Do you frequently find yourself feeling overwhelmed? Do you feel anxious or like you’re always under pressure? Do you feel like you’re the main act in all of the rings of a 3 ring circus (or, if you’re really honest, a 15 ring circus)? If so, you may be an overfunctioner suffering from what’s called Neurobiological Overload Triggered by Emotional And Mental Stress (NO-TEAMS)*. Keep reading to find out more!
Sufferers of NO-TEAMS tend to look like they have everything under control; they may even look as though life is easy for them. These over-functioners frequently:
- Have a leadership or management role at work;
- Track and manage household tasks, sometimes enacting a division of labor amongst household residents;
- Track and manage their children’s emotional and practical worlds, and manage what activities their children are connected to;
- Come from family backgrounds where they were parentified and depended on. They may have also had a parent or parents who were struggling with mental illness, alcohol/drug use, or who were abusive/neglectful.
- Are still in a management/caretaking role in their family of origin;
- Have a management role in their partner’s life, both practically and emotionally.
In short, these patients have acted and continue to act as barometers, reading the ongoing needs in multiple spheres of their lives for multiple people and then responding to those needs. The only needs that these NO-TEAMS sufferers don’t respond to well are their own, which is where the symptoms begin.
NO-TEAMS is characterized by a wide set of symptoms that may come on slowly at first and worsen over a longer period of time. Early warning signs are usually:
- Excessive tiredness;
- Increased anxiety and stress;
- Mild irritability.
As the disease progresses, the patient can begin to display:
- More intense anxiety/stress;
- Moderate irritability;
- Emotional blunting (inability to feel their own emotions);
- Physical symptoms: These patients are likely to get sick easily, have chronic headaches or stomach aches, and they may experience moderate to severe tension and body aches.
If left untreated for too long, NO-TEAMS can cause:
- Long-term hopelessness and depression;
- Loneliness;
- Debilitating anxiety;
- Cardiac issues;
- Gastrointestinal issues;
- Marital dysfunction;
- Difficulties in parenting;
- Decreased ability to continue managing the circus rings…
If treated early, NO-TEAMS will have no lasting effects. The best course of treatment is couples therapy to help balance the sufferer’s partnership so that the NO-TEAMS sufferer can begin to focus on their own needs. For sufferers who have children, the benefits of treatment include healthier children as well as a healthier individual and partnership.
If you think you or someone you know is suffering from NO-TEAMS, don’t hesitate to call our office today. Debbie and Toby are standing by, waiting to take your information and connect you with a therapist.
* Disclaimer for all of the lawyers out there, yes, I made this name up! (But the symptoms are very real, so don’t ignore them!)
