What Is High-Functioning Anxiety?
Many people think they have a basic idea of what anxiety looks like. But, it can take many forms. For example, people with high-functioning anxiety often go undiagnosed because their outward appearance and symptoms don’t necessarily “fit” with the image many associate with the condition.
High-functioning anxiety falls under the umbrella of generalized anxiety disorder. Some people are predisposed to have it from a young age, while others develop it based on life circumstances.
When you have high-functioning anxiety, your symptoms are very real and can have an impact on your life. But, instead of letting them take hold, you choose to fight back and lead a relatively normal daily routine.
Let’s take a closer look at high-functioning anxiety, what it looks like, and what you can do about it.
Defining High-Functioning Anxiety
Breaking down high-functioning anxiety is simple. The symptoms of anxiety might not present themselves on the outside, but on the inside, you feel like you’re constantly struggling.
People with high-functioning anxiety are often successful. They’re often looked to as leaders, as though they have their lives together. When you think of someone with anxiety, you might think of a person who retreats away from the world and is too fearful to do anything. That doesn’t appear to be someone with high-functioning anxiety, but that doesn’t mean those people aren’t experiencing fear and uncertainty from within. They simply know how to fight back against it to move forward each day.
What Are the Signs of High-Functioning Anxiety?
Many of the symptoms of high-functioning anxiety are the same as most other generalized anxiety disorders. Internally, someone dealing with it is likely to experience things like:
High stress
Self-criticism
A sense of impending doom
Constantly feeling on edge
A fear of looking foolish to others
On the outside, you might still experience symptoms like sweating, a racing heart, muscle tension, headaches, or other aches and pains. This type of anxiety can also create sleep disturbances. For some, anxious thoughts tend to get worse at night. When your mind is racing and it’s difficult to sleep, your symptoms can become worse, creating a sort of vicious cycle that’s difficult to escape.
How High-Functioning Anxiety Affects Your Life
Certain people might be more at risk of high-functioning anxiety than others. If you tend to be insecure or you regularly experience extreme stressors in life, anxiety might take hold faster, even if you do a good job of hiding it from the world.
Hiding it and fighting back against your symptoms doesn’t mean that high-functioning anxiety won’t have a negative impact on your life. Others might see you as highly successful. But, that success could be there becomes you over-function. You create unrealistic expectations for yourself and push yourself to your limits to fight your insecurities.
People with high-functioning anxiety often have a fear of failure. When you put a lot of stock into how others see you, even something like constructive criticism can send you spiraling.
It should come as no surprise, then, that high-functioning anxiety can have a negative impact on your career and your personal relationships. You might feel like an imposter in your job, even if you work harder than everyone else. As far as your relationships, you might not be able to give them the time or attention they deserve because you’re so focused on maintaining other things.
Just because you can keep up outward appearances doesn’t mean you shouldn’t find help for high-functioning anxiety. If the symptoms here sound familiar and you’re tired of fighting on your own, don’t hesitate to reach out. Anxiety is often very manageable, but anxiety therapy is the best way to manage it safely and effectively.
