What is High-Functioning Anxiety?
Your friends tell you that you have it all together. The office reports that you are always calm, cool, and collected, and have never failed to reach a deadline. You are constantly setting goals to reach that next achievement and work toward success. You should be the poster child for calm and confidence, but is your internal world anything but calm?
We must often think of anxiety symptoms, according to the most obvious visual presentations of anxiety symptoms: Panic attacks, paralyzing, fear, sweating, shaking, irritability, constantly speaking of and ruminating on worries, or challenges with concentration. (1)
However, this visual representation of anxiety, that other people can see and identify, is not the anxiety experienced by everyone. In fact, there are a group of people who are significantly impacted by anxiety, but would likely be the least suspected person to struggle with an anxiety disorder. These individuals have “high functioning, anxiety” which is a term that has recently been used to describe this specific population.
It is important to know that this is not an official diagnosis given in the DSM-5, the standard for mental health diagnosis at the present time. It is, however, a helpful and effective term used to describe a specific presentation of an anxiety experience. Today will take a little bit deeper dive into this unique anxiety experience.
So what is high-functioning anxiety?
When we think of anxiety, in a typical sense of the term, we often think about fears that inhibit an individual from being able to complete tasks, connect with people, achieve goals and other debilitating forms of this internal struggle and worry. High-functioning, anxiety is different in that, Individuals with high-functioning anxiety tend to be able to function at a high level, despite the presence of anxiety in their day-to-day lives. They are still able to effectively compete and achieve goals, despite the presence of anxiety. (2) As a result, these individuals are often overlooked for anxiety, treatment, or support, as many people would never suspect that they suffer from anxiety symptoms.
What does high-functioning anxiety look like?
High-functioning, anxiety involves the presence of anxiety symptoms, that may play out in a slightly different way than we typically think. Below, we will have some common anxiety symptoms, and describe how the symptoms might be presenting in an individual who would fit the mold for “high functioning, anxiety.”
Restlessness or the inability to relax: this may look like constantly achieving, moving, cleaning, working, and the highly productive people that just cannot sit down.
Thought rumination: this may look like constantly thinking about work-related tasks, the next goal that they are trying to achieve, the problems they just can’t quite solve, or the next task that they have to get done.
Sleep issues: many times these high achiever types may be struggling with sleep, due to anxiety, being fixated on task completion, things to do, fears of failure with upcoming goals, strategizing the next step for success, or avoidance of failure.
Negative self-talk: while many people with high-functioning anxiety tend to be largely successful and esteemed by those around them, the internal dialogue of an individual with high-functioning anxiety may be much more self-deprecating. Their presentation may be one of confidence, but oftentimes there are strong thought patterns, related to self-doubt, fears of inadequacy, impostor syndrome, and other perceptions of self that have a negative spin to them.
Physical symptoms like racing, heart, muscle tension, increased, fatigue, and gastrointestinal distress: even those with high functioning anxiety, often still struggle with the physical manifestations of anxiety symptoms. We cannot work our way out of a stress response in the body. The body will always respond based on the elements that it is experiencing. It is very common that individuals with high-functioning anxiety will experience some of these physical symptoms, attempting to ignore or avoid identifying the presence of the symptoms, but the body will always tell us when it’s in distress, and the symptoms cannot be avoided forever. The hope is that we are able to address these anxiety symptoms prior to the physical manifestation of the symptoms becoming a health concern.
So if you identify or know someone who identifies with the term high-functioning anxiety, the great news is, there are amazing and effective interventions to help bring about more peace and fewer anxiety symptoms, even for those high achievers of the world. Anxiety therapies, including CBT therapy, DBT therapy, and EMDR therapy are all effective ways of reducing anxious thoughts, and bodily experiences, and ultimately assisting individuals in having greater control over their mental and emotional experiences. Even the most successful people in our community can benefit from the help of a professional in working towards the happiest healthiest life that we can.
If you were interested in anxiety therapy, or anxiety treatment, our team would love to help. We employ a highly trained anxiety therapist with experience in many evidence-based practices for reducing and treating anxiety symptoms. Whether you connect with us through our online therapy services, or in person at our Arlington Texas-based therapy office, we would love to support you in, taking your next steps toward health and wellness
