenges, adapting when things change, and coming back to your values even under pressure.

A lot of leaders I work with are incredibly driven. That drive has helped them succeed, but it sometimes means they’ve never really had space to reflect on how they cope with setbacks or emotional strain. When the pressure builds, and it always does, even the most capable people can start to feel reactive, stuck, or disconnected from themselves and their teams.

That’s where the real work begins. In my workshops, we break resilience down into something practical and real. We look at how stress shows up in both the body and mind, how to protect emotional energy, and how to lead with more clarity even when things are messy or unpredictable.

I combine coaching tools with evidence-based psychological strategies, so the content is reflective but also immediately usable. We talk about emotional regulation, boundaries, and staying grounded when making complex decisions. These aren’t just personal skills they have a ripple effect. Leaders who are more resilient create safer, more responsive environments for their teams too.

Ultimately, my goal is to help leaders build resilience from the inside out, not as a short-term fix or a performance hack, but as a foundation for sustainable wellbeing and stronger leadership in the long run.

6. How do you integrate evidence-based practices into your sessions, and why is this approach essential for your clients?

For me, using evidence-based practices it’s the foundation of how I work. Whether I’m in a therapy session or coaching a professional, I want people to feel confident that what we’re doing is grounded in approaches that have been tested, researched, and shown to actually help.

In therapy, I often use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a starting point, it’s practical and helps clients understand the links between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Many people appreciate that it gives them clear tools they can use in real life, not just in the therapy room. I also bring in elements from other models like acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), solution-focused work, and psycho-education, depending on what fits the person I’m working with. It’s never one-size-fits-all.

In coaching, I still keep a psychologically informed lens. I might use goal-mapping, behaviour change techniques, or reflective exercises that are backed by leadership psychology and emotional intelligence research. It’s always adapted to the client’s goals, whether they’re trying to manage stress, improve focus, or lead more effectively, but the backbone is still rooted in what works.

That said, I’m also very open-minded. While I use evidence-based methods, I really value a holistic approach too. People are complex, and what works best often involves looking at the whole picture: mind, body, lifestyle, values. If something outside the traditional models helps a client feel more connected, calm, or empowered, I’m open to exploring that with them.

This balance matters. It means clients get the structure and reliability of proven methods, but also the flexibility to work in a way that feels personal, human, and supportive of who they really are.

7. What role does sleep play in mental health, and what strategies do you recommend for professionals struggling with sleep disorders?

Sleep plays such a huge role in how we feel. When we’re well rested, everything gets easier, we think more clearly, we’re more patient, and we can handle stress without feeling overwhelmed. But when sleep is broken or inconsistent, it’s a different story. Focus gets harder, emotions feel heavier, and in high-pressure roles, that can quickly lead to burnout.

A lot of the professionals I work with really struggle to switch off at night. Physically, they’re exhausted, but mentally, their mind is still active. They’re replaying conversations, running through to-do lists, worrying about tomorrow’s decisions. And that mental restlessness keeps their nervous system alert, making it harder to fall or stay asleep.

There are some practical strategies I often share, especially from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I), which is one of the most effective approaches to sleep difficulties. A few simple but powerful tools include:

Creating a calming wind-down routine
Things like reading, gentle stretching, or listening to music anything that signals to your brain that the workday is over.
Getting out of bed if you can’t sleep
It might seem strange, but lying in bed awake can actually make things worse. Sometimes it helps to get up, do something low-stimulus, and only return when you feel sleepy again.
Keeping your wake-up time consistent
Even after a rough night, waking up at the same time each day helps regulate your body clock and improve sleep over time.
Reducing screens and stimulation in the evening
Phones and laptops can really disrupt the brain’s ability to wind down. I usually recommend switching off devices about an hour before bed if possible.
Managing anxious thoughts
If your mind is racing, writing things down can help. We also look at techniques to gently challenge those thoughts rather than getting caught up in them.

These are great starting points, but in many cases, sleep struggles go deeper than habits. They’re often tied to stress, anxiety, perfectionism, or simply having a nervous system that’s stuck in overdrive.

That’s why in therapy or workshops, I go beyond the standard sleep hygiene tips. We explore what’s really behind the disrupted sleep whether it’s emotional overload, work pressure, or something more personal and create a plan that actually fits the person. Because sleep isn’t just about ticking boxes. It’s personal, and the support needs to be too.

8. Could you elaborate on the impact of mental health on decision-making and performance in high-pressure roles?

Mental health plays a huge role in how we make decisions especially in high-pressure environments. When someone is dealing with ongoing stress or anxiety, the brain starts to shift into survival mode. Instead of thinking clearly and long-term, we start reacting more impulsively or emotionally, because the part of the brain responsible for reasoning and planning the prefrontal cortex isn’t working as efficiently. Meanwhile, the amygdala, which is in charge of detecting threat, becomes more active.

In that state, decision-making can really suffer. People might second-guess themselves, overthink every option, or swing the other way and make quick, reactive choices just to relieve the pressure. Focus narrows, memory gets foggy, and it becomes harder to zoom out and see the bigger picture. There’s actually a name for this “cognitive load” where emotional stress takes up so much brain space that there’s less room left for problem-solving and clear thinking.

In high-pressure roles, this can show up in all sorts of ways: delays, indecision, burnout from constant overthinking, or avoiding risk altogether. It also affects how people lead when we’re overwhelmed, we tend to lose empathy, patience, and connection with others, even if we don’t mean to.

That’s why I put a lot of focus on helping clients support their mental health so they can make better decisions. Some of the things that really help include:

Getting enough quality sleep and rest: it’s not a luxury, it’s fuel for the brain
Finding ways to reduce stress through things like movement, mindfulness, or even short pauses during the day
Building emotional awareness, noticing what’s going on internally, and learning how to regulate it
Using structured decision-making tools to take some pressure off the brain
Creating moments in the day for reflection, not just reacting to the next thing

Leaders who take care of their mental health tend to make clearer, more thoughtful decisions even when things are intense. They don’t just react, they respond. And they’re more likely to stay grounded in their long-term goals, rather than being pulled into short-term panic or pressure.

9. What feedback have you received from clients regarding the transformation they’ve experienced through your consultancy services?

One of the things I hear most often is, “I feel like myself again.” That simple sentence says so much. Many clients come to me feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or burnt out like they’re just getting through the day but not really living it. After working together, they often describe feeling clearer, more grounded, and more in control not just of their workload, but of their emotions and direction.

I remember one senior professional who came to me completely drained. She hadn’t been sleeping, was second-guessing every decision, and felt completely disconnected from her role. We worked together over a few months focusing on practical changes like building better sleep routines, managing perfectionism, and setting boundaries, but also on deeper mindset shifts around control, rest, and self-worth. A few months later, she had more energy, was making stronger decisions, and had even restructured her team to give herself more breathing space. I’ll never forget what she said: “I didn’t realise how much I’d been running on empty until I finally stopped.”

In group workshops, the feedback is often about how different the space feels. People tell me they appreciate that it’s not just information it’s a chance to pause, reflect, and walk away with tools they can actually use. One participant said, “I’ve done other trainings before, but this is the first time it felt human.” That meant a lot to me.

At the end of the day, what matters most is that people leave with more than insight. I want them to leave with clarity, confidence, and a way forward that actually fits their life not just for now, but in a lasting way.

10. In your opinion, how can organizations foster a culture of mental well-being among their employees?

I think it starts with something really simple but often overlooked: people need to feel safe to be honest. If employees are afraid they’ll be judged, dismissed, or seen as weak for speaking up about how they’re doing, then no wellbeing policy in the world will make a real difference. That sense of psychological safety is the foundation. Without it, nothing sticks.

A lot of companies offer Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs), and those can absolutely be helpful, but on their own, they’re not enough. They’re often underused, and when they are used, they tend to focus on short-term support. What they don’t always address are the daily realities people face at work, things like constant pressure, unclear expectations, or leadership styles that unintentionally add to stress.

If organisations really want to create a culture of wellbeing, they need to go deeper. That means looking not just at what support they offer, but how the work environment is actually experienced, the structure, the pace, the communication, the values.

Leaders play a huge role here. When they set healthy boundaries, talk openly about pressure, and show that recovery is just as important as performance, it creates permission for others to do the same. Culture doesn’t change because of a policy, it changes through consistent example.

Some practical ways businesses can start to shift things:

Make wellbeing part of regular conversations, not just something you bring up during Mental Health Awareness Week
Train managers to spot early signs of stress and respond with empathy, not blame
Offer access to real, evidence-based support, therapy, coaching, and reflective workshops
Ask employees what they actually need, and build strategies with them, not just for them

At ThriveMind, I work with organisations to go beyond surface-level fixes. It’s about creating meaningful, lasting change, shifting both mindset and day-to-day practice so that wellbeing becomes part of the culture, not just something on the company intranet.

11. What are some common misconceptions about mental health in the workplace that you encounter, and how do you address them?

One of the biggest misconceptions I come across is the idea that mental health only matters when someone is in crisis. There’s still this belief that if you’re talking about mental health, it must mean something’s wrong, that someone’s not coping. But the truth is, we all have mental health, just like we all have physical health. It’s always there, influencing how we think, communicate, lead, and handle stress. It’s not a sign of weakness; it’s part of being human.

Another common one is the fear that talking about mental health at work will somehow make people less productive, or that it’ll disrupt team dynamics. But in reality, the opposite tends to happen. When people feel safe to be open, they’re usually more focused, more engaged, and more committed to the work. Bottling things up doesn’t make stress go away, it just pushes it underground, where it often ends up affecting performance even more.

I also hear organisations say things like, “We offer an EAP, so we’re covered,” or “We let people take a mental health day if they need it.” And while those things are helpful, they’re only one piece of the puzzle. If there’s no culture of trust or open conversation, those resources often go untouched. People need to feel it’s okay to use them, and that starts with the everyday culture, not just policies.

In workshops and leadership sessions, I try to break these misconceptions down. We look at what mental health really looks like day to day, not just when someone is visibly struggling, but in things like constant overworking, perfectionism, decision fatigue, or withdrawing from the team. I try to make the language feel normal, practical, and relevant to people’s actual experience.

Once people realise that mental health isn’t a crisis issue, it’s a performance issue, a leadership issue, a human issue, the whole conversation starts to shift. And that’s when real change becomes possible.

12. Could you share a memorable success story from your practice that highlights the positive impact of your work on a client’s life?

One client who really stands out was a lawyer in his early forties. On the surface, everything looked great, he was successful, high-performing, respected in his field. But when he came to see me, he was living with constant anxiety. His mind just wouldn’t stop.

He described it as this never-ending loop of “what if” thoughts , What if I miss something? What if I’m not prepared enough? What if I let someone down? Even outside of work, he was mentally rehearsing conversations, going over to-do lists, or imagining worst-case scenarios. He wasn’t sleeping well, he avoided taking real breaks, and he felt like he was constantly on edge, even when nothing was technically wrong.

In our sessions, we started by helping him understand how that cycle of worry was keeping his nervous system stuck in high alert. Using therapy, we worked on tracking his thoughts, reframing anxious patterns, and setting gentle limits around worry. Bit by bit, he started to see that he didn’t need to eliminate uncertainty to feel okay, he just needed to build trust in his ability to handle it.

One of the biggest turning points was when he started saying, “It’s uncomfortable, but I can handle it.” That small shift helped him let go of the constant mental checking and control strategies that were actually feeding his anxiety.

Within a few months, he was sleeping better, thinking more clearly, and feeling more present, not just at work, but with his family too. I remember him saying, “It finally feels like I have space in my head again.” Space to think, to rest, to just be.

That experience really stuck with me, because anxiety doesn’t always look like panic or visible distress. Sometimes it looks like overworking, over-preparing, or never really switching off. And when you help someone step out of that cycle, it changes so much more than just their work, it gives them their life back.

The ThriveMind Consultancy provides psychotherapy, coaching, and training for professionals, business owners, and leaders dealing with different types of anxiety, stress, and sleep difficulties. Services include 1:1 sessions, online courses, and workplace workshops focused on mental health, performance, and resilience. Every session and programme is tailored — there’s no one-size-fits-all model. Whether working with an individual or an organisation, the support is designed to meet specific needs, goals, and challenges. The approach is practical, evidence-based, and designed for people who need effective tools — not generic advice. It's a space for clear thinking, sustainable change, and professional support you can trust.