The existence of stress for lawyers is not inherently a bad thing – in fact, it can be incredibly useful, both personally and professionally. What is critical, however, is being able to identify if and when that stress crosses the threshold into territory that is objectively unhealthy and unsustainable for a practitioner.
Usefulness of stress and anxiety
It has long been recognised, psychiatrist Greg de Moore said, that some anxiety is helpful in human life.
“But an excess can be crippling,” he said.
De Moore, an associate professor of psychiatry at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital and board director of the Minds Count Foundation (which the author of this story also sits on the board of), said this phenomenon is called the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
“In a nutshell, this states that our performance is improved by a certain amount of anxiety. For example, anyone who has prepared for an examination will acknowledge that some anxiety propels them to prepare harder to achieve higher results; similarly, for an athlete preparing for a race,” he said.
“We innately appreciate that some anxiety is a part of human life and not necessarily destructive; it primes us for performance; it is really a matter of degree. At some level we know all of this, but there are individual variations. What might cripple one person might merely prime another for peak performance. It can, it seems, almost become addictive to some individuals who almost seem unable to function without the adrenaline of anxiety.”
Why lawyers and non-lawyers alike have any anxiety at all can be approached from an evolutionary perspective, de Moore continued.
“Clearly, as humans evolved, it made sense to be aware of one’s environment, to monitor for threats and to evade that threat. In this sense, our anxiety system is a kind of biological alarm to protect us from danger. And when this is triggered, our total being is saturated by hormonal and nervous responses: this affects our body, our thinking and our emotions,” he said.
“But, when does this extend into something that stifles us, burdens us, or, in severe cases, dismantles our lives? When does this become pathological?”
Sometimes, he said, the symptoms themselves are so overwhelming that they come to notice.
“At other times, there are changes in behaviour that are the warning signs that help may be required. These warning signs include avoidance behaviours, drinking alcohol excessively to quell swelling anxiety, indulging in other drugs for that same effect, impaired work performance, and disrupted personal relationships,” he added.
Ingrained necessity of stress
It is widely accepted, former BigLaw partner and Coaching Advocates co-founder and director Lara Wentworth said, that stress “is a given” in the legal profession, given the intensity, responsibility, and complexity.
“But, even more ingrained is the belief that stress is somehow necessary; that being a stressed-out lawyer means you’re busy, in demand, and therefore good at what you do,” she added.
“Putting aside the havoc this belief can cause, regardless of how busy a lawyer actually is, I’ve experienced firsthand the damage that chronic stress can have on health and overall wellbeing.”
Stress becomes dangerous, Wentworth offered, when it shifts from a temporary response to a state of being.
“The tipping point is when stress becomes the default, the reflexive way you meet every situation, rather than a helpful response to genuine pressure. In other words, when it stops being an emotion and starts becoming the environment you live in,” she said.
“For many lawyers, that shift shows up quietly: the inability to switch off, disrupted sleep, becoming more reactive than reflective, or feeling like work follows you long after the laptop closes. Some describe it as constantly being on fire and never finding the extinguisher. That’s when self-care isn’t optional; it’s essential.”
Reconciling this with the reality that law will always involve stress, Wentworth advised, means redefining wellness as a spectrum, not a finish line.
“It’s not about eliminating pressure; it’s about recognising your limits, noticing early warning signs, and intervening early so stress stays a temporary response and does not become the state that you operate in,” she said.
“For me, the solution has been creating space, support, and recovery practices that keep me healthy, grounded, and effective in a profession that rarely slows down.”
Tipping points and a management framework
Melbourne-based barrister Dr Michelle Sharpe, who was a foundational member of the Victorian Bar’s health and wellbeing committee (serving twice as its chair) and earlier this year was appointed to the International Bar Association Professional Wellbeing Commission as a commissioner, said there is a point at which being a “resilient lawyer” quietly tips into being an unwell human.
“You feel it as brain fog, snappy replies, Sunday dread, sleep that doesn’t fix anything, the coffee that stops working, wins that feel flat. That’s not a character flaw – that’s a load signal,” she said.
“Our work won’t stop being stressful. The reconciliation is choosing the long game.”
To this end, Sharpe recommended that lawyers “build routines that make pressure survivable and life worth having. [Have] boundaries you keep even when it’s inconvenient. [Find] colleagues you can debrief with without performance. Movement, real food, sleep, and time away are non-negotiable. Debrief after hard matters, not just the big hearings. Name mobbing and incivility as safety risks, not quirks.”
Moreover, she said, lawyers should look to construct their practices such that, when stress does land, it does so “as purpose, not poison”.
“Self-care isn’t a spa day; it’s professional discipline that lets you do this work for decades,” Sharpe said.
Sydney Fish Market general counsel and head of property Michael Guilday made similar remarks, noting that even though stress has been a constant and familiar companion throughout his studies and professional life, it was only relatively recently that he learnt how to recognise when it crosses the line from manageable to harmful – and what to do when that happens.
A previous manager introduced him, he outlined, to a “simple but effective” framework that breaks down the stages of stress:
“Chill – when we are calm, balanced, and relaxed. Thrill – when we are energised and engaged. This level of stress can actually be positive, driving motivation and focus. Spill – when the pressure becomes excessive, leading to mistakes, lapses in concentration, or difficulties managing our workload and personal responsibilities. [And] kill – the critical stage, where stress becomes overwhelming and may require urgent medical or psychological intervention,” he said.
“This metaphorical yet confronting model has helped me better understand how stress affects my wellbeing and performance,” Guilday said.
“It has also reinforced how easily I can move up the stress curve – sometimes without even noticing – and how difficult it can be to move back down without professional support or meaningful rest.”
Harnessing stress
For Redenbach Legal principal Keith Redenbach – and based on his three decades of experience in the profession – stress is largely situational and relative.
“As someone [who] has worked in large international firms, mid-tier operations, and specialist small to medium enterprises, I’ve seen all levels of stress. Stress for junior lawyers is much different [from] stress for partners. Stress in an area like criminal law is a completely different beast [from] commercial litigation,” he said.
“One thing I have found is that life gives you what you can take. You can get to a point where you enjoy stress. This is nirvana. If you don’t enjoy it, then you might need to go and find something to take you away from it.”
Overall, Redenbach suggested, “stress is important to recognise, important to control, and important, if you can be so lucky, to embrace”.
“And, in 2025, the last word goes to AI: Sun Tzu would likely say that stress is a signal, not a weakness – something to be understood, harnessed, and turned into strategic advantage,” he said.
Reconciling stress and sustainability
Lawyers must, Bowes Legal managing partner Jane Bowes reflected, be honest about the reality that practising law is stressful.
“That’s not going to change,” she said.
“There will always be deadlines, budgets, billables, clients, stakeholders and competing demands. But what can change is how we manage that stress.”
The pressure of being a practitioner, Bowes argued, is a privilege.
“It sharpens us, shapes us, turns us into diamonds. But too much pressure, for too long, breaks even the toughest among us. The goal isn’t to eliminate stress; it’s to build a career where it doesn’t consume you,” she said.
“So, sleep well. Drink less. Move often. Have fun. Enjoy your life outside the office. And most importantly, remember that life is meant to be lived and shared, not just survived between deadlines. Everything in moderation – even ambition.”
These tips are all coming from someone, she acknowledged, from a lawyer who is competitive, driven, and thrives on goals, but who has also learnt, “the hard way, that this is no way to live forever”.
“Everything, eventually catches up to you,” she said.
“So, be kind to yourself. There’s only one of you. Be proud of who you are, what you do, and the profession we’re privileged to serve. It’s OK to take a break, to breathe, to reset.”
Lawyers spend their careers fighting for others, their rights, their justice, their outcomes, Bowes said, and maybe it is time that “we started fighting just as hard for ourselves”.
“Self-care isn’t a trend. It’s something we should be practising always, not just when we’re on the brink. If we’re not right within ourselves, how can we expect to lead high-performing teams, support our colleagues, or show up for our clients in the way they deserve?
“It all starts with us,” Bowes said.
Understanding and treating stress and anxiety
Close to 30 per cent of adults are likely to experience one of the several types of anxiety disorders at some point in their lives, de Moore said. Of course, as the legal profession is well aware at this point, lawyers suffer from psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation at greater rates than their non-lawyer counterparts.
For all persons, he said, diagnosis is essential because receiving the correct treatment requires a proper diagnostic assessment to determine which of these anxiety disorders you have.
“When the correct diagnosis is made, a treatment plan can be arranged,” he said.
“For example, there is panic disorder, a type of disorder with short, explosive bouts of anxiety, usually accompanied by hyperventilation and rapid heart rate that might feel as if your heart is about to burst through your chest. Then there is general anxiety disorder, which is a kind of background apprehension that you constantly experience. These are just two disorders; there are more.”
Untreated anxiety, de Moore went on, not only has consequences that affect our emotional and behavioural life, but it can also lead to physical consequences such as high blood pressure, headaches, fatigue, and insomnia.
The initial approach for lawyers across the country, he said, is to look at one’s lifestyle: our diet, our alcohol intake, whether we have sufficient time away from work, and regular exercise.
“Treatment usually requires seeing a psychiatrist or a psychologist who [has] a range of treatments in their kitbag. What is vital to state is anxiety disorders can be effectively treated,” he said.
“The Yerkes-Dodson Law states that while a certain amount of anxiety is important for peak performance, too much anxiety stifles and impairs performance.”
Jerome Doraisamy is the managing editor of Lawyers Weekly and HR Leader. He is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in New South Wales, and a board director of the Minds Count Foundation.
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