Stress and the City

Stress in the City: The Art & Science of Transforming Your Approach

Life as a City lawyer in London can be exhilarating yet relentless. Tight deadlines, high-stakes deals, and the weight of client expectations often create a whirlwind of stress. While you can’t eliminate these external pressures, you can change how you respond to them.

Take "James", a corporate lawyer juggling a high-profile merger. As the deal's deadline loomed, he found himself working around the clock, his mind racing with "what-ifs." His heart pounded daily, his shoulders tensed — classic signs of his body’s stress response kicking in. His instinct was to push through, ignoring his physical and emotional needs, believing this was the only way to succeed.

James’s experience is likely familiar to many lawyers. The nervous system reacts automatically to perceived threats, relying on learned responses to cope. For some, this means diving headlong into work, for others, avoidance, or zoning out.

To start mastering our stress we need to understand three things; (a) our baseline, (b) our go-to reaction, and (c) our narrative.

Part 1: Establish Your Baseline

Every time we perceive stimuli, our autonomic nervous systems (ANS) governs our reaction.

The ANS, responsible for regulating involuntary functions such as heart rate, digestion, and respiratory rate, operates on two main branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic reacts instantly to stimuli, activating our "fight/flight" instinct; the parasympathetic system calms our body and returns us to equilibrium.

These systems work together to maintain balance, but the degree to which each person’s ANS reacts can differ significantly.* Even though humans share 99.9% of their genetic code, we are not clones. Research suggests we may be born with ANSs that exhibit varying levels of sensitivity.  This influences how we respond to stimuli and environmental changes. Some infants may have a more reactive sympathetic nervous system, leading to heightened stress responses and difficulty calming down, while others might have a more sensitive parasympathetic system, allowing them to recover from stress more quickly*.

There is also the matter of our "neurotype" - how our brain processes stimuli and thoughts. The huge and fascinating area of neurodiversity is ever evolving, and too wide for this article, but research suggests we that we have different abilities to filter stimuli, some "neurodiverse" brains being more open to stimuli and less able to filter it.

These variations are thought to be influenced by genetic factors, prenatal conditions, and very early life experiences. They can shape how a person manages emotions and stress throughout life.

Part 2: Recognise Your Stress Reaction

Each of us has a default way of handling stress, shaped by past experiences. Maybe you’re a fighter, charging into conflicts with verbal intensity. Perhaps you take flight, avoiding challenging conversations or delaying decisions. Some lawyers freeze under pressure, while others fawn, over-accommodating to please colleagues or clients.

Stress isn't binary — it’s more like a dial with levels that escalate depending on the intensity of the stimuli or perceived challenge. We can think of these stress responses as “The 6 Fs”:

1. Fawn - Trying to please, charm and appease people to stay "safe"

2. perForm – Over-adapting or overworking to avoid conflict or criticism, trying to be perfect

3. Fight – Arguing, snapping, being verbally (or physically) aggressive

4. Flight – Avoiding things, leaving the room, flight of thought into daydreams or catastrophising.

5. Freeze – Feeling stuck, zoning out, or mentally checking out

6. Flop – Collapsing. Body shuts down, we fall asleep, or faint.

Pause for a moment and reflect - how do you typically react to stress? Last time you felt overwhelmed or threatened, which of the above reactions kicked in?

Check in with your body right now. Are you in fight-or-flight mode, or in "rest and digest," where you feel calm and focused?

Action: Login to The Circle Line to take our Stress Assessment (part of our wider Personality X Ray) to establish your go-to stress reaction.

Part 3: Notice Your Narrative

Stress plays out in the body — but often resides in our mind.

Humans talk to themselves. We all do it. Striving to assess, make meaning or reassure ourselves. Through language, memory and narrative, we try to make sense of our experience and to anticipate the future in order to protect ourselves.

Do you catch yourself thinking things like, “If I don’t do this perfectly, my client will walk” or “No one else seems to be struggling—why can’t I keep up?” . Your narrative is your thoughts. These mental scripts can trigger or amplify our reaction to situations, creating a cycle of anxiety.

Usually, our narratives are at least partly based on our past experiences. This is "learning" after all. Of course we need to learn to survive. Trouble is sometimes our past experience clouds our assessment of the here and now. We repeat old narratives we formed to help us at that particular time in our life, when actually we need to update our narrative to better fit the now.

Action: Start observing what you say in your head. What do you tell yourself during high-pressure moments? Are these narratives helping or hindering you?

The Art & Science of De-Stressing

Stressful situations in legal practice are inevitable, but learning to manage your reaction and your narratives can make all the difference.

Master Your Body:

1. Breathing Exercises: When you feel tension rising, take slow, deep breaths to calm your nervous system.

2. Physical Awareness: Notice tension in your shoulders, jaw, or neck. Drop your shoulders, stretch, or simply wiggle your toes to bring yourself back into your body.

3. Relaxation Practices: Regular mindfulness or yoga sessions can help reset your nervous system, making you more resilient over time, as can rhythmic activity like rowing, walking, martial arts.

Master Your Mind:

1. Reframe Your Thoughts: If you’re thinking, “I’ll never get through this,” try remembering a time you got through something and replacing it with, “I’ve handled challenges like this before, and I will again.”

2. Therapy: Professional support helps you notice your reactions, regain some control and process underlying past experiences that are affecting how you currently interpret situations, creating healthier mindsets.

3. Journaling: Writing about your experiences and emotions can help you untangle the mental knots that past and present stress creates.

The Power of Connection

It’s worth noting that our stress reactions are often exacerbated by isolation. City legal work can be all-consuming, leaving little time for family and friends. But connecting with trusted colleagues, mentors, and friends outside of work can be transformative. Sharing your experiences and finding mutual support helps resilience and can activate your parasympathetic nervous system.

The Road to Resilience

Mastering stress doesn’t mean eliminating it—stress is an inevitable part of City law. But by understanding our baseline sensitivity and our stress response, altering our narrative, and practicing body and mind techniques, we can transform the way we experience and handle pressure.

Start small. Take a moment to breathe, relax your shoulders, or notice that self-critical thought. These actions may seem minor, but they’re the foundation for thriving in one of the world’s most demanding professions. London’s legal landscape may be challenging, but with practice, you can navigate its impact with resilience and calm.

How We Can Help

At The Circle Line, we understand that stress is an inevitable part of a demanding profession, especially for city lawyers. That's why we offer a comprehensive system designed to help you transform how you or your team manage stress.

Whether you're seeking to pinpoint the underlying sources of ongoing anxiety through our diagnostic assessments, learn practical techniques through tailored training programs, or find lasting relief with expert therapy and immersive training, we provide the support you need to thrive in your career and personal life. Our holistic approach empowers you to not just cope with stress, but to change your mindset and raise your overall emotional intelligence, enabling you to perform at your best with clarity, focus, and balance.

If you'd like to explore what we can offer, find out more here or get in touch: hello@thecircleline.co.uk

References:

Thayer, J. F., & Lane, R. D. (2000). A model of neurovisceral integration in emotion regulation and dysregulation. Journal of Affective Disorders, 61(3), 201-216.

O'Connor, T. G., & Touchette, E. (2007). Prenatal and postnatal stress and child development: The role of autonomic nervous system regulation. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 280-285.

Kagan, J., & Snidman, N. (2004). The long shadow of temperament. Harvard University Press.

Barker, D. J. P. (2004). The developmental origins of adult disease. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 23(6 Suppl), 588S-595S.

Perry, B. D. (2002). Childhood trauma, the neurobiology of adaptation, and “use-dependent” development of the brain: How “states” become “traits.” Infants and Young Children, 14(3), 29-40.