What is High Functioning Anxiety?

S No.

do not index

ready to publish

backlinks

content score ss

# of words

1300

publish date

Apr 21, 2022

✨POV✨: You just found out that not everyone feels anxious throughout the day. Too stunned to speak? We got you.

If you've been called detail-oriented, a stickler for things like time, organized, or a perfectionist - could it be that you end up doing things this ideally because you're anxious about the perceived outcome if anything but perfect?

If you relate, you have a superpower in disguise - high functioning anxiety.

High functioning anxiety vs. anxiety disorders 🧐

People with high functioning anxiety may be favored for their adherence to deadlines or for having squeaky clean rooms or desks.

But no one sees the underlying anxiety that fueled all of this. You end up doing daily life tasks or work/school tasks out of the stress of failing or confrontation.

This underlying level of anxiety dictates whether or not these are just occasional anxiety symptoms or if they could be signs of excessive anxiety that are not-so-healthy, mental-health-wise. This is when it's become an anxiety disorder.

This is why high functioning anxiety in itself is not counted as one of the mental disorders.

Although it can impact self-esteem and mental health at some point, all high functioning anxiety can tell you is that your anxiety can exhibit symptoms of one of the few hidden anxiety disorders.

And how severe or mild these physical symptoms look will point you in the direction of the anxiety disorder.

Causes & Signs of High Functioning Anxiety 🥶

Would you say that you constantly overthink and overanalyze details and end up overworking or stretching beyond your committed work hours?

Would you say you're driven by the underlying need to please others, and this is where your difficulty in saying no comes from?

People with high functioning anxiety tend to mistake many positive traits like patience or empathy for negative characteristics like tolerance or being a yes-person.

You end up taking on more responsibilities regardless of your physical or mental capacity for it just because - what if they feel bad and hate me?

Relate?

While these are all signs of high functioning anxiety as anxiety disorders, these anxiety symptoms are also the byproduct of other anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorders or panic disorders.

👉🏽 Generalized anxiety disorder

When everyday things like work, school, or even the household chores you have in daily life give you anxiety when there's no warranted reason to be anxious - that's generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms physically manifest through muscle tension or muscle aches; there's trouble sleeping because of your excessive anxiety and constant worry.

This could also maybe be why an interpersonal task like a one-on-one review at work or confronting your partner's unhealthy patterns feels like the worst thing on earth!

👉🏽 Panic disorder

Panic disorder is when our negative thought processes lead to heart palpitations and excessive worry. These thoughts may have stemmed from past mistakes or traumatic events that convince you it will happen again. This onslaught of thoughts and severe anxiety leads to breathlessness and chest pain, causing panic attacks.

Oh and did you know? Medical reviewers say that some even feel anxious to the point where just the thought of a future task or event out of their comfort zone can feel like death.

High functioning anxiety symptoms may make you feel like these nervous habits have always been a part of your life, and so it will stay till the end.

But that's not the case - treating anxiety disorders, or your high functioning anxiety can help you experience the other side of your anxiety.

What to do to combat high functioning anxiety 🤗

Now even though high functioning anxiety may not be as serious as say, depression/anxiety disorders, it still robs you of fully being present in the moment.

You're always dwelling in the past with thoughts like, "did I speak too much?" or continuously in the future, "what if they break up with me?"

But here's the key - treating high functioning anxiety begins by being equipped with the healthiest coping strategies that work for you.

Here are some ideas:

💜 Your own self-care routine

The thing about high functioning anxiety is that we've trained our thoughts to go down the pessimistic or sometimes negative route, which only amplifies our anxiety symptoms in the worst way. We're filled with nervous energy, and our obsessive thoughts affect our well-being.

To break this unhealthy pattern, we'll need a healthy alternative.

This is when a self-care routine comes in.

It can be anything as long as the goal is reached: caring for self and making it a routine.

It can be like beginning your day with deep breathing and quiet time.

Or it can be by spending time on apps like being that make access to mental health tools like meditation and journaling as easy as possible!

Here, check out this mini guided therapy session - I want to learn how to build a routine.

👀 Deal with the real, true feelings

It isn't always easy to stop high-functioning anxiety from creeping in and stealing the show - especially when it feels like the baseline emotion.

But bottling your needs around your high functioning anxiety may only make things worse.

Think about how you feel the next time you spent hours doing a task that wasn't your task, to begin with, but was entrusted to you because you get stuff done no matter what's on your plate.

Next time, let them know how your plate looks and what you can and cannot accommodate.

Stick to what you can prioritize and commit to and schedule the rest for another business day.

🧠 Interrupt your thoughts

Know that high functioning anxiety is just overthinking and stressing out about things we can’t control.

If we can interrupt our unhealthy train of thought with positive ones or affirmations, we get to hit pause on everything that's giving us anxiety at that moment.

Here, let being help make this one a routine too. Check out - I want to pay attention to my negative self-talk.

🌻 Mental health services

The recommended way to treat high functioning anxiety or any mental health conditions is with the guidance of a professional or through therapy.

There are tools like cognitive behavioral therapy to gain control over our negative thoughts or meditation to bring your mind and body to a place of zen.

So, to wrap up 🥰

High functioning anxiety sounds like a low-key flex until we no can longer manage stress.

For people with high functioning anxiety, you now get to treat anxiety symptoms without compromising on, say, your perfectionism.

Sounds like a great deal, ngl.

The best part?

If professional help sounds like a big step, remember being - the world's first of a kind self-therapy app?

You don't have to make calls or spend time booking appointments, nor do you have to get out of your comfort zone for this therapy session - with being you can get straight to the point—your feeling at the moment.

Now you know what to do - it's time to journey to the other side of high functioning anxiety! You got this!

Disclaimer

This is not a substitute for therapy. Consult mental health professionals for high functioning anxiety problems and your anxiety disorder diagnosis (or any other mental health disorder/mental illness or clinical disorders). Their primary treatments and diagnostic criteria include CBT and progressive muscle relaxation - some of the therapies and techniques your mental health professional would recommend.