So who do you confide in? If you’re a millionaire, the answer may be nobody. Especially if you’re a corporate executive, revealing too much to the people around you can be dangerous.

Colleagues may feel like friends when you’re burning the midnight oil to finish a project, but you should never forget that you’re among your fiercest competitors, says Jamie Gruman, a professor of organizational behavior at the University of Guelph in Ontario. “The higher up [the corporate ladder] you go, the more strategic you have to be,” he says. “The more you know, the less you can talk about what’s going on. In large organizations, you’re jockeying for position, so you don’t want to give away the tactics you’re working on.”

Don’t expect your spouse to understand your plight. He or she may enjoy the lifestyle attached to your paycheque, but probably not the hours you’re putting in to earn it. Toronto management consultant Michael Stern tells of a client whose job required him to be reachable via BlackBerry 24/7. Before long, his wife grew tired of the constant interruptions to what little home life they had. But instead of offering a hug, Stern says, she simply decreed “the BlackBerry must be off at mealtimes and during intimate moments.”

So who can you talk to? If you’re lucky, you have a friend who is just as overachieving as you are, and who can understand your special issues. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are the perfect example: not only are they business associates, they’re also buddies who collaborate on everything from charitable giving to bridge playing.

Most millionaires aren’t so lucky and, as a result, many are now quite happy to pay for an understanding ear. An increasing number of these high-powered executives and entrepreneurs are turning to the services of coaches to help them through the rough patches. In fact, says Stern, who’s been in the executive search business for 20 years, coaching now eclipses everything else that his firm offers. The Queen’s School of Business in Kingston, Ont., recently added coaching to its menu of executive development programs, with 25 staff to help outwardly successful people figure out why they feel unfulfilled.

“People look for coaching because they can have a frank conversation,” says Barbara Dickson, the program’s director.

There can be a lot to talk about. Gruman, who has a master’s degree in clinical psychology, says that among overachievers “imposter syndrome is common” — the feeling that no matter how stratospheric your net worth or enviable your career, you merely lucked into your riches and don’t truly deserve them.

More often, though, that niggling sense of dissatisfaction may be the fault of the very character traits that launched your success in the first place. Wonder why you’re on the brink of yet another divorce? “The type of person who rises to the top is a hard-driving, hard-playing, A-type personality,” Gruman says. “That type of person tends not to be satisfied with the status quo. Those are the same attributes that lead them to engage in wife turnover.”

OK, you’re thinking, so that does sound a little bit like me. But if I’m such a bastard, how come no one’s ever called me on it before? Gruman has an explanation for that, too. Rich, successful people hang out with other rich, successful people who act and live pretty much the same way you do.

Which is why, for those in search of a reality check, the services of a disinterested outsider, like an executive coach, makes a whole lot of sense. Admitting to insecurities or asking for help isn’t an option at work or at home, where there’s pressure to keep up with the Joneses. But with a coach, who is outside your sphere and has nothing to gain from seeing you stumble, you can let your guard down. “It’s a relief,” says Gruman.